Tag Archives: fall

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

Great Blue Heron, Foggy Pasture

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Great Blue Heron, Foggy Pasture - A long great blue heron overlooks a pasture in clearing fog, Merced National Wildlife Refuge, California
A long great blue heron overlooks a pasture in clearing fog, Merced National Wildlife Refuge, California

Great Blue Heron, Foggy Pasture. San Joaquin Valley, California. November 25, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A lone great blue heron overlooks a pasture in clearing fog, San Joaquin Valley, California

I photographed this critter on my first bird photography trip of the season in the Central Valley of California, during which I visited several wildlife refuges in the Merced area. In typical Central Valley form, the day started out very foggy – tule fog hugged the valley floor and obscured the view in many places. By late morning most of the fog had dissipated, and hazy light came through the still-humid cool-season atmosphere.

When I first arrived at this refuge, the fog was so thick that it was more or less impossible to photograph the birds – though I tried! Eventually I reconsidered and did some landscape photography in the mysterious atmosphere of the thick fog. As it finally began to clear, I turned my attention back to the migratory birds. I found this solitary blue heron in a pasture at the far corner of the refuge, and I used my car as a “blind” to eventually pull almost parallel to it on the gravel access road, then stopping to make a series of telephoto shots with the foggy pasture as the backdrop.

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: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Wildlife

Ross’s Geese Fill the Sky

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Ross's Geese Fill the Sky - A large flock of Ross's geese fill the dusk sky during the fly-in, San Joaquin Valley, California
A large flock of Ross’s geese fill the dusk sky during the fly-in, San Joaquin Valley, California

Ross’s Geese Fill the Sky. San Joaquin Valley, California. November 25, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A large flock of Ross’s geese fill the dusk sky during the fly-in, San Joaquin Valley, California

I photographed these birds on my first visit of the season to the San Joaquin Valley wildlife refuges… on a “wild goose chase” to find the Ross’s geese and other migratory birds out there. I spent the entire day in the general area, starting and ending at this refuge since it seems to be one of the more reliable locations in this area for finding the geese.

When I returned in the early evening it was perhaps an hour before sunset. I did a slow drive around the refuge, looking for geese. I saw a few, but they were mostly a bit too far away and out in the marshes where I would not really be able to photograph them. However, as I continued to look, I began to see the first hints of the evening fly-in across on the far side of the refuge, where groups of geese were flying over and an occasional flock would rise and circle for a minute or two. I headed over that direction to find a very large flock in a pasture area not far from the road. As I watched, they rose up in masse, circled the refuge, and then landed more or less where they had started. This is behavior that I recognize from previous visits, and I knew there was a very good chance that they would do it more than once, so I put a long lens on the camera and got out my tripod. (I might shoot birds handheld during the day, but in the evening when the light dims I prefer to use the tripod.) Sure enough, the flock soon lifted off again, once more circling the wider expanse of the refuge, and filling the dusk sky as they came close to my position.

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.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Canyon Bottom, Red Rock, and Trees

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Canyon Bottom, Red Rock, and Trees - Red rock sandstone terrain, trees, and brush line a canyon bottom in the high country of Zion National Park
Red rock sandstone terrain, trees, and brush line a canyon bottom in the high country of Zion National Park

Canyon Bottom, Red Rock, and Trees. Zion National Park, Utah. October 22, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Red rock sandstone terrain, trees, and brush line a canyon bottom in the high country of Zion National Park

Yes, I’m still working that vein of October 2012 Utah photographs! This one came from a productive day, though it wasn’t an easy one, during which we spent a lot of time along the Mount Carmel Highway that passes through the high country of the park, looking for fall color and juxtapositions of light and rock and trees.

This rough terrain varies in its susceptibility to being photographed as the light changes. Areas that might be muted while in shadow can become highlighted and separated from background terrain when the sun strikes them. On the other hand, certain subjects such as fall foliage may be almost impossible to photograph in direct light, but when they fall into shadows the soft and diffuse light can change them. This photograph combines the shadows and the direct light, with the sun lighting a few trees, especially those at the top of the foreground red rock, and letting them stand out against the background terrain that is in the shadows.

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.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Cactus, Escalante Canyon, Fall

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Cactus, Escalante Canyon, Fall - Cactus plants grow in front of brilliant fall colors along the Excalante River, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
Cactus plants grow in front of brilliant fall colors along the Escalante River, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

Cactus, Escalante Canyon, Fall. Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah. October 29, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Cactus plants grow in front of brilliant fall colors along the Escalante River, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

I saw and stopped to photograph this little cluster of cactus plants on our second, mostly wind free (!) visit to this area of the Escalante. I had just photographed the trees in the far distance of this shot, which grew right next to the river at a place where the trail crosses the stream. As I moved on, the trail rose a bit above the river bed and things seemed a bit less directly affected by the passage of the water in the river – and near here I found this group of cactus plants growing in a clump.

The light was special here. The area of the photograph was in shadow at this time of day, with the sun well behind the high cliff walls that towered overhead. But the light from the west was able to strike the upper walls of the canyon to the east, and this light, warmed in tone by the red sandstone rock, cast a glow down of warm light down into the canyon. It intensified the colors of the cottonwood trees, and cast some better light on the cactus plants.

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.