Tag Archives: bird

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

Ross’s Geese, Dusk

December 17, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A group of Ross’s geese takes flight in hazy dusk light

I try to visit California’s San Joaquin Valley as often as possible during the fall, winter, and early spring months when migratory birds settle in for the cold season. The sounds of the birds and the sight of flocks of them setting in or flying overhead is addictive – so much so that I’m willing to go to somewhat great lengths to experience this. Most often this means getting up way before dawn, often on very cold mornings, and driving a couple of hours into the foggy landscape of the valley and then photographing for hours in the cold. I’m not complaining – I love doing this! I also have what has become an annual routine connected to my periodic Death Valley photography trips. I try to arrange my schedule on the last day in Death Valley so that I can do a morning shoot there, quickly strike camp and pack up, and leave soon enough that I can stop to photograph birds on the way home. (The two worlds – the dry, austere world of Death Valley, and the cold, damp, and bird-filled Central Valley – could not be more different.)

This photograph is one of several (well, OK, more than “several”) I made during a one hour stop at some valley wetlands at the end of the day on the long drive home. I arrived, did a quick reconnaissance around the area, discovered a large flock settled in along a gravel road in a pasture, and settled in to watch the evening’s events. I recall a time when I was disappointed when the light faded, since it eventually became too dark to maintain shutter speeds that would stop the motion of the geese as they flew in, out, and around. But it didn’t take long to discover that continuing to shoot in the fading light and accepting the slower shutter speeds led to motion blur would let me present the birds in a more abstract way, but one that is in many ways as true as isolating a moment of seeming stillness in a scene that is actually full of motion. I now look forward to this time of low light, when I can make photographs that might possess a bit more mystery.

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Tree and Marsh

December 5, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A solitary tree in marshland in the San Joaquin Valley, California

I have a bit of history with this tree. It is at a place where I frequently photograph at this time of year out in California’s San Joaquin Valley. These ponds are in an agricultural area that supports large populations of birds in the cooler seasons, and as I make my way around this place I often end up stopping here.

The stark tree stands alone at the edge of a pond, and there are often birds in its branches. Somewhere I have a photograph in which the branches are nearly full of red-winged blackbirds, and I’ve seen larger birds there, too. I’ve encountered it in completely clear conditions and in fog so thick that it was barely visible. This morning started out with some fog, but not much by wet-season San Joaquin Valley standards, and some sun made it through within a few minutes of sunrise. The foggy atmosphere stuck around enough to soften the light and mute colors a bit, but visibility was good and it was possible to see the blue sky above, with its layers of diminishing fog near the ground, lighter clouds beyond, and the blue sky above all else.

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

Dawn Sky and Marsh

December 4, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Fog-filled dawn sky above a California Central Valley marsh

This is another photograph that sits on the interesting (to me, anyway!) boundary between wildlife/nature and landscape photography. I was here to photograph migratory birds – at least that is what I told anyone who was interested in my goal – but it is often a bit more complex than that. The sources of the complexity range from the question of just what a wildlife photo should/could be, to the relationship between wildlife and landscape in my photography, to the role of opportunism in photography… and the practical matter of what to do when the birds are not where you are!

I began this morning’s photography with some scenes with nearby bird in the foreground water and the sun rising through dense fog in the distance. Then I decided to move along through this area a bit, initially hoping to find cranes and certain other birds along a west-facing section of this wildlife reserve. The birds had their own ideas about where to be and what to do on this morning, and they apparently did not include settling in near or flying directly over my position. But as the early morning fog drifted in and out, it revealed the muted color of the dawn sky so I stopped and made a few more photographs that were (maybe) more about the landscape (and atmosphere and light and, in my mind, sounds) than about the birds themselves. If you look closely, though, you will see a trio of sandhill cranes passing over the marsh and if you look really close you might notice a lot of other smaller birds here and there, too.

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

Sunrise, Fog, Marsh

November 28, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Happy Thanksgiving 2013!

Autumn sun rises through fog about California Central Valley marshland

I wanted to photograph migratory birds at sunrise in the San Joaquin Valley, so I was on the road from the San Francisco Bay Area shortly after 4:00 AM. As I drove it seemed like it might be a perfectly clear day, but on the last few miles of my drive I hit fog – thick enough fog to slow my progress considerably. I regard this as good news when I’m photographing birds out here, as drifting fog and mist makes for interesting conditions for photography, far more than clear skies.

I arrived at my destination, and the fog was so thick that I couldn’t see the morning light beyond the general increase in ambient light levels. However, as I stopped to see what birds might be about I noticed that the sun was barely visible through the low fog and some more distant clouds. At first it was so faint that it was possible to miss it, and as the fog drifted it occasionally completely muted the light of the sun. But after a few more minutes, as the sun rose higher the fog drifted and dissipated just a bit, and the globe of the rising sun become visible through the thick atmosphere, partially blocked by a layer of mid-level clouds.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: bird

Ross’s Geese, Dusk

Tree and Marsh

Dawn Sky and Marsh

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