Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Clearing Fog, Late-Winter Grasslands

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Clearing Fog, Late-Winter Grasslands
Morning fog thins above late-winter Central Valley grassland and floodplain.

Clearing Fog, Late-Winter Grasslands. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning fog thins above late-winter Central Valley grassland and floodplain.

Before I write about today’s photograph, I want to make a brief comment about “carrying on” in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, and why I continue to share photographs and stories. We need reminders of how the world was before this started… and how it will be again afterwards. And we certainly need distraction from the constant news. I hope that some of you will find a bit of joy, solace, distraction in these posts.

It was less than a week ago when I made what may be my last long photography excursion for a while. With the winter migratory bird season coming to an end in California, I wanted to make one more visit to a wildlife refuge where I often photograph. So I headed toward the Central Valley before dawn, arriving before sunrise, and spending most of the day on the prowl for birds at this peaceful and quiet place.

I believe I arrived for the very end of this season’s migratory bird photography. The large groups of sandhill cranes, Ross’s geese, and snow geese of a week ago were gone, and only a few stragglers remained. There were still white-fronted geese, ibises, egrets, and a few others. Because of the smaller number of birds, I left the refuge and the surrounding agricultural area. I stopped along a raised roadway where a river flows through oak/grassland floodplain country where early spring plants were coming to life, and I made a few photographs as the fog thinned and a few flocks of birds flew past.

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

Field of Fiddleneck Flowers

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Field of Fiddleneck Flowers
A field of late-winter California fiddleneck blossoms.

Field of Fiddleneck Flowers. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A field of late-winter California fiddleneck blossoms.

Photographing wildflowers wasn’t really my plan on this outing. I had gone to this place for what would likely be my final chance to photograph migratory birds before they leave California and head north. As it turned out, many of them had already departed, probably only a day or two earlier. There were other birds to photograph, some of which I had overlooked when the huge migratory flocks commanded my attention, but it was clear that the winter bird season was ending.

But something else was starting to happen — the onset of the green season and wildflowers. California’s “winter” seems odd to people who live where winter has a more traditional quality. Here, winter is when the state turns green, transforming from the brown and dry end of autumn to the impossibly green period of March and the start of April. Our “spring” wildflowers begin to appear weeks before the onset of solar spring. The birds were a bit sparse on this morning, but the flowers were erupting.

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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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Photographs: Nature

California Golden Poppies

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California Golden Poppies
Late-winter California golden poppies in the hills of Santa Clara Valley.

California Golden Poppies. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Late-winter California golden poppies in the hills of Santa Clara Valley.

Many California “spring” wildflowers begin to appear near the end of solar winter, at least in the lower elevation areas of the state. Of all of the characteristic blooming harbingers of spring, the California Golden Poppy may be the most recognized and one of the most prolific. I began to see a few individual flowers here and there way back in early February, but on a hike in a local park near the beginning of March we saw that the main bloom was now underway.

There are a lot of ways to photograph this type of flower, but many of them turn out to be a bit trickier than you might expect. That orange color is very intense in the red channel, which means that it is quite easy to blow out the flower details on digital cameras. In addition, the flower likes to open up in full sun — not the easiest light to photograph — and close up during the popular early and late hours. And even a bit of wind can make it difficult to photograph them… during this season that is often windy.

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 | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Redwing Blackbird

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Redwing Blackbird
A male redwing blackbird perches on winter vegetation.

Redwing Blackbird. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A male redwing blackbird perches on winter vegetation.

Redwing blackbirds, especially when they flock together, seem like some of the most exuberant birds in my part of the world. On the ideal morning, hundreds (or more!) of them may assemble on a tree or among reeds, chirping and singing enthusiastically… only to suddenly and unexpectedly take to the air in tightly spaced groups whose flight patterns are amazing.

I didn’t have quite that experience on this occasion, but it was still a worthwhile moment. This bird was perched by itself on this winter wetland vegetation. As the male birds do, he was showing off his bright red wing patches as he faced m , with the wetland landscape barely visible in the distant background

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 | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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.