Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Trees and New Snow

March 17, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Trees with new snow in sun and shadow at the base of a Yosemite Valley cliff

During this weeklong late-February visit to Yosemite National Park (thanks to an artist-in-residency from Yosemite Renaissance) the weather was quite cold, even for the Sierra Nevada in winter, and there was light snow at times throughout the period. In many ways, this is almost idea for photography in Yosemite Valley — although the snow and cold complicate the process of making photographs, they also have some beneficial effects. Obviously, the snow changes the appearance of the landscape in many ways, and the cold weather tends to reduce the number of people who are out and about.

It had snowed a few inches in the Valley since the previous afternoon. (The storm was varied, and I work up to considerably more snow than that where I was staying, outside the Valley.) Because of the unusual cold — it barely got out of the teens — the snow stayed “dry” and didn’t immediately melt out of the trees. In the photograph you can see a bit of snow in the meadow on the Valley floor, but there was more up higher, and the trees ascending the further slope all were fringed with it.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Red-Wing Blackbird

March 16, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A red-wing blackbird perched among grasses

The red-wing blackbird (and the similar tri-color blackbird) are among those birds that are found all over the place here in California. I’ve encountered them in agricultural areas and on trails in coastal hills parks, in huge groups or as solitary individuals. They often perch, and they aren’t too hard to photograph with a long lens, though their very dark feathers can provide some exposure challenges. When they take to the air they often move quickly and can be hard to track.

The red patches are not always visible. In fact, when I first saw this individual I did not see them. But the bird seemed content to remain in one spot for a while, so I settled in with the bird in the viewfinder and waited. Typically the first thing I’ll do is to try to grab an initial photograph that is at least usable. But they I wait and watch for something beyond that, something that might show the animal in a special way. As I watched this bird, all of a sudden it puffed out its feathers and exposed those brilliant red patches for a few seconds.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Morning, Fresh Snow

March 15, 2018 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

The previous night’s new snow covers the trees of this conifer forest

This is another photograph from my recent week in Yosemite Valley in late February — and a cold and snowy week it was! But that was good news during a winter that had previously bene characterized by nearly a month of no precipitation and by well above-average temperatures. Yosemite Valley is always more picturesque after (or during) snow, but the climatological backdrop made this even more true this year.

I drove down into the Valley on this morning after snowfall the night before. There wasn’t a lot of snow — perhaps 4-5 inches where I had stayed overnight and no more than an inch or two in most of the Valley. But in many ways that was just about the perfect amount. On this very cold morning the snow stayed in the trees, and the thin layer still allowed the darker colors and shapes of the branches and tree trunks to be visible. As I came to this spot I noticed that the snow-lined trees were back-lit, so I stopped, wandered into the forest, and photographed… and before long the sun passed behind the upper edges of high cliffs, the area was in shade, and the opportunity was gone.

Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Great Egret, Reflection

March 14, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A great egret and its reflection in a wetland pond

While I don’t know the full extent of their (likely huge) range, these birds are ubiquitous in California. I remember when I first noticed them, many years ago when I was a dedicated cyclist. In those days I commuted to work by bicycle, covering between 30 and 55 miles a day, and portions of my ride always passed creeks and drainage canals. You might miss them speeding past in a car, but on a bicycle I frequently looked into these waterways and spotted these impressively large and nearly pure white birds. As time went on I found them all over the place — they can be found in many agricultural areas, for example, and I have photographed them feeding in kelp beds along the Pacific Ocean shoreline.

In flight they alternate between ungainliness and beauty. They can seem a bit gangly and awkward at times — their take-off can be somewhat awkward, for example. On the other hand they flare their wings beautifully upon landing. I don’t usually go out specifically to photograph the egrets, but sometimes it seems unavoidable since they turn up in so many places. They seem to have somewhat clearly defined boundaries when it comes to human presence. They more or less ignore us until we get too close (though this boundary changes depending upon whether they are feeding or not), but get a bit too close and you can see them “tighten up” and prepare for a sudden take-off, at which point you most often have only the opportunity to photograph them from the back as they depart. This bird had been hunting and seemed a bit more willing than most to let me photograph.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Trees and New Snow

Red-Wing Blackbird

Morning, Fresh Snow

Great Egret, Reflection

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