Tag Archives: birds

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

Geese in Flight, Dusk

February 19, 2015 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Flocks of Ross’s geese in flight in the winter evening sky above the San Joaquin Valley

It was near the end of a full late-January day of winter bird photography in California’s San Joaquin Valley. After seeing fewer birds (Ross’s geese, sandhill cranes, and more) than we expected earlier in the season, the new year had brought increased numbers that reminded me of previous years. We started this day before sunrise and kept at it almost all day, taking only a short break for a visit to a nearby area before returning to again photograph the birds in the late afternoon. As the afternoon wore on we began to look for a likely spot to photograph the birds at the end of the day. They could end up anywhere, but this time they congregated in an accessible spot along the edge of a gravel access road. Several of us parked along this road, positioning ourselves so that a large flock of Ross’s geese that had collected there would be between us and the sunset light on clouds.

The giant flock of Ross’s geese gradually edged to the east, and we moved several times in order to keep them positioned for best light and background. There was some continuous coming and going as birds flew off to other groups or flew in to join this one, but for the most part things were rather calm. Then, for no clear reason (an eagle flying overhead? Something else?) the entire flock lifted off suddenly right in front of us. This moment, which I have seen before, is unforgettable, not just for the huge clouds of birds turning and gradually spreading in the sky, but also for the sound — wild cries as the birds lift off, and the rushing noise of thousands of wings suddenly beating.

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, Photographs: Wildlife

Ross’s Geese, Evening

February 13, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Ross’s geese on a winter evening in the San Joaquin Valley

The first day of 2015, spent in the San Joaquin with friends and fellow photographers, began in tule fog. However, the fog cleared earlier than it sometimes does, and most of the day ended up sunny, though with the typical Central Valley haze in the air. We photographed through the morning, took a long break for lunch, and then returned to photograph here again in the afternoon.

A few weeks earlier there had been almost no geese around, but a big group of them showed up to join our New Year’s Day party, and in the evening we found them settling in on pasture land. Here the group stretches of into the distance, a row of big trees is on the horizon, a few birds in the air, and the day is almost over.

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

Sandhill Cranes, Blue Sky

February 12, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A trio of sandhill cranes against the blue winter sky over the San Joaquin Valley

Today’s photograph is a plain, straight-up bird photograph of three sandhill cranes flying above me against the blue winter sky in California’s San Joaquin Valley. It is another of my New Year’s Day photographs, for our trip to this area to greet the dawn of the new year and share the experience with a few photographer friends and a few thousand feathered friends!

The day began, as it usually does out here in the winter, in fog. We photographed the sun rising through the fog and then moved on to photograph the frosty landscape and other birds along the gravel road that we traveled. This was not a tremendously foggy day, and eventually the fog gave way to hazy sunlight and later on to beautiful blue skies. The cranes were plentiful on New Year’s Day, and we had several good opportunities to photograph them.

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

Sandhill Cranes, Fog

February 11, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A flock of sandhill cranes flies low above foggy San Joaquin Valley wetlands.

I often ponder the relationship between my landscape photography and bird photography. I’d have to admit that one reason for photographing the birds is that it provides a great reason to spend days out in this foggy winter landscape of California’s Great Central Valley, a landscape quite different from others that I photograph. This land is almost completely flat, and the fog cuts off even the distant view of the mountains to the west and east. In the fog there is no sky, and there is barely a horizon, and the everything seems quiet — despite all those birds! — and mysterious.

While I’m out there with my camera, trying to make photographs of birds, I’m also on the lookout for landscape scenes that somehow embody the feelings of being in this place in the winter. Every so often all of the pieces fall into place, often quickly and almost without warning, and a simple scene emerges, as this one did. I think my primary frame of reference was the horizon fading in the fog, the scattered clumps of obscured trees, and the glowing atmosphere — and it was almost pure luck that this group of cranes entered the scene at just this moment.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: birds

Geese in Flight, Dusk

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Ross’s Geese, Evening

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Sandhill Cranes, Fog

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

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