Tag Archives: flight

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Cranes Before Sunrise

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Cranes Before Sunrise
Sandhill cranes in wetlands before sunrise.

Cranes Before Sunrise. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sandhill cranes in wetlands before sunrise.

There are many special times of day out in the wetlands at this time of year, but I love these moments just before sunrise, especially on foggy mornings. The fog, even somewhat thin fog like this, shrinks your world and makes the scene more intimate. It also mutes the light and somehow adds to the quiet and tranquility of the scene.

On this November morning I decided to place my bets on this scene, stopping here and photographing as I waited for the first direct light to strike the birds after sunrise. This hour is a time of transition for the birds, who generally start to become more active as they prepare to depart in the early light. And sure enough, by the time I finished here most of them took off in small groups.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Crane Departure, Morning

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Crane Departure, Morning
Sandhill cranes take to the air in morning light above Central Valley wetlands.

Crane Departure, Morning. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sandhill cranes take to the air in morning light above Central Valley wetlands.

In my experience, bird photography often involves a whole lot of sitting around, thinking about where the birds might be, stopping and watching and hoping that they will engage in some interesting behavior. The actual picture making can take up a small percentage of the total time on task, with vast slow times in between. (And that’s not even counting the long drives — usually in the dark — to get there and back.)

My photographs of sandhill cranes on this autumn morning might be illustrative. I drove two hours in darkness to get here a half hour before dawn. I followed a levee road out into agricultural and wetland country, not seeing all that many birds, at least not of the sort I was looking for. Eventually, in a place where I was not necessarily expecting to find them, I came upon a large flock of sandhill cranes in a pond. It was still before sunrise when I decided to stop and see what developed here. I made a few quick images in the low light, but then I mostly just sat there and… watched. Eventually some of the birds became more active and a bit later the first semi-directional sunrise light came weakly through the fog. And a few minutes after that happened small groups of the birds began to depart. Then they were gone and… not much else happened until I left a few hours later.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Flying Above the Flock

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Several Ross’s geese in flight above the flock on a foggy morning.

Flying Above the Flock. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Several Ross’s geese in flight above the flock on a foggy morning.

This photograph looks both backwards and forwards. It is retrospective in the sense that it comes from a season that has already passed and from eight years ago. I don’t recall if I was in this place by myself or with friends — I think it was with friends — but I do recall a very, very foggy morning, with the Central Valley tule fog making it difficult to see any distance away. When I made the photograph it had cleared a little bit, but even very close birds were somewhat obscured. I caught this group as they circled around to land and join the flock.

The photograph looks ahead because the season when I photograph these birds is almost here. Some of them have already arrived in California’s Great Central Valley, though the larger groups won’t be here for a bit yet. But by the end of November I’ll be heading out there frequently, typically on a cold and foggy morning well before sunrise, to spend the day with thousands of them.

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 | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

December Geese

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December Geese
Migratory geese flock in Central Valley pastures on a foggy morning.

December Geese. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Migratory geese flock in Central Valley pastures on a foggy morning.

The experience of photographing winter’s migratory birds in California might be divided into several sorts of exercise. One is looking for the birds, often without finding them or perhaps spotting them too far away to photograph. Then there is the experience, after not finding them, of waiting for their hoped-for arrival, perhaps spending time doings something else entirely. When they do show up we then watch, often making a few hopeful initial photographs as they do the same things we’ve photographed before.

Sometimes we manage to get very close — occasionally because the geese, by some miracle, come to us, rather than due to our skills are finding them. The geese have work to do, and they seem almost oblivious to our presence as they feed. The flocks often move slowly across the landscape, producing a remarkable low, droning sound. If you have watched them long enough you know that eventually they will move, sometimes by leaving in groups that follow one after another, but sometimes in a sudden and virtually unpredictable eruption of flight that produces first a sort of “ripping” sound as thousands of pairs of wings flap and the flock becomes airborne.

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 | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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