Tag Archives: light

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

Crane, Tree, Morning Sky

December 25, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A solitary sandhill crane flies into pre-dawn sky above a silhouetted tree and San Joaquin Valley wetlands

By now you may be getting the idea that I like the brief pre-dawn interval, especially out in this autumn and winter wetlands of Central California. If so, you are right! There is a period of perhaps a half hour or so when the sky begins go glow, and the wetlands birds start their morning rituals — flying out from their overnight spots and generally raising a ruckus. Aside from their noise and fury, the rest of the landscape can be very quiet, as in this photograph.

On this morning I arrived early as usual, paused to set up my gear for photography, then began a circumnavigation of the area, slowing and stopping as various subject appeared. This bare tree, surrounding by reflecting water and set against the pre-dawn sky, caught my attention and I paused to make a few photographs. During this one a solitary crane passed through the scene.

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

Night Photography, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Wall, Window, Garden

December 22, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Light shines across a wall with a lighted window

In a way, I would almost prefer to not identify this location, even the city — but since it is my habit to provide some information I will confess that I made the photograph in San Francisco. I joined up with a few of my fellow Studio Nocturne SF photographer to head out into the San Francisco night to do some night photography. We stopped at two locations. This first one is actually a fairly well-known location, but I decided to mostly not photograph the familiar subject but instead wander around and look for other things.

Recently I have been doing a lot of my night photography, especially the part of it done in cities, using a small, handheld camera. I’m essentially able to do street photography in the (near) dark, which means that I can often work quickly and without drawing as much attention as I would with a larger camera and a tripod. This photograph, which seems more like something that would warrant the use of a tripod, was made in this way.

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

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

Birds Before Dawn

December 19, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A flock of small birds rises into pre-dawn sky about San Joaquin Valley wetlands

This was a long day with lots of driving. In the evening I would be in Oakhurst, in the Sierra Nevada foothills near Yosemite, where I planned to attend the reception for “AVIAN: Birds In A Changing Landscape,” an exhibit of art related to the lives of birds in California. (Two of my photographs are in the show, and it runs through January 14 at Gallery Five.) But before going to Oakhurst I figured I would start my day by visiting the San Joaquin Valley wetlands, the environment where the birds actually live.

After a two-hour drive I arrived a half hour or so before dawn. I grabbed a quick cup of coffee from my thermos, put the big lens on my camera, and turned my attention to the surrounding bird-filled landscape. Within moments I was stunned to see something new to me — an absolutely huge flock of very small birds rose in the distance. My best guess is that they may have been tai-color blackbirds, but the numbers were far beyond anything I had seen here before. The light was too low and they were too far away to make an effective photograph, but before long a very small fraction of the flock came across this section of the wetlands closer to my location, and I was able to photograph them against the pre-dawn sky.

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

Two Cranes, Morning, Marsh

December 10, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Two sandhill cranes stand in a marsh in early morning sunlight

This past Saturday was a full-on bird day for me. It started before dawn in the San Joaquin Valley, where I visited some wetlands areas to photograph various birds: cranes, geese, ibises, tri-color blackbirds, a solitary heron and a few egrets. Later that afternoon I wrapped up my bird photography and headed up to Oakhurst in the Sierra foothills to attend the opening reception for AVIAN: Birds in A Changing World at Gallery Five. The juried exhibit includes over 60 pieces by more than 40 artists, including a couple of my bird photographs. Afterwards I drove back to the Bay Area. Yes, it was a long day!

The conditions and the birds can vary a lot at this time of year in the San Joaquin Valley. Often it is foggy, but the skies were nearly clear when I arrived this time, with just a bit of scattered ground for a some haze. Two bird events were striking right after I arrived. First, a huge cloud of very small birds — perhaps tri-color blackbirds — rose before dawn and moved across the horizon. Second, a larger-than-usual number of sandhill cranes lifted off at dawn, and they followed unusual paths that brought them close to me. As the fly-out was getting underway I photographed these two cranes in the pond as the first light began to filter through the haze. They stood quietly for a few minutes, then suddenly took to the air and were gone.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: light

Crane, Tree, Morning Sky

Wall, Window, Garden

Birds Before Dawn

Two Cranes, Morning, Marsh

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.