Tag Archives: bif

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

Crane Flock, Morning Light

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Crane Flock, Morning Light
A flock of lesser sandhill cranes in morning flight over the California Central Valley.

Crane Flock, Morning Light. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A flock of lesser sandhill cranes in morning flight over the California Central Valley.

The sound of cranes is the first thing I notice when I arrive before dawn to spend a day photographing birds in California’s Central Valley. I pull into a parking area, turn off the car, get out… and that sound greets me. I spend a moment listening, then try to gauge distance and directions, as that will inform by pre-sunrise plans. I head off to a likely spot, planning to arrive while the sun is still below the horizon so that I can be ready for the dawn show.

The cranes often start to become restless and take flight a bit before sunrise, but right around that time and for a little bit longer they gradually take the air in groups. At this point I consider several things. I want to be more or less under their likely flight path, and I want to be a bit off to one side so that the birds are in the morning sunlight as they pass. That all came together in this photograph of a flock passing nearly over my position in the colorful early morning light.

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

Cranes in Silhouette

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Cranes in Silhouette
A flock of lesser sandhill cranes in flight is silhouetted against clouds in the Central Valley autumn sky.

Cranes in Silhouette. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A flock of lesser sandhill cranes in flight is silhouetted against clouds in the Central Valley autumn sky.

This photograph comes from the morning of my first-of-the-season trip to photograph migratory birds in central California. This subject — including both the birds and their landscape — is a focus from November through the beginning of March. My subjects include geese, herons, ibises, egrets, raptors, “little brown birds,” and sandhill cranes. In this photograph a small group of cranes is silhouetted against an autumn morning sky filled with scattered clouds.

Because this visit was early in the season, there were few geese around. Later I’ll turn more of my attention to them — mainly the Ross’s and snow geese, but others, too. But the cranes had already arrived in great numbers, and they were pretty much the main attraction on this visit.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | 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: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Birds in Motion

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Birds in Motion
Long-exposure motion blur photograph of geese in flight over winter fields.

Birds in Motion. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Long-exposure motion blur photograph of geese in flight over winter fields.

This is another long-exposure, late-day bird photograph, in which I lower the ISO and use longer exposures in order to allow motion blur. A flock of (mostly) snow geese was turning into a strong crosswind and the brighter western sky — so the light was interesting and the birds were moving a bit slower that usual. The latter is a distinct advantage when trying to track the birds during longer exposures.

This way of shooting is fun and challenging. The idea is to end up with an image that has some kind of compositional integrity and which suggests the wild motion of the flock. A shutter speed up to about a second can work, and this variable will, of course, control how much blur there is. One challenge is that I can only estimate what the composition will look like since I’m shooting handheld and tracking the birds. Including a bit of the landscape in this photograph helps “ground” the blur of the flock.

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 | Twitter | 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: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

An Eruption of Geese

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An Eruption of Geese
A large flock of migratory geese takes flight in early evening light.

An Eruption of Geese. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A large flock of migratory geese takes flight in early evening light.

The first time I witnessed one of these mass lift-offs, quite a few years ago, I could not. believe what I was seeing — the density of the flock, the sound of their wings and their calls, the tumult. I’ve seen hundreds of these events since then —sometimes many on a single day. But the thrill and astonishment remains. This group of (mostly) snow geese was settled in a field very close to us, and they would periodically take off in groups ranging from a few hundred individuals up to nearly the entire flock.

The light was fortuitous. Due to where the geese had settled, late afternoon and early evening light came from the right. (Full front or back light can be quite challenging with this subject.) Although rain had threatened earlier in the day, it cleared in the afternoon… and tremendous winds arrived. In nearby locations they were sweeping up large dust clouds, but not here — yet the slightly milky atmosphere softened the light just a bit.

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 | Twitter | 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. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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