Tag Archives: colusa

Photographs: Wildlife

Eagle Among Trees

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Eagle Among Trees
A bald eagle flies through heavy vegetation

Eagle Among Trees. Sacramento Valley, California. January 8, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A bald eagle flies through heavy vegetation

I was up in the Sacramento Valley last winter, visiting several wildlife refuges, when I had the opportunity to photograph several bald eagles. It was not uncommon to find them perched alone in the high branches of tall trees, from which they can presumable observe their surroundings and watch for prey. If I waited long enough, eventually the bird would take flight, giving me a few seconds to try to track the early while firing off a quick series of exposures.

This bird made it doubly tricky. Instead of heading for an open area, it looped back right in among the trees. It is perhaps even a bit difficult to find the eagle through that jumble of branches! I’ll be honest — I’m also sharing their photograph as an example of how amazing modern autofocus systems can be, at least with a bit of practice. The challenges here are quite something — the eagle is flying at a good rate and somehow the camera and I had to keep focus on it despite all of the nearer and farther interference.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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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: Northern California, Photographs: Wildlife

White-Fronted Geese, Dawn Clouds

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White-Fronted Geese, Dawn Clouds
A group of white-fronted geese silhouetted against dawn clouds above the Sacramento Valley.

White-Fronted Geese, Dawn Clouds. Sacramento Valley, California. January 8, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A group of white-fronted geese silhouetted against dawn clouds above the Sacramento Valley.

This is another photograph from the early morning of my one-day visit to wildlife refuges in the Sacramento Valley. Arriving at such a place for the first time a bit before sunrise it is a bit difficult to know what to look for or where to find it. I did quickly spot some birds and at least there was a spectacular dawn sky!

Soon groups of geese began flying above me as they moved towards a nearby pond. I watched and waited and attempted to time photographs for when the birds passed in front of interesting background elements. It is hard to tell, since they are silhouetted against the brighter sky, but this is a group of white-fronted geese.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Bald Eagle in Flight

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Bald Eagle in Flight
A bald eagle flies past above the Sacramento Valley

Bald Eagle in Flight. Sacramento Valley, California. January 8, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A bald eagle flies past above the Sacramento Valley

This past winter was my initiation into photograph bald eagles. Generally speaking, photographing birds is relatively new passion for me, something I’ve now been doing seriously for only few seasons. It began with an accidental encounter with a friend who is a bird watcher of the classic sort — we ran into one another in a line at a coffee stand and she happened to mention a place she visits and for almost no particular reason I decided to go there a few days later. Despite living in California for decades I did not know (I’m now somewhat embarrassed to admit) about the astounding presences of huge numbers of migratory birds in the state every winter. I was hooked, and this has become a focus for my photography every season.

While photographing my favorite geese, herons, cranes, ibises, and so forth, my photography friends would often say things about eagles. When a flock of geese took off all at once, they might say, “an eagle must have scared them.” To be honest, I never saw the eagles, with exception of a few far off glimpses of birds that didn’t look quite like hawks. Then, this past winter, I headed further north, photographing in the Sacramento Valley and all the way up into southern Oregon. In these places I began to encounter bald eagles on a regular basis and I began to learn how to photograph them, a process that continues.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Bald Eagle Takes Flight

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Bald Eagle Takes Flight
A bald eagle leaves its treetop perch and takes to the air

Bald Eagle Takes Flight. Sacramento Valley, California. January 8, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A bald eagle leaves its treetop perch and takes to the air

I had not photographed bald eagles before this past winter season, believe it or not — my attention has been mostly focused elsewhere when I’ve been around bird photography opportunities. From my very limited experience it seems like there are perhaps three phases to photographing these beautiful birds. First, find one (or more) of them — something I’m getting better at now that I understand a bit more where and when to look. Second, find a photographing position and wait — perhaps making photographs while waiting if a clear view of the bird is possible and especially if it is doing something visually interesting. Meanwhile, be ready for the next step… Third, when the bird suddenly and almost without warning takes to the air, be prepared to try to track it while photographing it burst mode during the likely brief interval when it is visible.

That was pretty much the story with this eagle. I found it in nearby trees as I came around a perimeter road at a wildlife refuge, pretty much were you would expect to find such a bird. I pulled over and opened the skylight on my vehicle so that I could have a fairly clear line of sight lookup up toward the tree. I made a few photographs, sat, waited, and then… with virtually no warning the eagle launched itself from the perch, first falling and then quickly catching the air with its large wings before departing through trees for some more distant location.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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