Tag Archives: geese

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

Final Approach

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Final Approach
“Final Approach” — A trio of snow geese lining up to land in a Central Valley pond.

Snow geese and Ross’s geese were my first interest years ago when I began paying serious attention to photographing birds. I had been tuned into California’s natural world for decades, but somehow I had missed the annual bird migrations, so “discovering” them was a thrill. Eventually the geese didn’t like the only thing worth photographing, and I no longer chase after them reflexively. But they still can be compelling — and there’s nothing quite like the sight and sound of thousands of them taking to the sky at once!

I photographed this trio on a late-December day when the numbers of geese were steadily increasing. There are more things to attend to when photographing these birds than you might think. Exposure can be tricky, as their brilliant white plumage can blow out in bright light or turn gray against the sky. Light needs to shine on them from the right direction or their features get lost in shadows. And, of course, you hope that the geese aren’t facing away from you! For this photograph I was in just the right spot as the birds turned toward me and into the breeze to land.

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: Birds, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Two Snow Geese Landing

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Two Snow Geese Landing
“Two Snow Geese Landing” — Two snow geese in the final moments before landing in a Central Valley wetlands pond.

The larger migratory birds often are graceful or powerful in flight, individually or in flocks. But that tends to break down in some ways as they land. They approach the ground, slow to stalling speed, crane necks forward, extend feet downwards, orient their bodies more vertically… and sometimes look downright silly at the last moment. (An exception can be the angle-like uplifted winds of geese in descending groups.) This pair is just at that moment then they transition from flight to landing.

This is a challenging moment to photograph the birds, but knowing a few tings about their behavior can increase your odds. Like airplane pilots, they come around to land facing the wind. If you can position yourself upwind from their likely landing point you get bird faces instead of bird butts. Also, at the last moment they tend to appear in front of distracting backgrounds. Here a larger aperture can blur the background, and looking for backgrounds that don’t include things that you don’t want in your photo — automobiles, buildings, power lines, etc.

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.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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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

Late Winter Flocks

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Late Winter Flocks
Huge numbers of sandhill cranes and several varieties of migratory geese in late winter.

Late Winter Flocks. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Huge numbers of sandhill cranes and several varieties of migratory geese in late winter.

Yes, another “sky full of birds” photograph! It may seem that I”m sharing a lot of them… but it is not anywhere near all of them. And that, of course, brings up one of the great “secrets” of photographing birds: for every good image that “works” there are dozens of others that never see the light of day. Landscapes don’t move (much), so they are more predictable. But most of the time birds are in motion — at least when they are doing interesting things — and it is impossible to control or predict everything that will happen. You can improve your odds over time… but there is still an element of chance..

These fields were full of late season birds — mostly various kinds of geese, but also lots of sandhill cranes and even a few egrets here and there. At this time of year — just before the long migration back to the north — they seem to become extremely active. At the least provocation huge numbers of birds will suddenly and noisily take to the air and circle before finally returning to the field for a while… and then repeating the process a bit 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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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

Geese, Before Sunrise

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Geese, Before Sunrise
Migratory geese in pre-sunrise sky about the Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada crest.

Geese, Before Sunrise. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Migratory geese in pre-sunrise sky above the Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada crest.

On these days photographing migratory birds I arrive in darkness thirty to forty-five minutes before dawn. After driving several hours in the dark, the first thing I do is get out of the car. The first impression I always have is the sound of the birds as they get ready for morning fly-out. It is a wild, raucous thing and it always makes me smile. Before long more and more of the birds take to the air as the first light arrives. The birds flying across this brilliant early morning sky are geese.

This photograph would not have been possible on most days photographing in California’s Great Central Valley, and it depended on a particular conjunction of weather conditions. On the foggy days when I prefer to visit, of course, none of this would have been visible at all. On other clearer days the sky color is much more muted. On this visit a thin dome of clouds covered much of the sky, stretching far to the east beyond the crest of the Sierra Nevada. The first dawn light lit these clouds in a display of intense color.

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.

Blog | About | Twitter | 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.