Tag Archives: blue

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

Three Lesser Sandhill Cranes

March 13, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Three lesser sandhill cranes fly against blue sky above the San Joaquin Valley

These beautiful sandhill cranes are found up and down California’s Central Valley and beyond. Many things characterize the winter “bird-scape” in the state, but high on my list is the sound of these birds, whether directly overhead or somewhere off in the fog, invisible but often present in large numbers. They are not as numerous as the geese, but at times their numbers can become quite astounding, especially when they find a good place to feed. I think that they can be a bit awkward looking on the ground, but in flight they are transformed. Their flying pattern features slower wing motion, periods of gliding, a flat trajectory, and often wingtip-to-tail relationships with other cranes.

They aren’t always easy to photograph, though if you come (quietly!) upon a group on the ground and they don’t fly away you can often get good photographs, and you may even see the “dancing cranes” behavior. Photographing them in flight can be just a bit tricky. They seem uneasy about flying directly over humans, and birds that appear headed for your position will often divert at the last moment. Fortunately, they can be very attractive viewed from the side — perhaps more so that a straight-on view or photographed from underneath. These three were part of a larger group that was flying at low elevation between two areas of pasture-land.

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

Two Geese, Reflection, Fog

March 11, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Two geese float on a winter pond in morning fog, Great Central Valley

As is typical, this morning in California’s Great Central Valley began in fog — for so think that it initially obscured almost all potential subjects, at least if they were more than a few yards off of the route. Many times we could hear large numbers of geese and cranes that were not visible in the fog, but eventually some would break off from the flock and fly over and past us.

The fog is among my favorite features of winter in this valley, especially in the lowland wet areas where it can be foggy on many winter days. The fog transforms the landscape in many compelling ways. By obscuring distant detail, subjects can sometimes be seen apart from their regular surroundings. It is possible to make photographs in locations that would have been far too busy in “good” light — the fog selecting obscures of mutes more distant subjects. Here I stopped in a spot where there were few geese at all, though those that were hanging out here we floating serenely on the surface of the pond.

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Before Dawn, Wetlands

January 8, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Pre-dawn clouds and misty light above the Sierra and San Joaquin Valley wetlands

This photograph comes from one of my first trips of this season to photograph migratory birds in California’s Great Central Valley, an endeavor that has come to fascinate me more and more over the past few years. Somewhere in the post-Thanksgiving time frame I become aware that the birds have begun to return, and I soon find time to be out there on beautiful, cold, and often foggy days to photograph them and the winter landscape.

On this season’s first trip I arrived, as I always do, before dawn. The range of possible conditions out here is quite large, and I might find anything from dense fog to rain to perfectly clear skies. This morning brought some high clouds, especially to the east over the Sierra crest, and some scattered pockets of fog. At first the cloudiness made me wonder if there would even be much of a sunrise, but as the light began to appear the sky above the clouds became a bit more

Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

Accessible Entrance

January 4, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A metal door with an accessibility sign

OK, how to explain a photograph like this one? On the first full day of our recent visit to New York City we were out walking around in the Williamsburg vicinity in Brooklyn, and I was taking in the combination of very old stuff, very new stuff, and some very worn and dilapidated stuff. Even for a photographer used to photographing street subjects in San Francisco, many New York neighborhoods are, as they say, photographically “target rich environments,” with lots of things to see.

If I recall correctly, we had walked down a street toward the East River waterfront, passing though an area of older industrial buildings that seems to be converting to modern tech and commercial space. All I remember of the making of this photograph is that I made it more or less while passing by. I was attracted by the wild color and by the seemingly odd placement of the accessibility sign on what looked like a rather unfriendly entrance door.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: blue

Three Lesser Sandhill Cranes

Two Geese, Reflection, Fog

Before Dawn, Wetlands

Accessible Entrance

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