Tag Archives: central

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

Sandhill Cranes, Dusk

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Sandhill Cranes, Dusk - A flock of sandhill cranes against the dusk sky above the Merced National Wildlife Reserve, California.
A flock of sandhill cranes against the dusk sky above the Merced National Wildlife Reserve, California.

Sandhill Cranes, Dusk. Merced National Wildlife Refuge, California. January 28, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A flock of sandhill cranes against the dusk sky above the Merced National Wildlife Reserve, California.

The sandhill cranes are amazing creatures. On the ground they seem rather ungainly, but in the air they seem, to me at least, to fly with remarkable grace and strength. Several things can make them tricky to photograph. On the ground, they are frequently in less than photogenic locations such as turned under fields, and they are skittish, moving away quickly if you come too close. In flight they can appear and disappear quickly, and if you aren’t looking the right direction you can miss them as they fly over. And they seem to come in waves – you can wait for a while without seeing any of them, let down your guard and become distracted, the suddenly groups of them seem to appear.

I had fewer opportunities to photograph them close up at Merced National Wildlife Refuge on this evening than I had earlier in the day back north at Woodbridge Road. But a few did come close and I managed to photograph this portion of a large group that flew over as the evening light was turning portions of the sky pink and purple.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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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

Solitary Bird, Twilight Sky

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Solitary Bird, Twilight Sky - A solitary bird perchs against the twilight sky in a tree at the Merced National Wildlife Reserve in California's Central Valley.
A solitary bird perchs against the twilight sky in a tree at the Merced National Wildlife Reserve in California's Central Valley.

Solitary Bird, Twilight Sky. Merced National Wildlife Reserve, California. January 28, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A solitary bird perchs against the twilight sky in a tree at the Merced National Wildlife Reserve in California’s Central Valley.

On this last weekend of January, 2012, I spent my Saturday photographing migratory birds and other related subjects in the Central Valley of California with my friend David Hoffman. We started before dawn south of Sacramento along Woodbridge Road, moved to the Cosumnes River Wildlife Reserve around midday, and then ended up shooting until well after sunset at the Merced National Wildlife Reserve further south down the valley.

At this time of year, one of the most amazing wildlife miracles takes place just over the hill from coastal California as migratory come south to spend the winter in the wetlands of the Central Valley. I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I spent almost my entire life as a Californian unaware of this, even though I’ve always spent a lot of time in the outdoors and even though I had friends who did know about this. On the other hand, it was quite an experience to “discover” this annual event just last year when a friend happened to mention the Woodbridge Road area to me one day.

This photograph is the very last photograph I made on this trip and it was getting quite dark by this time. (EXIF file viewers may notice that the exposure was over three seconds long. I think I need to thank that bird for holding so still!) I had been so focused on looking at the scene through the viewfinder and on making photographs that when I finally looked up from the camera I was shocked to realize just how dark it had become!

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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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

Winter Tree

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Winter Tree - A winter-dormant tree is backlit by morning sun in the grasslands of the Calero Hills, California.
A winter-dormant tree is backlit by morning sun in the grasslands of the Calero Hills, California.

Winter Tree. Calero Hills, California. December 24, 2011. © Copyright 2011 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A winter-dormant tree is backlit by morning sun in the grasslands of the Calero Hills, California.

This tree and I are old friends at this point. (If you were to snoop around enough at my web site you might find other photographs of the same tree.) It is at a local county park where I have hiked for many years, and it is not far from the parking lot at the park, sitting on the far side of a small pond and somewhat inaccessible. So I almost always pass it at the start of any hike there, and I have photographed it in just about any conditions that you can imagine: summer heat, morning, evening, fog…

I hadn’t been there for a while, but I managed to find time for a short hike on Christmas Eve day this year. The trail approaches the small pond near the tree by ascending up a very shallow valley. There are thick reeds growing around the pond, and often an egret can be found at the lake. With that possibility in mind, I usually approach the pond slowly and quietly and often with my long lens already on the camera. I did so on this day… but no egret! The water level was very low after a fall season with almost no rain, so there were few birds there at all. But at just about the time I arrived the sun was beginning to peak over a nearby hill and it was back-lighting this tree against the still shaded grass-covered hillside beyond.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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: Ocean & Coast

Rocky Creek Bridge, Sunset

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Rocky Creek Bridge, Sunset - Sunset light illuminates the Rocky Creek Bridge, winter surf, a natural arch, and a rugged section of the Big Sur coastline.
Rocky Creek Bridge, Sunset - Sunset light illuminates the Rocky Creek Bridge, winter surf, a natural arch, and a rugged section of the Big Sur coastline.

Rocky Creek Bridge, Sunset. Big Sur Coast, California. December 18. 2011. © Copyright 2011 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunset light illuminates the Rocky Creek Bridge, winter surf, a natural arch, and a rugged section of the Big Sur coastline.

This is, for me, essentially the prototypical Big Sur coastline photograph. The Rocky Creek bridge spans, not surprisingly, the canyon holding Rocky Creek, located in a bay not far from the well-known Rocky Point south of Carmel, California along the coast highway. This little scene holds most of the elements that we identify with this area: the old coast highway bridge with its curving support structures, turbulent surf, headlands and bluffs, a small beach, steep cliffs dropping into the ocean, and sea stacks, rocky islands, and natural arches.

I have photographed almost this exact same scene many times, but with the variables of season, weather, light, and surf I keep coming back. I have several black and white photographs of the scene that are among my favorites, but I have been trying to get a color photograph for some time. It turns out to be a bit trickier than it might seem. I wanted sun, but not too much sun. In the wrong light, the colors in the scene can be difficult with a lot of neutral gray, brown and dark greens. In the morning the light comes from behind the bridge, in the midday hours the light (when it isn’t foggy!) can be overly harsh, and in the evening fog and offshore clouds can interrupt the light.

On this visit to the Monterey Peninsula area I had several opportunities to photograph this spot in mostly clear weather and near sunset when the light comes from the right side and takes on the warmer, saturated “golden hour” quality. I shot it on two evenings. On one the light went flat too quickly when the sun dropped behind clouds parked well off shore. The same thing almost happened on this evening and, in fact, shortly after I made this exposure the light went flat. But before that happened I got a few moments of this beautiful, warm, low angle light coming from the sun as it dropped toward the horizon and lit up the bridge and portions of the rocky terrain.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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.