Tag Archives: light

Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Sandhill Cranes, Winter Morning

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Sandhill Cranes, Winter Morning
A large flock of sandhill cranes in a wetland pond on a winter morning.

Sandhill Cranes, Winter Morning. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A large flock of sandhill cranes in a wetland pond on a winter morning.

The routine on this (almost certainly ) final day of migratory bird photography for this season was much as it always is, though it started at an earlier hour to accommodate the late winter sunrise. Up at three-something AM and on the road after a quick cup of coffee, I arrived here before dawn. I was pleasantly surprised to find a bit of fog in the air as I began to look for a sunrise subject, and before long I found a very large group of sandhill cranes. When everything works out just right there is a short period of beautiful, warm light as the sun comes up, especially on a morning when a bit of fog or haze softens the light.

This group of cranes was part of an extremely large group of them — perhaps as many as I’ve seen at one time. They have a routine, too. At some point around sunrise they typically begin to take to the air in small groups and fly away, and that process began soon after I started to photograph them.

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

Sandhill Cranes, Morning Light

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Sandhill Cranes, Morning Light
“Sandhill Cranes, Morning Light” — A group of sandhill cranes, flying in morning light above California’s Central Valley.

The sandhill cranes are still my favorites among the migratory birds that I photograph every winter. They aren’t quite as abundant, as noisy, or as active as the geese, but they have other attractions. Their characteristic cry is often the first one I hear when I arrive in the field, and their morning take-off often starts my days of photography… and their twilight return concludes it. Their flight patterns are a bit more sedate than those of geese and are characterized by a slower pace of wing motion.

Photographing a group like this can be a bit challenging, and a lot of pieces have to fall into place to make it work. In my experience, flying cranes often tend to divert from their trajectory rather than fly over a photographer, often breaking to one side or the other at the last minute. They also tend to not pay a whole lot of attention to photographic considerations such as orienting themselves ideally to the sun’s light. And when groups do fly overhead they often block one another from view. This little group, however, did everything just right! The flew almost into the early morning light, diverting just enough to put a bit more light on the side facing the camera, and they managed to do so while lining up so that all of their heads were visible!

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Alpine Lake Shoreline

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Alpine Lake Shoreline
Morning light on shoreline terrain at a backcountry Yosemite lake.

Alpine Lake Shoreline. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning light on shoreline terrain at a backcountry Yosemite lake.

Today I continue the retrospective reminiscence, looking at a few older photographs made more than a decade ago at a favorite Yosemite backcountry location. By the time I made the photographs in this series, I had probably been visiting this place virtually every year for over two decades. Perhaps because it is the sort of place where you can get to high elevations pretty quickly, it drew me back again and again. Over time I became very familiar with the lake and its surroundings, to the extent that it became a sort of backcountry home away from home.

I would typically camp here in an area sheltered by trees and equipped with glacial rocks apparently designed with excellent sitting and cooking opportunities in mind. Over the years I tended to go later and later in the season, often making this the last trip of a season after the summer crowds had departed. While there are lots of photographic opportunities in the surrounding alpine meadows and ridges, I often simply got up and wandered around the lake in the early morning light.

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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Morning Light, Alpine Lake

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Morning Light, Alpine Lake
The last evening light and reflections along the shoreline of an alpine lake, Yosemite National Park

Morning Light, Alpine Lake. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The last evening light and reflections along the shoreline of an alpine lake, Yosemite National Park.

Continuing my look back at backcountry trips that illustrate my connection with the First Light photographers group, here is another from the 2008 visit where I first met up with them (rather briefly!) in the mountains. My interaction with the group (who had been doing these trips together for something like seven years already at that time) consisted of two meetings. Although I knew they were in the area I had not seen them until my chance encounter with Keith at the inlet to an alpine lake. On the final day of my (solo) visit I took a short detour to pass by their camp as I started my hike out to the trailhead. I save the details of that story for another time, but let’s just say that I was impressed.

This photograph comes from the nearby lake where I camped for three nights on my parallel solo photography trip into this area. It is one of those Sierra backcountry spots that I have returned to many times over the years, so I’ve gotten to know it intimately and I have pushed out the boundaries of my experience here to include much of the surrounding landscape. On this morning I was focusing on the first early morning light on granite and brush along the shoreline, and on juxtaposing those features with the patterns submerged beneath the lake’s surface.

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.