Tag Archives: clouds

Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Pacific Northwest, Photographs: Wildlife

Trumpeter Swans and Clouds

December 19, 2012 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Four trumpeter swans on a raining day in Skagit Valley, Washington

I visited the Seattle area in early December for mostly non-photographic purposes, but found myself with with an open schedule on the day when my departing flight was not scheduled to leave until evening. I wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to do some photography, so I considered street photography in downtown Seattle (plus a museum visit). Then I remembered that I had shot in Skagit Valley last year at roughly the same time and had found lots of interesting birds to photograph – trumpeter swans, eagles, snow geese, and more.

On this trip I wasn’t exactly equipped for bird photography, at least not the sort I would usually do, but I did have a 70-200mm zoom and I know it is possible to make interesting bird photographs with such a lens. So I was up fairly early for the one hour drive north. It rained off and on during my drive, and it was still mostly cloudy and gray when I arrived to find trumpeter swans in their usual spots on the winter fields. (Later I would also find some snow geese, but I’ll save that story for now.) Typically, I would photograph this subject with my 100-400mm zoom, but having nothing longer than 200mm in my bag, I had to think a bit differently about how to photograph these birds. Several strategies worked. One was to use my rental car as a “blind” and slowly and carefully position myself where they might be close enough to photograph with that lens. Another approach was to basically shoot landscape, but include the birds in the scene. The third option, used in this photograph, was to find a spot along one of the country roads where the birds were likely to pass directly overhead or nearly so and wait. These birds have a style of flight that somehow reminds me of a very large jetliner. The use a very low angle take-off, seeming almost as if they are too massive to climb much faster. But once in flight they are beautiful and graceful with their long necks and generally smooth mode of flight. In this photograph I watched as they passed in front of darker rain clouds before making the exposure, isolating the birds against the clouds and with no frame of reference on the ground.

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: Arizona, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: The Southwest

Storm, Monument Valley

December 12, 2012 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Black and white photograph of incoming storm clouds looming over Monument Valley, Arizona

As we moved on into and through the Monument Valley area, the weather and light conditions were constantly changing. One moment we would be in the midst of a heavy downpour, then we would emerge into the bright sunlight, made brighter by the contrast with the nearby gloom of a passing shower. We were traveling west, and even when the sun was out it seemed like there was a big cloud ahead, ready to drop more rain on us. The wind howled continuously, whether we were in sun or rain.

When I took this photograph we were momentarily in the sun – though that wind hardly allowed it to become warm. Looking around our locations I could see pouring rain, bright sunshine, and more incoming clouds. Despite the bright sunshine on the butte at lower left and the slightly obscured sunlight on the rocky hills beyond, in the distance there was a very large and very ominous cloud, pouring rain onto the desert. However, in virtually every way, I preferred this wild weather – even with the wind – to the alternative of boring blue skies!

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Coastal Bluffs in Sunset Light

December 11, 2012 G Dan Mitchell 5 Comments

Sunset light momentarily illuminates coastal bluffs near Davenport, California

This photograph or one very much equivalent to it might have been made in any of perhaps thousands of locations along the California coastline, given the right time of year, the right atmospheric conditions, and the right light. With just a bit of looking around, these views from promontory bluffs, looking down the coastline past a series of other rugged bluffs are characteristic of the area. This spot happens to be near the small coastal town of Davenport, California just north of Santa Cruz.

The photograph illustrates one thing about my orientation to photographing the coast line and also illustrates something about light. About the coastline… my favorite times of the year on the coast are not the typical peak tourist season times, but instead are during the late fall through early spring period. Not only is coastal fog much less likely – though still possible! – but the ocean is more interesting and variable under the influence of winter weather, the potential for interesting skies is greater, and the generally lower-angle light creates all sorts of interesting possibilities. The clouds in this photograph, which glow just a bit in the momentary sunset light, are from a weak weather front that passed over during this afternoon along the coast. That weather front leads to my second point about light, which I’ll get to by way of telling part of the story of this afternoon’s photography. When I arrived at this location near the middle of the day, the light seemed very, very unpromising. It wasn’t just the usual nature of midday light, but there was a sort of bland haze in the air, and a shield of approaching clouds was coming down from the north – and as the afternoon wore on it became clear that those thick clouds were going to end up in front of the sun in the late afternoon.

However, sometimes the easiest and most predictable light is the least interesting to shoot in, and the least predictable and sometimes least-promising light can occasionally produce momentary wonders if you watch and are ready for them – or just have enough dumb luck to arrive at the right instant! (On the other hand, you can also watch and wait and, in the end, get… nothing. It goes with the territory!) In this case, I thought about two things. First, I thought about how I could photograph this “boring” light. The way I look at it, I’m there because the place, the circumstances, and the time are interesting – in which case there must be some way to produce a photograph in those conditions that reflect that. But that’s not my point with this particular photograph. The point that this one so nicely illustrates has to do with that possibility of momentary light on a day that seems unpromising. I ran into a couple of other photographers on the bluff during the “blah light” period. I wasn’t making photographs at that point, instead mostly just looking around. We talked briefly about the currently uninspiring light, but I pointed out that I thought I could see an edge to the cloud shield far off-shore, and if I was right there just might be a brief moment of special light as the sun passed below that edge and before it reached the horizon. Sure enough, with just a few minutes left before sunset, the sun dropped below the clouds and an intense band of extremely warm light began to suffuse the coastline against the backdrop of gray higher clouds. It lasted for only a minute or two, but that light was worth the wait.

Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Pacific Northwest, Photographs: Wildlife

Trumpeter Swans, Trees

December 4, 2012 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Two trumpeter swans fly thorugh trees along the edge of the Skagit River, Washington

I was in the Seattle area over the past few day, taking care of some business, but I unexpectedly found myself with a free day on Monday – planned activities were cancelled, flight didn’t leave until Monday night. Fortunately, there is no shortage of things to see and do in that part of the Pacific Northwest, at least if you don’t mind clouds and rain – and I don’t. So I headed up to Skagit Valley, which I had visited once previously, when I spent a day photographing migratory birds there last winter.

I figured I might again see trumpeter swans and snow geese, and I was not disappointed. There were fewer geese this year – though one spectacular flock – but more trumpeter swans. Since this trip had not been primarily about photography, I did not bring the gear I would usually use for photographing these birds, and the longest lens I had was a 70-200mm zoom. This meant that I could not photograph the birds from any appreciable distance, though I was on the lookout for large flocks that might let me do this. (That didn’t quite happen.) So I had to adopt a different approach. As I watched the swans, I figured out that hardly more than a few minutes would go by before one or two or perhaps a few more would make their long, shallow take-off and then fly at a low elevation to another likely spot. So I moved into some likely spots and shot from inside the car so as to make myself a bit less visible. Eventually a few of the birds flew almost directly over the car, or at least passed near by. These two were flying along a row of trees on the bank of the Skagit River.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: clouds

Trumpeter Swans and Clouds

Storm, Monument Valley

Coastal Bluffs in Sunset Light

Trumpeter Swans, Trees

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