Tag Archives: flight

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: Wildlife

Three Pelicans in Flight, Waddell Beach

Leave a comment
Three Pelicans in Flight, Waddell Beach

Three Pelicans in Flight, Waddell Beach. Pacific Coast, California. December 4, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Three pelicans, blurred by their motion, fly just above the wet sand of a Pacific Ocean beach.

It has been a busy week and it promised to remain busy next week as well, so I decided to make a quick trip over the hill to the Pacific coastline north of Santa Cruz this afternoon with a vague plan to shoot some seascapes and whatever else might come up. The weather today was a type of typical central California winter weather – some tule fog in the morning that cleared to hazy light… perfect for photography in my book! I was hoping for something like this on the coastline, too.

When I arrived I found that it was even more murky along the coast (and colder!) than back home. I finally ended up at the beach where Waddell Creek enters the Pacific and pulled over to stop before turning around and starting back. At just that moment two large groups of pelicans were coming in from the south and landing among sea gulls on the beach. I quickly put the long lens on the camera and very soon the group of birds took off and headed across the shoreline in front of me.

Most often I try to make wildlife photographs as sharp as possible, but at the moment the birds took off that just wasn’t going to be possible. I had a 400mm lens on the camera, the light was very murky, my ISO was still at 100… and the birds were in flight now! So I tracked them as they flew past, blurring the background surf and sand and letting their wings blur as well. In the end, I feel that this blurry shot in which everything seems to be in motion better suits the subject and perhaps conveys the atmosphere of the scene better than sharper photos might. (I later adjusted everything and captured a few more traditionally sharp pelican shots – and in this light they strike me as pretty boring!)

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

keywords: pelican, bird, marine, pelagic, brown, pacific, ocean, sea, coast, shore, shoreline, beach, sand, wave, surf, motion, fast, low, fly, blur, wing, formation, water, reflection, shadow, beak, bill, flight, california, usa, nature, travel, scenic, stock, waddell, big basin, state, park

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: Wildlife

Young Elephant Seal Among Gulls

Leave a comment
Young Elephant Seal Among Gulls

Young Elephant Seal Among Gulls. Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery, California. July 2, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell. – all rights reserved.

Seagulls take to the air around a young elephant seal at the Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal rookery, California.

This young elephant seal had just begun to wriggle its way up the beach at the Piedras Blancas elephant seal rookery when the flock of birds in front of it began to take to the air. A moment later there was a veritable cloud of birds surrounding this animal.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: elephant, seal, rookery, beach, shore, piedras, blancas, california, usa, wildlife, sea, mammals, seagulls, flock, flight, alight, wing, beak, orange, water, beach, wave, surf, nature, wildlife, gull, sand, young, stock, marine

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: Wildlife

Flock of Gulls

Leave a comment
Flock of Gulls

Flock of Gulls. Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery, California. July 2, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A huge flock of gulls takes to the air at the Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery, California.

While photographing the elephant seals last weekend at the Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery just south of the Big Sur coastline of central California, an absolutely flock of shore birds took flight above the beach. I quickly lifted the camera up from the elephant seals and photographed into the cloud of birds as it rose and turned above the beach. While other photographs in the series show an even greater density of birds, this one shows some of the individuals – at least in the larger versions on my computer screen.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: gull, sea, seagull, shore, bird, marine, fly, flight, flock, mass, beach, ocean, sea, pacific, coast, wave, foam, wing, dense, wildlife, animal, nature, california, usa, piedras blancas, elephant seal, rookery, highway, one, 1, wild, beak, feather, central, stock

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Pigeon, Yerba Buena Gardens Fountain, Buildings

Leave a comment
Pigeon, Yerba Buena Gardens Fountain, Buildings

Pigeon, Yerba Buena Gardens Fountain, Buildings. San Francisco, California, July 1, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A pigeon alights at the edge of a fountain/pond at Yerba Buena gardens downtown San Francisco buildings beyond.

I photographed this on my first “San Francisco Photo Walk” of this summer season. The routine is that I catch a very early train to San Francisco, arriving in the city a few minutes before 7:00 a.m. Then, depending upon the weather and other factors, I wander off somewhere in The City looking for photographs. On this day I started with a ramble up The Embarcadero, photographing the South Beach yacht harbor, a old guy standing in the doorway of the Java Hut, a bunch of interesting old dilapidated waterfront structures and so forth as I walked. Once I reached the Ferry Building I headed up into The City, finally heading south toward the train station by way of Yerba Buena Gardens. I stopped here to photograph the main grassy area when I spotted this pigeon at the end of an elevated pond in which the distant buildings were reflected.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: san francisco, california, usa, summer, city, urban, travel, church, steeple, brick, cathedral, pigeon, bird, wings, flight, stretch, water, fountain, reflection, yerba buena, garden, trees, metreon, marriott, fog, sky, skyline, downtown, city, urban, hotel, pond, landscape, stock