Tag Archives: light

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Wildlife

Tundra Swans, Dawn

February 21, 2012 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

Tundra swans in dawn light above the Central Valley of California.

This is the second photograph of this particular group of tundra swans that flew low over our position near the end of Woodbridge Road in the California Central Valley near the end of January. With all the challenges of photographing flying birds in limited light and with long lenses, it is no wonder that one gets a less than 100% success rate with these photographs. But every so often all the pieces fall into place and you end up with something that is not another slightly out-of-focus, slightly mis-aimed, over- or under-exposed photograph of the silhouettes of bird undersides. Seriously. ;-)

This group came over at a relatively low level, though not so low than individual birds would fill the viewfinder. By default, I usually begin with the camera in “landscape” (horizontal) mode for this sort of subject, but because these birds were almost directly overhead and lined up “vertically” rather than strung out in a line, I decided to quickly shift the camera to “portrait” (vertical) orientation after one initial exposure as they approached. Now the trick was to try to keep my eye on one bird that needed to be under the AF point, while simultaneously remaining aware of the entire flock so that I could keep them within the boundary of the frame and try to catch them at a point when they were not blocking one another. The fact that I got the beautiful morning light coming from below was partially due to being there good and early, and possibly due to the birds thoughtfully positioning themselves to allow this. Thank you, tundra swans!

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Row of Trees, Evening

February 19, 2012 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A row of bare trees stands next to a pond in evening light at the Merced National Wildlife Refuge, Central Valley, California.

While photographing migratory birds in early February at the Merced National Wildlife Refuge in California’s Central Valley, just before sunset there was a lull in the “bird action,” and I realized that I had neglected to photograph much of anything besides the birds. With this in mind, I left the edge of the ponds where we had been shooting, and I took a short walk along a nearby trail that went out into some brushy areas that generally seemed sort of nondescript. Except… I’m fascinated by brushy, scrubby trees and brush and I’m always challenged when it comes to thinking about how to make photographic sense of this subject. In the right light the shapes and subtle colors can be quite interesting, but it can also be tricky to find a composition in the dense growth.

As I walked I passed along a small pond, and at first I noticed the reflection of a tree whose trunk was branching out in many different directions and its mirrored image in the water. Then I saw this row of barren trees, which I assume might have been planted along the levee as some sort of wind break. Their straight forms were tall and parallel, except that here and there this orderly form was broken up by a trunk or branch pointing off in some odd direction and creating a bit of visual dissonance. Since it was the lens I already had on the camera for photographing birds, I made this landscape photo with what might seem to be the least likely of landscape lenses, a 100-400mm zoom!

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

Tundra Swans, Dawn

February 17, 2012 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

: Tundra swans in dawn light above the Central Valley of California.

Tundra swans in dawn light above the Central Valley of California.

These photographs (there are others) of tundra swans in flight above the Central Valley of California near the end of Woodbridge Road are the result of some combination of foresight, planning, and good fortune. Mostly good fortune. :-)

The “foresight and planning” part involves knowing that huge numbers of beautiful migratory birds make their homes in the Central Valley every winter, in figuring out (by “poking around” and with the help and advice of friends) the locations of some of the good locations for seeing the birds, getting up very early and driving long distances before the sun comes up, having the right equipment to photograph them, and knowing how to use it. The good fortune part, however, cannot be diminished. You would have to be crazy to think that you have much control at all over the elements of such scenes. Not only are the weather and related atmospheric conditions essentially whatever they are, but the bird tend to go wherever they want, whenever they want. They are notoriously resistant to shouted commands to come back around a second time, fly past at a lower elevation, group themselves more closely, or position themselves nicely in the light. :-)

This was one of quite a few groups of birds that flew over us this morning. Sometimes the group might consist of two birds, sometimes of too many to count. They might be low or high, close or far. These approached in nearly perfect light – the sun had just risen and the low-angle light illuminated the birds from below and, to some extent, through their feathers. As they approached I was shooting in “landscape” (horizontal) orientation, since that works more often than not for flocks that are strung out lengthwise. I squeezed off one shot in that mode, then realized that they were about to line up vertically above me as they passed, so I quickly shifted the camera by ninety degrees and worked to frame them in the viewfinder as the flew past.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Fennel, Distant Birds, Morning

February 16, 2012 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Early morning light on a row of fennel plants with migratory birds passing in the distance, Central Valley, California.

If you don’t look closely, fennel is a pretty nondescript plant, especially during the dry season when it more or less goes dormant and consists mostly of dry twigs and branches and a few dry seeds. I never paid much attention to it at all when I was younger, despite spending a lot of time in the California outdoors, where the plant is very common. I think the first time that I actually noticed it was some years ago when I was surprised to smell the familiar fragrance of anise (as in licorice) while hiking or running along a local trail. I stopped and noticed the familiar seeds that I had used in cooking, picked a few, crushed them, and noticed that powerful smell. (There is a group of plants found in outdoor California that often cause me to stop and engage in this ritual of picking a leaf or seed, crushing it, and enjoying the scent: fennel, bay/laurel, sage…)

True to form, I wasn’t really paying much attention to these plants growing along the boundary between a Central Valley road and a flooded field where I had stopped to make photographs of migratory birds in late January. It may actually be the case that I only really “saw” them when my camera’s AF system “incorrectly” locked focus on the plants instead of more distant subjects! But this shot was not an accident. At this point I had noticed the plants and they became the subject, with relief from cross light from the rising sun and against the background of hazy early morning sky.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: light

Row of Trees, Evening

Fennel, Distant Birds, Morning

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