Tag Archives: merced

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

Geese in Flight, Dusk

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Geese in Flight, Dusk
Geese in Flight, Dusk

Geese in Flight, Dusk. San Joaquin Valley, California. January 25, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Flocks of Ross’s geese in flight in the winter evening sky above the San Joaquin Valley

It was near the end of a full late-January day of winter bird photography in California’s San Joaquin Valley. After seeing fewer birds (Ross’s geese, sandhill cranes, and more) than we expected earlier in the season, the new year had brought increased numbers that reminded me of previous years. We started this day before sunrise and kept at it almost all day, taking only a short break for a visit to a nearby area before returning to again photograph the birds in the late afternoon. As the afternoon wore on we began to look for a likely spot to photograph the birds at the end of the day. They could end up anywhere, but this time they congregated in an accessible spot along the edge of a gravel access road. Several of us parked along this road, positioning ourselves so that a large flock of Ross’s geese that had collected there would be between us and the sunset light on clouds.

The giant flock of Ross’s geese gradually edged to the east, and we moved several times in order to keep them positioned for best light and background. There was some continuous coming and going as birds flew off to other groups or flew in to join this one, but for the most part things were rather calm. Then, for no clear reason (an eagle flying overhead? Something else?) the entire flock lifted off suddenly right in front of us. This moment, which I have seen before, is unforgettable, not just for the huge clouds of birds turning and gradually spreading in the sky, but also for the sound — wild cries as the birds lift off, and the rushing noise of thousands of wings suddenly beating.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Forest, Afternoon Light

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Forest, Afternoon Light
Forest, Afternoon Light

Forest, Afternoon Light. Yosemite National Park, California. February 13, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Hazy afternoon winter light in a Yosemite Valley hardwood forest

This may have been just about the briefest visit to Yosemite Valley that I have ever made. We drove up from the Bay Area for two days and one night so that we could attend the opening reception for an art exhibit (Sierra Art Trails) in Oakhurst. We had thought that we might visit one of the Central Valley wildlife refuges on the way — and we ended up spending enough time there that it was after 3:00 when we got to the Yosemite Valley. We briefly stopped to watch people setting up to try to photograph Horsetail Fall, which we did not intend to do, and then headed up to one of the large meadows where I thought that I could photograph trees backlit by the low angle afternoon light.

I started out in a meadow, photographing trees to my west silhouetted against the hazy backlight. Finishing with this subject I wandered over to the banks of the Merced River to look for closer subjects, and as I looked west I saw this tangle of trees which gradually resolved into patterns of downward curving branches superimposed on taller tree trunks leaning to both sides. One challenge was trying to find a composition in this complexity, and another was shooting straight toward the sun without ending up with lens flare. The first took some careful thought, while the second required some contortions to shade the lens with my hand.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Sun Beams, Clearing Fog

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Sun Beams, Clearing Fog
Sun Beams, Clearing Fog

Sun Beams, Clearing Fog. San Joaquin Valley, California. January 25, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Afternoon sun breaks through clearing fog in the farm country of the San Joaquin Valley

This photograph, made late on a day spent photographing migratory birds and the landscape they inhabit, illustrates a bunch of things that seem important to me. Each one might be the subject of a short article, but I’ll try to keep it short in this post. One theme might be persistence or patience: This was not the easiest day of photography, with interesting thick fog early in the day, but a midday that seemed to be a bit aimless and included an unsuccessful visit to a nearby area, and a conclusion that was glorious in several ways. Another might be flexibility: I was there primary to photograph wildlife, but I was ready to switch gears and become a landscape photographer when the clouds began to break up in the very late afternoon. It also reminds me to the value of not focusing on the literal depiction of what passes for the objective reality of the landscape, and the importance of focusing on the mood of the place in a subjective way. And it provides an example of how two photographers, working from nearly the same spot, will make quite different photographs and come away with different kinds of successes.

A few days earlier I had photographed at this same location, and late that day I had convinced myself that there would be no great evening light, and I left early. Who knows what I missed as a result of that decision! This time, shooting with a group of friends, I was back on track and eager to shoot until the light was gone. It was an unusual day — great but challenging photography conditions early in the morning, followed by less exciting conditions later in the day. Then in the early evening a large flock of Ross’s geese assembled in a familiar spot and a few of us headed there and positioned the flock between ourselves and the sky to the west, where the clouds were finally starting to break up. During the last portion of the day we were treated to this cloud and light show as the sun played peak-a-boo with the clouds and to one of the most spectacular mass take-offs of geese that I have seen.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Two White-Faced Ibises

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Two White-Faced Ibises
Two White-Faced Ibises

Two White-Faced Ibises. San Joaquin Valley, California. January 1, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two white-faced ibises look at one another, San Joaquin Valley wetlands

When I spot the white-faced ibises down near or in the water, most of the time they do not seem to be interacting very much with one another. In fact, I most often find them feeding alone, or if others are around they are at a distance. (I have seen groups in flight, and I feel that I tend to see them group together a bit more later in the season.)

I was a little surprised to see this pair together. Over a period of a few minutes they danced around one another, adopting a series of mirrored poses, and here they momentarily stood and turned towards one another before resuming the dance and then soon flying away.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.