Tag Archives: evening

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Southern California

Evening Shadows, Pebbles, and Tracks

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Evening Shadows, Pebbles, and Tracks
Evening Shadows, Pebbles, and Tracks

Evening Shadows, Pebbles, and Tracks. Death Valley National Park, California. April 5, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The tracks of a passing animal among small pebbles in evening shadows on the dunes, Death Valley National Park

The day before I made this photograph a huge wind/dust storm had swept across Death Valley, raising tall clouds of dust high into the air, blowing away tents and anything else not firmly tied down, and spreading a thin film of dust into cars, tents, sleeping bags, and just about everything else. The idea of a desert dust/sand storm is interesting and exciting, and there are certainly some elements in this weather that are photographically compelling – but the reality is that they can make like quite difficult for a while.

On the other hand, after the dust storm passes, many of the usual traces of human presence are temporarily erased from sand dune areas. So on this evening after the dust storm I wandered out into low dunes away from the more popular areas and saw virtually no human tracks where I ended up. However, I did non-human tracks, perhaps more clearly given that there were fewer of them and they were isolated against the newly clean and smooth wind-blown sand. I just happened to spot these small tracks (a lizard?) as I entered a small “dune” valley. I first noticed the uppermost shape, which reminded me of a small branch or twig or possibly a bit of coral. I soon noticed the more linear track up the middle of the branch-like tracks – a tail? – and thought I might be able to make a photographic composition out of these tracks, a few small rocks embedded in the sand, and some of the early afternoon shadows across the sand.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist 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: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Wildlife

An Explosion of Geese

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An Explosion of Geese
An Explosion of Geese

An Explosion of Geese. San Joaquin Valley, California. December 11, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An explosion of sudden motion as a flock of Ross’s geese takes to the evening sky over the Central Valley of California.

Watching the Ross’s geese from close by (in this case, using my car as a “blind”), we watch and wait for the inevitably sudden lift-off. I’ve watched and tried to figure out what advance warning there might be that this will happen, and I think I detect something in the sound of the flock or perhaps the way they behave, but I have yet to put my finger on it precisely. Sometimes there can be an obvious cause – as when a young calf romped straight through the flock during this visit – but more often there doesn’t seem to be any obvious thing that triggers it.

When it does happen, it is often an astonishingly sudden event, with thousands of the birds lifting off virtually simultaneously in a maelstrom of flapping wings and squawking cries and then circling the area a few times before (in most cases) settling back down in the same spot or one not far away. Sometime when shooting in low light, such as during the early morning or late evening or when it is foggy, I like to drop the shutter speed and “go with the blur” as I did in this photograph. A close look reveals distinctly goose-like shapes and parts – feet, beaks, wings, and occasional complete body forms – but the overall effect might evoke the fluttering wildness of their lift-off.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist 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: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Juniper Tree, Towers at Base of Sandstone Cliff, Evening

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Juniper Tree, Towers at Base of Sandstone Cliff, Evening
“Juniper Tree, Towers at Base of Sandstone Cliff, Evening” —A lone juniper tree grows among boulders at below sandstone towers at the base of cliffs, Capitol Reef National Park

I made this photograph midway through a trip of about 11 days that took us to a number of locations in Utah. Every such trip seems to have a sort of arc that includes the initial excitement and expectation of heading out into the world to photograph, a settling in period, perhaps a lull in the middle followed by a reconnection to the work, a sense that the trip is ending and there is too much left to do, and the final trip back to the “real world.” This photograph was made near the end of the “lull,” and might have marked the transition back to rededication to the work. On this mid-trip day, we had found ourselves perhaps a bit without direction and one of the members of the group had not been feeling well. At a low point in our energy but perhaps feeling that we should at least carry on and act like we were working, we went to a nearby area of the park in the evening.

At first we had no clear goal in mind, though we sort of stopped and looked around at a few spots, but without really making any serious photographs. Eventually we headed up into a large canyon, first photographing the walls near the start of the canyon and then photographing the canyon itself a bit as the light began to fade. This work went OK, but it didn’t seem to be quite “clicking.” But eventually, in my experience, you get to the point where you sometimes simply accept this as part of the work, trusting that if you keep looking and keep seeing you will eventually find what you are looking for – and that this is far more productive and useful than packing it up when it isn’t working. (Though, to be fair, there are a few times when packing it up and going and having a nice dinner can be a reasonable option!) In any case, we loaded up the vehicle and began to drive back out of the canyon. Looking up at the surrounding canyon walls, we were surprised to find some very unusual post-sunset light. During normal light these canyon walls look very dark and have the intensely “red” quality of the iconic Utah sandstone. But somehow this light seemed to have drained the color from the rocks, creating a de-saturated and almost slightly metallic effect. We quickly stopped an piled out with cameras and tripods and began shooting, and it seemed to me that the connection had been made once again.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

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

Geese and Evening Sky

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Geese and Evening Sky
Geese and Evening Sky

Geese and Evening Sky. San Joaquin Valley, California. January 1, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A motion blurred photograph of Ross’s geese against the evening sky above California’s San Joaquin Valley

Bird photographers might appreciate the thought I had that it might be appropriate to refer to these “BIF” photographs “blurred in flight” shots. (Among bird photographers, “BIF” is short for “birds in flight.”) I guess I could say that I’m photographing “blinds,” or “blurreds,” – or something. In any case, the experimentation with motion-blur abstractions of flying birds continues.

I photographed these Ross’s geese on New Year’s Day 2013, when I met a great group of friends out in the foggy Central Valley to “chase wild geese” and other migratory birds. I made plenty of the usual sharp photographs of birds, but I’ve felt for some time that those do not always succeed in creating some analog of the ephemeral and transitory character of these critters. Plus, I just sort of like the abstraction of they blurred shapes! Some might say that making blurry photographs is a sign of less the competent photography, but I have to say that this isn’t quite as easy as it might seem. There are a lot of things to consider as I make these images. There is a sort of exposure time sweet spot that blurs the birds sufficiently but which still holds enough of their shape to clearly show their nature. I want abstract shapes, but not so abstract that they no longer clearly suggest birds in flight. Secondly there is the matter of background. Ideally, I think I like to locate the flying birds against fairly plain sky with interesting color. This means tracking the birds as they take flight, close to the ground and with “stuff” behind them, waiting for the moment when they break clear of ground and brush and trees and appear against the right sort of sky, but only for a moment before they move too far away. Finally, as I shoot I watch the constantly evolving relationships of position and shape among the birds of the moving flock, and try to capture moments when they briefly align in interesting ways. This group had stretched into a sort of horizontal cloud of birds when I triggered the shutter.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist 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.