Tag Archives: flock

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Birds, Sunset Clouds

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Birds, Sunset Clouds
Birds fly in a cloud-filled winter sky

Birds, Sunset Clouds. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Birds fly in a cloud-filled winter sky.

This seems to be largely a photograph of sky, but if you look a bit closer you’ll see lines of birds spread across its width. It is a winter sky, looking west very late in the day, just after the sun has set, and the birds are departing in that direction. Surprisingly, the largest group of them are white pelicans, birds that I usually don’t encounter in quite such large numbers. There are a few sandhill cranes mixed in here and there.

As with some much “nature” photography (here I’m also thinking of landscape subjects) a lot happens very quickly at the margins between day and night, the time when arguably the most interesting light is available. Closer to the middle of the day things tend to change more slowly and there may be more time to contemplate. But during that time between not-enough-light-for-photography and middle-of-the-day stability, the conditions are in constant flux, and it is “now or never” for many photographs. In this image an additional dynamic element was added as I timed the exposure to place the birds beneath the curving shapes of the clouds.

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.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Geese in Pre Dawn Sky

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Geese in Pre Dawn Sky
Strings of migratory geese fly high above farm country before dawn

Geese in Pre Dawn Sky. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Strings of migratory geese fly high above farm country before dawn.

I never know exactly what I’ll find when I show up to photograph birds. It might be foggy or the sky might be clear from horizon to horizon. There might be thousands of geese… or none at all. (And when there are none… they might show up later in the day.) The rising sun may produce brilliant colors, or it may be muted by low clouds.

If I recall correctly, we had hoped for fog on this morning — New Year’s Day — but instead found fairly clear weather. There was some thin fog hanging around, but it had more of the quality of a sort of atmospheric haze than of regular fog. And above this haze the clear sky was visible and changing colors in the first light. High above the geese were already active, and long chains of them flew high above us.

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.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Approaching Cranes, Dawn Fog

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Approaching Cranes, Dawn Fog
Sandhill cranes approach through thin morning fog under dawn sky

Approaching Cranes, Dawn Fog. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sandhill cranes approach through thin morning fog under dawn sky.

Mornings in places such as this are a combination of stillness and solitude… and the sounds of many thousands of birds, often quite raucous as they greet the start of a new day. I usually arrive while it is still to dark to photograph, but quickly the light grows and I get to work, since the most interesting opportunities often come quickly as birds fly out and as the light changes.

I love foggy mornings in such places, preferring those that are much foggier than this morning. In fact, the foggier the better! Ideally I’ll start out in thick fog, watch it slowly clear as I work, see the faint directional light of the winter sun emerge. This morning wasn’t quite that foggy, though there was a bit of it around at first light. I stopped to look back towards a grove of cottonwoods, and a flock of sandhill cranes flew straight toward my position.

Birdscapes — David Hoffman and G Dan Mitchell
Birdscapes — David Hoffman and G Dan Mitchell

“Birdscapes” — An exhibit of photography featuring birds in the Pacific Flyway landscape featuring work of David Hoffman and G Dan Mitchell opens this weekend at the Stellar Gallery, 40982 Hwy. 41, Oakhurst, CA near the southern entrance to Yosemite National Park. Opening reception at 5-8:00pm at the gallery. Show runs though mid-March.

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.

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

Commentary, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

White Pelicans, Pond

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White Pelicans, Pond
A row of white pelicans swims sedately in clearing morning fog

White Pelicans, Pond. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A row of white pelicans swims sedately in clearing morning fog.

White pelicans seem to keep to themselves at the locations where I photograph birds. I’ve gotten to know a few small groups here and there, and I’ve noticed a few things about them. During a season they seem to establish a “home base” and stick to it — and I can almost be certain to find them at the current year’s location. They stick together in groups of perhaps a few dozen, spending a lot of time clumped together near the water, seemingly doing next to nothing. In the morning they frequently fly out after many other birds have already done so. And because their groups are relatively small, these fly-outs happen quickly.

This group was a little ways from its usual spot on this day. They had swum — or perhaps more accurately, floated — across a large pond and eventually drifted quite close to me. Their passage was quiet and sedate, with little movement above the water line. Eventually they arrived at whatever point they had selected, and before long there were headed back the way they had come.

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.

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