Tag Archives: california

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Pinnacles and Oak Trees

April 3, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Pinnacles tower above a grove of oak trees, Pinnacles National Park

I made this photograph in the late afternoon on the March day when I returned to Pinnacles National Park for the first time in quite a few decades — since before it was a national park! I had arrived early in the morning, when few others were yet there, and loaded up my camera pack to hike up to and along the High Peaks Trail, and impressively narrow and exposed route along a ridge and among the huge rock formations that give the park its name.

Exhausted (I carry a lot of photography gear!) I arrived back at the trailhead in the middle of the afternoon and decided it was time for a snack and a nap. That, by the way, is not an uncommon plan among photographers, who often find that the light at this time of day can be less than inspiring, and a typical day may start with very early photography, end with very late photography, and include some down time in between. As early evening approached I loaded up once again and headed down a nearby canyon that passed by more of the formations, stopping here for a photograph that includes three of the main spring icons of this area: the impossibly green new grass, oak trees, and the rock formations.

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

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

Great Egret Takes Flight

April 2, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A great egret takes flight above San Joaquin Valley wetlands

Egrets are among the easiest birds to find — as long as you go where they are — and also among the most impressive. They are mostly individuals, rarely seen in groups, though occasionally they may collect in numbers of a few dozen in the winter. I typically find them around water, ranging from creeks and drainage canals through ponds and even the ocean shoreline. (There is one small pond not too far from where I live where I can almost always find a single egret in the area, and this has been the case for at least the last fifteen years.)

They don’t initially seem too distressed by human presence, especially if they are hunting and have found a target. However, they have clear boundaries and if you get too close they will suddenly take off, with little warning. They can be quite beautiful in flight, usually moving their wings slowly and even gliding, and they flare their wings impressively as they land. Unfortunately, most often they are flying away from my camera position — so it was special to be able to track this one as it flew past me from right to left.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Trees, Snow-Covered Ledge

April 1, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A group of trees growing on a snowy ledge below Glacier Point

Near the end of February I made a more-or-less annual winter visit to Yosemite Valley. (Not my only time to visit in winter, but I’m often there around the final weekend of this month, during the last few years to attend the opening of the annual Yosemite Renaissance exhibit.) This gave me a few days to photograph in the Valley during winter, which may be my favorite season there — when clouds can ring the Valley and, if I’m lucky, I might catch some snow.

I made this photograph on a very cold morning, photographing from an open meadow location below the face of Glacier Point, where granite ascends abruptly from behind what I’ll always think of as Camp Curry. I went to the meadow before dawn, with a plan to photograph this wall in shadow and then as the first light began to slant across it from the east. This cliff is a cold place this time of year — most of the time in shadow, dusted with snow, and with frozen water everywhere. The blue-tinged shadow light only increases the effect in this scene of a small group of trees managing to eke out an existence on an angled rock ledge.

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

Birds, Fog, Dawn

March 31, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Birds fly over foggy Central Valley wetlands at dawn on a winter day

It is only the last day of March… and I’m already missing these winter wetlands with fog and the sound of birds. These places are found up and down California’s Great Central Valley, and each has its own personality. I know I can find eagles at one, night herons at another, cranes at several of them, and huge flocks of Ross’s and snow geese and yet another.

In my view, the best days at these refuges begin before dawn. The air should be cold — at or just below freezing is about right — and there must be at least some fog in the air. I favor thick fog that gradually clears as the morning develops, though on this morning it was thinning even as the sunrise began. The raucous sounds of the birds — mostly geese and cranes — are everywhere, and here and there small groups take off and fly past. If a faint view of the High Sierra emerges, as in this photograph, it is even better.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: california

Pinnacles and Oak Trees

Great Egret Takes Flight

Trees, Snow-Covered Ledge

Birds, Fog, Dawn

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