Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Wildlife

Arrival of Geese, Dusk

December 6, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Geese land in a wetland pond at dusk

In an earlier post I alluded to my occasional good fortune in being the recipient of unanticipated events while out photographing, in this case the unexpected arrival of a dusk flock of geese right in front of the spot where I was standing and quietly watching the dusk light fade, thinking that I had finished my photography for the day. In that last moment, a flock took to the air a good distance away across wetland ponds, expanded the circle of its flight, and without warning began to land in the pond next to my position.

The relationships between luck and skill and preparation are complex, but there is no denying that luck plays a role in photographing the natural world. While I could tell that the sky was becoming beautiful, and while I am prepared to make technical and esthetic decision about how to photograph things as they happen, the fact that this flock took off in the dusk light and then landed perhaps fifty feet from my position is certainly nothing for which I can take credit. It does pay to be prepared, to have done this enough times to have a good chance of making the right decisions quickly when the opportunity arrives and, perhaps most of all, to be out there in the field as much as possible. One moment like this one makes it worthwhile.

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Ross’s Geese, Dusk

December 5, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A flock of Ross’s geese suddenly takes to the air at dusk

The truth is that there are whole long periods of “nothing exciting” when photographing a subject like this. The photographs might deceive the viewer into imagining a morning, an afternoon, and an evening spent in constant wonder at the marvel of the birds and the landscape they live in, surrounded by clouds of birds in beautifully colorful skies. The truth, as it often is, tends to be more complicated. In fact, I spent a good part of this day sitting in my car grading papers. I napped a bit — important when you get up at 3-something o’clock in the morning and start your day with a two-hour drive in darkness. Yes, I even checked in on social media during the slow times.

There are at least two things to say about this. First, a quiet day in a place where time moves slowly is not a bad thing in and of itself — and it is sadly a rarity for too many of us. Second, and perhaps more optimistically, there are moments that reward patience and occasional boredom. They are not really predictable and often they arrive unexpectedly, and this only makes them more powerful. I had come to what I thought was the end of the day’s photography as the light faded and the birds quieted and I was simply standing by my car next to a small patch of bird-free water… when something triggered a mass eruption of geese into the air. They circled and the circle gradually expanded until its edge was right above me, and soon a large part of the flock began to land in that small patch of water.

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Wildlife

Geese, Sunset Sky

December 4, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Geese settle in for the evening as dusk sky comes to the San Joaquin Valley

The approach of winter in California’s Great Central Valley reminds me of a number of great seasonal cycles — the days shorten, temperatures drop, mornings are again often foggy, and the monumental migration of birds brings geese and cranes and more back to the state. This area, which can be less than compelling in the visual sense during the summer (though it has its attractions then, too) becomes one of the most special places in California if you know when and where to look. Yesterday I made this season’s first trip back to this landscape.

We can make some predictions about things like the birds and the weather in this place, but there will still be many surprises. Yesterday’s visit brought two such wonderful surprises. I had been watching weather forecast, hoping for tule fog, but had been consistently disappointed to see nothing but predictions of clear weather. But as I left the last small town before my destination the fog appeared, and by the time I arrived it was so thick that driving was a challenge and the rising sun was invisible. Then, late in the day, I felt that my photographic opportunities were ending, and I stopped at an out-of-the-way corner to just watch the sky after sunset. Suddenly a huge flock of geese rose noisily into the air far across the ponds, circled for a moment… and then suddenly landed directly in front of me in the fading light!

Photographs: Structures and Objects

Broom Handle

December 3, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The handle of a broom rests against walls

What can I say? It is a broom handle! OK, maybe it isn’t just a broom handle. We briefly dropped in at the Sawdust Festival in Laguna Beach while visiting Southern California over the Thanksgiving Holiday. This is a long-standing crafts fair that, as I understand it, is sort of a “big thing” in the area.

This photograph is a reminder that there is always something to see, especially if I happen to have a camera in my hands. It would have been easy to simply walk past this little vignette, except that carrying the camera gives me an incentive to look more closely at my surroundings. This little alcove was at the back of a booth — I think it may have been one where live ceramics demonstrations were taking place — and something about the colors, the alternating panels with their remnants of paint and clay dust, and the off-kilter broom handle caused me to stop and make a few exposures.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Arrival of Geese, Dusk

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Ross’s Geese, Dusk

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Geese, Sunset Sky

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Broom Handle

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

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