Tag Archives: alert

Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Edge of the Flock

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Edge of the Flock
A large flock of migratory snow geese in a pond in California’s Central Valley.

Edge of the Flock. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A large flock of migratory snow geese in a pond in California’s Central Valley.

The conditions must be just right, you must arrive at the correct time, persistence is necessary, and a bit of luck is important. If all of this works out you may encounter stunningly large flocks of over-wintering migratory geese covering the landscape in parts of the Central Valley of California. If you are extra lucky and extra persistent one of the flocks may settle in right next to you.

I don’t know how many birds were in this flock, but it stretched across this large pond and over a great distance from side to side. The visual impact is obvious, but unless you are there you miss out on the sonic effect. The flock produces a constant audio drone, with sudden crescendos when a threat appears — and with that threat all of the birds’ heads rise straight up on their long necks until it passes.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Urban/Street

Red Flag

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Red Flag
Red pedestrian crossing warning flags.

Red Flag. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Red pedestrian crossing warning flags.

This is a close view of some warning flags posted at a busy street crossing in an urban area. The idea is that pedestrians grab a flag and, I suppose, wave it at approaching motorists in the hope that they don’t get run over. Hmmm… The photograph exists for a couple of reasons. It is one of the neighborhood subjects that I encounter on my almost-daily walks. I always carry a camera and maintain some level of attention to potential subjects. To be honest, the great majority of those photographs are not and are not intended to be great — the real object is to keep my eyes open and to practice seeing.

The second reason for the photo is either a bit funny or a bit thought-provoking. Recently I have shared a few photographs featuring the color orange after being challenged to make pictures of that color by a group of fellow photographers. As I did this I realized that the boundaries of “orange” are a bit nebulous. Some things are, without any doubt, orange. But others that initially strike me as being orange start to verge on red, brown, or even yellow. There are not always clear lines between these colors. In any case, these flags first looked orange to me… but when placed in the context of other orange objects they began to seem more red.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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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: Urban/Street

Look

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Look
A “LOOK” sign at a light rail crossing.

Look. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A “LOOK” sign at a light rail crossing.

It seems to me that few photographers are able to resist at least occasionally photographing signs that catch their attention. (Not everyone will admit to it though!) I’m pretty sure I recall that my father collected them, and I’ve done it fitfully for decades. (Many years ago I was an avid cyclist, and I always used to get a laugh out fo a sign that I passed on one of my routes. It simply announced: “1/4 MILE AHEAD.”) Signs can be graphically interesting, funny or ironic depending on where they are found, or even useful for certain non-photographic purposes.

I had been looking (ironic, yes?) at this sign for months as I passed it along one of my pandemic routes for daily walks. For at least the previous month I had thought about photographing it each time I passed… but I didn’t do so. Most of the time I just didn’t bother, but the one previous time I did try there was an issue with the light. But finally the sign was in shade and I captured it. And it IS a good reminder to always look, especially if you are a photographer!

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

On Alert

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On Alert
A flock of Ross’s geese raises their heads in response to a distraction

On Alert. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A flock of geese raises their heads in response to a distraction

We started 2018 with a New Year’s Day visit to wetlands to photograph migratory birds and engage in a few other fun activities. Among these were: arising hours before dawn, driving long distances in pre-dawn darkness, sharing a champagne toast to the New Year well before noon, and much more. To be honest, I’ve had been photography days out there at this time of year… but I haven’t had a better time.

This photograph shows a behavior that I’ve learned to watch for when photographing geese. Much of the time when they are settled in they are fairly passive, perhaps with their heads down to feed. But when anything worthy of attention happens — a raptor flies over, a plane passes by too low, someone gets too close or starts a vehicle engine — the flock’s sound changes and all of the heads rise with necks vertical. If the threat passes or is deemed unimportant the heads quickly drop. But if it is seen as serious, this might be an indication that the entire flock is about to dramatically take flight.

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.