Tag Archives: evening

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Geese, Pasture, Dusk

March 14, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A small group of Ross’s geese feed in a San Joaquin Valley pasture as dusk arrives

As a winter afternoon begins to turn into evening in the San Joaquin Valley on a day of photographing migratory birds, a familiar ritual begins, with variations depending on various factors — the weather, the month, and which birds are about. Not long before it becomes too dark to photograph I begin to seek out a place to be at the end of the day. The ideal locations includes some combination of interesting birds, a compelling sky, and a location that lets me combine the two.

This was a rather quiet evening, and it had the feeling of being late in the winter season. The numbers of birds had diminished quite a bit, even compared to only a couple of weeks earlier. High clouds and haze filled the sky and began to take on the colors of evening. We went to one likely bird spot, found few birds, spotted a fly-in some distance away, and headed over to this spot where a group of Ross’s geese was on the ground, feeding in a pasture. As the last light angled across the birds, I made this photograph of mostly sky, one of the last of the day.

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

Sunset Sky, Trees

March 5, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Winter sunset sky above San Joaquin Valley trees

After a weekend photographing (and socializing!) in Yosemite Valley we headed back toward the San Francisco Bay Area, leaving the Valley early enough to make a stop along the way at one of our favorite bird locations. We arrived in the late afternoon and found a medium size group of Ross’s geese on a pond, but too far from us to photograph them effectively. What’s more, as we watched they began to leave, and before long there were few left at all. However, off in the distance I thought I saw groups of them beginning to land in a pasture next to a roadway that would provide access, so off we went to check this out.

There was a decent sized flock there, but they also moved off from our position and were just a bit too far away for great photography. We waited for a while, hoping that they might move back our way, but it never happened. However, the sky compensated a bit — just after the sun set a beautiful, colorful glow appeared in the western sky and I photographed the effect above a row of trees that I’ve had my eyes on for some time.

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

Ross’s Geese, Evening

February 13, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Ross’s geese on a winter evening in the San Joaquin Valley

The first day of 2015, spent in the San Joaquin with friends and fellow photographers, began in tule fog. However, the fog cleared earlier than it sometimes does, and most of the day ended up sunny, though with the typical Central Valley haze in the air. We photographed through the morning, took a long break for lunch, and then returned to photograph here again in the afternoon.

A few weeks earlier there had been almost no geese around, but a big group of them showed up to join our New Year’s Day party, and in the evening we found them settling in on pasture land. Here the group stretches of into the distance, a row of big trees is on the horizon, a few birds in the air, and the day is almost over.

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

Geese, Winter Dusk Sky

January 28, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Geese fly above California’s San Joaquin Valley in dusk light at the end of a winter day

Out here in the San Joaquin Valley winter wetland landscape, I never know for certain what the end of the day will bring. Will it be an evening when tens of thousands of birds — cranes and geese and others — are everywhere, periodically erupting into noisy flight? Or will it be a quiet evening with only a few birds? It is often foggy out here in the winter, and that fog might clear and bring evening colors or it might stick around so that the gray simply becomes darker. If the fog does clear, will it reveal a perfect blue sky or a sky with clouds from a passing weather front?

There were plenty of surprises on the late-January evening. One pleasant surprise was that a number of friends/photographers also showed up, and we often photographed together though the day and on into the evening. And in a season when it has sometimes seemed like the geese had gone elsewhere, there were huge flocks of them everywhere, and larger than usual groups of sandhill cranes joined in the party. The fog did clear, and at dusk the sun lit high clouds above the remaining valley haze. And as the day ended flocks of birds became very active, suddenly taking to the air and forming giant clouds of noisy birds that swirled in circles. This was nearly my final photograph of the day, made as some of those groups flew above the pastureland in front of rows of trees in the fading light.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: evening

Geese, Pasture, Dusk

Sunset Sky, Trees

Ross’s Geese, Evening

Geese, Winter Dusk Sky

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