Tag Archives: america

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

Cranes Above The Levee

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Cranes Above The Levee
A small group of sandhill cranes flies into a mist-filled early morning winter sky above a Central Valley levee.

Cranes Above The Levee. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A small group of sandhill cranes flies into a mist-filled early morning winter sky above a Central Valley levee.

Light comes in infinite variations — bright, warm, cool, clear, misty, back, front, reflected, glowing, harsh, and on and on. (I wonder how many ways there are to describe light?) Photographers and photographers may be characterized by their favorite subjects, how they compose, elements of post-processing, and much more. But what light they prefer and how they handle it may be among the most important factors.

I have my preferences. One of them is for light coming through a glowing, mist or fog filled atmosphere, so bright that you almost cannot look straight at it. In this light the atmosphere almost becomes a tangible thing. This winter morning in California’s Central Valley had that quality as this small group of sandhill cranes 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: Birds, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Wetlands, Winter Fog

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Wetlands, Winter Fog
Early morning winter tule fog rises from Central Valley wetland ponds as sandhill cranes take flight.

Wetlands, Winter Fog. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early morning winter tule fog rises from Central Valley wetland ponds as sandhill cranes take flight.

Winter transforms the arguably-mundane California Central Valley landscape. Much of the area is agricultural country, and while that can look bucolic when fields are green, most of the time they are not. During much of the year they are brown, and during the winter the place can be quite muddy. (Don’t regard this as suggesting I don’t like the Valley. I do!)

On a January morning such as the on the day I made this photograph, magic can occur as tule fog rises and drifts about wetlands and as the sky fills with birds. To make this photograph I stopped along an empty rural road next to flooded fields and waited for cranes to take wing along a levee.

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: Birds, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Swans, Sunrise Light

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Cranes, Sunrise Light
A flock of sandhill cranes catches the color of low angle sunrise light.

Swans, Sunrise Light. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A flock of (tundra?) swans catches the color of low angle sunrise light.

About eight years back, on a beautiful January morning, I visited the place where I first photographed migratory birds. The location is south of Sacramento, in California’s Great Central Valley — in agricultural lowlands. (That could, of course, describe huge sections of the Valley.) During most of the year you probably would not regard the area as being exceptionally beautiful, but when the birds arrive everything changes.

And do they arrive! Just counting the large birds, there are sandhill cranes, egrets of several types, ibises, all sorts of geese, swans, and sandhill cranes. At dawn on the perfect mornings, the sky is filled with flocks, flying at different altitudes, crossing in different directions, and making the most impressive racket that I know of. I photographed this group of (tundra?) swans during the brief interval when the sun is low enough in the sky to illuminate their undersides.

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: San Francisco

Between the Columns

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Between the Columns
A pedestrain emerges from between monumental columns along a San Francisco street.

Between the Columns. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A pedestrain emerges from between monumental columns along a San Francisco street.

This photograph comes from one of my (formerly) frequent long walks through urban San Francisco, which is only a one-hour train ride away from where I live. My practice has been to periodically head up there very early in the day, and then spend the morning walking through various parts of The City with my camera.

This was not one of the “postcards from Pandemic” photographs. In fact, I made it last year before anyone had an inkling of what was coming. (Remember those innocent times?) But it seems to me to have a different context given what has happened in the past few months.

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.