Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Three Ross’s Geese In Flight

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Three Ross's Geese In Flight
Three Ross’s Geese in flight against cloudy winter sky

Three Ross’s Geese In Flight. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Three Ross’s Geese in flight against cloudy winter sky

Quite a few years ago, the first migratory birds that caught my interest in the wild were geese. I specifically recall the occasion or, more correctly, two occasions. (They may or may not have occurred on the same trip — I no longer recall for sure.) The first was on the long drive north from the San Francisco Bay Area. I had departed late in the day, planning to get a motel in the southern Oregon and then complete the drive the next day. Far up the Sacramento Valley at sunset and then on into dusk I began to see huge flocks of the birds over this agricultural landscape. I really didn’t understand what I was seeing, but I was impressed and it planted a seed.

Then, perhaps on the same trip or possibly on another Seattle visit at about this time, I drove up to the Skagit Valley area. As I drove I saw the remarkable trumpeter swans that are found there, and eventually I pulled over on a curve near some old buildings by fields. Far off in the distant sky I started to see strings of birds, and a few minutes later snow geese began landing right next to me… and they kept coming, until the entire field was filled with the white birds. You can imagine how impressed I was — I had not seen something like this before! I made the photograph shared here much later and in a different place.

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G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Sierra Light, Reflection

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Sierra Light, Reflection
First light on a backcountry Sierra Nevada lake and ridge

Sierra Light, Reflection. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

First light on a backcountry Sierra Nevada lake and ridge

This is an older photograph that I recently came across as I went back through old image files. (I do this from time to time, and I invariably find something that I missed the first time around. ) We were on a pack trip out of the Mammoth Lakes area and on the trail for perhaps five days, moving among a series of lakes that all were under the watchful eye of the peaks in the photograph.

I was up early and perhaps a bit disappointed in the perfectly blue sky. However, as the first dawn light struck the peaks, it produced a perfect reflection in the surface of the lake, broken only by the pair of boulders, placed here in the composition to break up the mirror-image symmetry. While clouds in the sky might have been interesting, the smooth blue gradients reflected in the water make the peaks seem to float.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Mouth of the Little Sur River

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Mouth of the Little Sur River
The Little Sur meanders across a beach to arrive at the Pacific Ocean

Mouth of the Little Sur River. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The Little Sur meanders across a beach to arrive at the Pacific Ocean

This beach lies at the outlet of the Little Sur River, located a bit north of the town of Big Sur and close to Point Sur, the location of a historic lighthouse on a hill that extends out into the ocean. (You can barely see Point Sur above the darker hill at upper left in the photograph.) I have photographed here quite often, though this is a different angle than I have used before. It took a bit of searching — and a short walk along the roadway — to locate this viewpoint looking straight down the beach.

I have photographed this spot long enough to recognize that its features are far from permanent. In fact, just recently the river changed its path across the beach. Previously it followed a curving loop into the channel across the bottom of the frame before running into a rocky hill at the waterline. But this past winter it “changed its mind,” and it opted to take a straighter path across the beach toward the more distant headlands before finally making a sharp turn and reaching the sea. (Note: This beautiful beach is owned by the Sur Ranch and off-limits to the public. There are large and ugly fences between it and the highway. From time to time I hear that there may be some negotiations that could add the land to the state park system.)

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert

From Panamints To Death Valley

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From Panamints To Death Valley
The view down into Death Valley from high along the summit of the Panamint Mountains

From Panamints To Death Valley. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The view down into Death Valley from high along the summit of the Panamint Mountains

Death Valley National Park — like virtually all national parks — contains a few features that have become iconic. These are the places everyone goes, and I probably don’t have to name them here. I would not dismiss such places — many of them, as we say, “are icons for a reason.” When I first visited this part two decades ago, I started with a few of those locations and I was thrilled to do so.

But now, after many, many visits to the place, I have pushed out my boundaries more and more. This is a huge and diverse park, with everything from the familiar low desert to high mountain ranges reaching above 11,000′ of elevation. While the better known locations can be a bit crowded, especially during the ideal season (when it isn’t so hot!), it doesn’t take a lot of exploring to find solitude. The location where I made this photograph isn’t the most isolated in the park, but it does afford a different view of the main valley.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.