Tag Archives: dawn

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Distant Sierra, Wetlands Dawn

February 13, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Seen from foggy Central Valley wetlands, dawn comes to the sky above the Sierra Nevada

Driving toward this spot in the pre-dawn hours I encountered the usual winter tule fog as soon as I left the main highway for the narrow back roads that criss-cross the agricultural lands. I figured that it would be a foggy morning out in the wetland with the birds once I got to my destination, but instead the fog thinned as I arrived and, to my surprise, I could see the pre-dawn sky. I stopped, quickly set up my camera for bird photography… and immediately began photographing landscapes!

A bit of thin fogged hugged the ground a ways off in the distance. (And later it would glide back in and cover this area to the point that visibility was near zero.) Above the fog, the ponds, and the scattered trees the silhouette of the Sierra crest stretched from north to south. When I looked closely, I could pick out familiar peaks along the distant skyline. A few birds — geese and cranes — began to fly over, and I made this photograph as the sky lit up just before sunrise.

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

Into Dawn Sky

February 2, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A flock of Ross’s geese takes off into foggy Central Valley dawn sky

I was back in my favorite haunts in California’s Great Central Valley near the end of January, looking for migratory and other birds to photograph, along with the expansive landscapes of this region. After five years of awful drought, the Valley is now full of water again. Ponds are full and many fields have become ponds, and creeks and rivers are flowing once again. It is a beautiful thing to see! The birds are there in abundance — yet, somewhat ironically, the wet conditions have allowed them to find what they need across a larger, more friendly landscape, and sometimes they seem to not be where I expect to see them.

However, on this day there were plenty of birds — more than I’ve seen previously this year. The big flocks of (mostly) Ross’s geese are back and the sandhill cranes are active, too. My drive there was foggy, but it cleared up enough at dawn to give me some colorful sky. Bird action such as that in this photograph is pretty much a constant out here — but often not where I am with my camera! Photographing a lift off from the pond this closely, in such perfect dawn light, with subtle color in the sky depends on a lot of factors all coming together, and most of them are out of my control. The best I can do is to try to be in the right place when and where it might happen and to be ready to react quickly.

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Wetlands, Fog, Dawn Sky

January 31, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Fog blankets Central Valley wetlands beneath the winter dawn sky

For Americans, the world has recently been a wild and unpredictable place, and most everyone is feeling a great deal of angst. (This is particularly true if you belong to any of many common and large groups of America — people whose ancestors were immigrants, people who care deeply about the Constitution and America’s place in the world, people who believe in a country that is open and welcoming, and those of us who value our great public lands.) While there is a lot to do and it is not acceptable for citizens of a representative democracy to turn away from the struggle, one still must take a break at times. This morning was my break.

As I usually do, I arose very early and was on the road way before dawn, completing most of a two-hour drive before the first faint light came to the eastern sky. Turning off the main highway onto narrow country roads I soon ran into winter tule fog. I love the fog, especially for photography, so I was mildly disappointed when it thinned as I reached my destination. However, there was compensation for that feeling when I realized that it revealed the beautiful pre-dawn sky above the gentle fog above these wetlands.

Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Two Sandhill Cranes in Dawn Flight

January 13, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A pair of lesser sandhill cranes flies toward the rising sun

The first birds that attracted my attention when I began to seriously photograph them in California’s Central Valley were not sandhill cranes, but rather geese. A series of coincidences led me to (finally!) “discover” the great winter bird migration, something I should have known about much earlier, having lived in this state for nearly my entire life. I recall one winter drive up the Valley perhaps 15 years ago when I first saw and was amazed by flocks of geese in dusk light above the Sacramento Valley.

Once I started photographing these birds I soon discovered that there’s a lot more going on than those astonishing huge flocks of geese — many other birds, all of them with different behavior patterns and attractions. It did not take long to discover sandhill cranes, birds that I had read about but not understood all the way back in college. While they can be ungainly on the ground, their pattern of flight is often magnificent and their cries now characterize the audio winter landscape of the Valley for me. This pair had just arisen from its overnight home along a wetland pond and was flying past and toward the dawn sun.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: dawn

Distant Sierra, Wetlands Dawn

Into Dawn Sky

Wetlands, Fog, Dawn Sky

Two Sandhill Cranes in Dawn Flight

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