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

Three Cranes, Winter Sky

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Three Cranes, Winter Sky
Three lesser sandhill cranes against winter blue sky, Central Valley.

Three Cranes, Winter Sky. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Three lesser sandhill cranes against winter blue sky, Central Valley.

This is another “just plain birds” photograph, in this case of a small group of lesser sandhill cranes that flew past my position in mid-morning light on a late-winter day near the end of the migratory bird season at this location. I often try to photograph the birds in some context, whether it is against the landscape of the Great Central Valley or a dramatic winter sky or in tule fog. But sometimes I just go ahead and make a straightforward, no-apologies photograph of birds. Like this one.

At one point some years ago I realized that cranes would often follow the flight paths of other cranes that had just passed by. It occurred to me that instead of waiting for the birds to come to me, I could just move to one of these spots, then sit and wait for them to fly over. I quickly learned that cranes do not like flying over humans. They may begin on a trajectory headed straight for you, but they will almost always divert and curve around. (The direct oversight is so rare that it always surprises me when it does happen.) This trio deflected later than most and flew past quite closely.

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: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Above the Water

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Above the Water
A flock of small birds, reflected in the surface of a winter pond.

Above the Water. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A flock of small birds, reflected in the surface of a winter pond.

These birds move so quickly and follow such unpredictable patterns that they are a real challenge to photograph. The sometimes stay in one place a bit while feeding but then, without much warning that I can detect, the whole flock of them instantly takes to the air, flying closely together and abruptly turning as if they were a single organism. They move quickly enough that it is hard to track them, and when they appear they are often in and out of camera range in a few short seconds.

Quite often they appear against busy backgrounds of grasses and trees and more distant water, and they can easily get lost against these backdrops. (Here their speed can be helpful, as panning with the birds can blur those backgrounds a bit.) It was foggy on this morning, and I chose (very quickly and intuitively!) to photograph them over a patch of uninterrupted water that gradually faded into the fog.

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.

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.

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: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Quartet of Geese

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Quartet of Geese
Four closely-spaced Ross’s geese in flight above the California Central Valley.

Quartet of Geese. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Four closely-spaced Ross’s geese in flight above the California Central Valley.

This is a somewhat straightforward photograph of a small group of Ross’s geese in flight over California’s Central Valley. I made the photograph on a cold January morning back in 2013… which is the sort of thing you might find me doing on January mornings in just about any year.

I often try for some kind of landscape context with these bird photographs, or perhaps some unusual light or color or atmosphere. But this photograph is pretty straightforward — just four geese against the winter sky. One thing I like about it has to do with the positions of the four birds. You can press the shutter a whole lot of times as geese fly by before you get a photograph where four of the birds stand out this clearly and are this 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.

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.