Tag Archives: great

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

Great Blue Heron, Reflection

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Great Blue Heron, Reflection
A great blue heron on the hunt in a Central Valley pond.

Great Blue Heron, Reflection. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A great blue heron on the hunt in a Central Valley pond.

This photograph of a great blue heron comes from this season’s first visit to California’s Central Valley to photograph migratory and other birds. Such visits become a main part of my photography between December and March. The trigger for this early December trek to the Valley was a forecast of fog — and I love foggy days out in the Valley. (On the other hand, I sympathize with locals who get a bit tired of the tule fog when it sticks around for days or weeks.) While the bird populations weren’t exactly overwhelming on this visit — and the great light never quite arrived — it was great to be back in the field on this visit marking the start of a new season.

There is a tremendous variety of birds to photograph in this area. The large flocks of geese and cranes are an obvious attraction, but others have started to grow on me — the redwing and tricolor blackbirds, egrets, ibises, lots of LBBs (little brown birds) and these large and magnificent great blue herons. I almost always encounter them as solitary individuals — thought, oddly, it isn’t unusual to find them in the company of a solitary egret. That was the case with this one. It and its egret companion were busy hunting in the shallow waters of a pond. I stopped and remained in my vehicle to avoid scaring the birds, and eventually they moved quite close to me.

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

December Moon, Bird-Filled Sky

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Full Moon, Bird-Filled Sky
The evening sky above the Great Central Valley fills with migratory birds as the late-autumn moon rises.

December Moon, Bird-Filled Sky. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The evening sky above the Great Central Valley fills with migratory birds as the late-autumn moon rises.

When photographing wildlife, virtually any time of day can present special, even miraculous events — but if forced to pick my favorite time of the day out in bird photography country, it might well be evening. The choice would be difficult, for sure, but some of the most memorable sights and sounds I’ve experienced while photographing autumn and winter birds have occurred late in the day: the evening fly-out of flocks of geese, the rising moon, the return of cranes, and more.

I made this photograph very late on a December day, at time time we might describe as very late afternoon or perhaps early evening. (Yes, technically the moon was not quite full.) It had been foggy for much of the day, but the sky had cleared and was now uniformly blue. It was the time when things are mostly slowing down and evening’s quiet is coming. And then the sky filled with birds for a few moments…

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: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Death Valley, Morning Haze

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Death Valley, Morning Haze
Early morning haze obscures distant mountains and valleys, Death Valley National Park.

Death Valley, Morning Haze. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early morning haze obscures distant mountains and valleys, Death Valley National Park.

The truth of the matter is that I’ve become a bit obsessed with this view. I’ve photographed in morning and evening, in warm weather and in the middle of winter. (It gets cold on these ridges, even in Death Valley National Park.) On one occasion I was forced to turn back by snow on the route. I’ve seen utterly glorious light here, and I’ve encountered light so flat and gray that it wasn’t really worth photographing. Sometimes when I visit the park I tell myself that I won’t go here… and then at some point I almost inevitably end up making the trip.

Most often I’m completely alone here, though on a few occasions I’ve encountered one or two others. This place, and others like it, are remarkable at any time, but even more so when I experience them in solitude. Those mountains in the hazy distance are perhaps 30 to 40 miles away. Behind me the view stretches all the way to the snow-covered Sierra, and off to my left lie peaks well beyond the Nevada border. And everywhere in this vast expanse the landscape is laid bare, raw and visible.

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: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Central Valley Winter Sky

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Central Valley Winter Sky
Pre-sunrise winter sky and thin fog above Central Valley wetlands.

Central Valley Winter Sky. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Pre-sunrise winter sky and thin fog above Central Valley wetlands.

These days it is hard to precisely put my finger on the character of California’s Great Central Valley, comprised of the San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys and the delta where they merge with the San Francisco Bay. Many years ago a drive though the valley was all about agricultural communities, but today things are less homogeneous. Some areas seem more like extensions of the urban San Francisco Bay Area — see towns along the busy I80 corridor and the “bedroom communities” from which long-distance drivers commute in each day. Other towns further into the Valley, including many along Highway 99, have become so large that their agricultural roots seem more distant. To be sure, agriculture remains pervasive in the Valley, as a drive though almost any portion of it will make clear.

Among the features that continue to define this valley for me are its flat geography and the vast expanse of uninterrupted sky. This photograph focuses on both. I chose to place the horizon very close to the bottom of the frame since that’s were it is when we look up at skies like the one in this photograph. It was very early on a late-winter morning, before the sun had come up. The light was blue and thin dawn tule fog was dissipating above these wetlands.

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 | 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.