Tag Archives: mnwr

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

Two Cranes, Sunrise Sky

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Two Cranes, Sunrise Sky
Two sandhill cranes fly through sunrise sky, Central Valley, California

Two Cranes, Sunrise Sky. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Two sandhill cranes fly through sunrise sky, Central Valley, California

I hope you don’t mind what has become a series of photographs of sandhill cranes flying in front of an intensely colorful Central Valley sunrise. Yes, there will be more. Some things are beyond the photographer’s control — whether the birds will show up, where they will be, what background they will fly in front of, and precisely how the light evolves. Two things improve the odds: being out there as often as possible and developing a sense of what may happen. This sky was a welcome surprise, and it turned what I thought might be a rather dull sunrise into something quite colorful.

I have to wonder when I read people discussing “keeper rates” for bird photography and claiming things like a “90% success rate. In my experience, the success rate with this subject is MUCH lower. First of all, you cannot control the birds. Obvious, right? Secondly, one often has to make an exposure (or many) rather speculatively — “I think something interesting may happen here.” You cannot wait for it, since by the time it happens it is too late. One difficulty is that birds often fly in the “wrong” direction. They might be close, but they also might be flying away. That’s the case with these two cranes, but the difference is that they are, well, “craning” their necks to the left so that their heads are still 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.

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Winter Tree, Evening Sky

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Winter Tree, Evening Sky
A bare winter cottonwood silhouetted against dusk sky, California Central Valley.

Winter Tree, Evening Sky. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A bare winter cottonwood silhouetted against dusk sky, California Central Valley.

This photograph is an example of why I always try to remember to not get so focused on the primary subject that I forget to look around. I was here to photograph migratory birds, and at this point in the evening they were putting on quite a show, rising and flying in giant circles directly in front of us in the evening light. But when I took a moment to look behind I saw the trees and the colorful evening sky.

This was an “interesting” day in weather terms. I didn’t actually have very high hopes for it as no fog was forecast (and I love to photograph these subjects on tule fog day) and early clouds from a incoming weather system were predicted to turn the sky gray, with extreme winds predicted for the afternoon. All of that happened, but it turned out that the sky cleared again in the afternoon, and the winds may have slowed the birds a bit is struggled to overcome its strength.

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 | Twitter | 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: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Late Winter Flocks

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Late Winter Flocks
Huge numbers of sandhill cranes and several varieties of migratory geese in late winter.

Late Winter Flocks. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Huge numbers of sandhill cranes and several varieties of migratory geese in late winter.

Yes, another “sky full of birds” photograph! It may seem that I”m sharing a lot of them… but it is not anywhere near all of them. And that, of course, brings up one of the great “secrets” of photographing birds: for every good image that “works” there are dozens of others that never see the light of day. Landscapes don’t move (much), so they are more predictable. But most of the time birds are in motion — at least when they are doing interesting things — and it is impossible to control or predict everything that will happen. You can improve your odds over time… but there is still an element of chance..

These fields were full of late season birds — mostly various kinds of geese, but also lots of sandhill cranes and even a few egrets here and there. At this time of year — just before the long migration back to the north — they seem to become extremely active. At the least provocation huge numbers of birds will suddenly and noisily take to the air and circle before finally returning to the field for a while… and then repeating the process a bit later.

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 | Twitter | 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. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Geese, Before Sunrise

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Geese, Before Sunrise
Migratory geese in pre-sunrise sky about the Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada crest.

Geese, Before Sunrise. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Migratory geese in pre-sunrise sky above the Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada crest.

On these days photographing migratory birds I arrive in darkness thirty to forty-five minutes before dawn. After driving several hours in the dark, the first thing I do is get out of the car. The first impression I always have is the sound of the birds as they get ready for morning fly-out. It is a wild, raucous thing and it always makes me smile. Before long more and more of the birds take to the air as the first light arrives. The birds flying across this brilliant early morning sky are geese.

This photograph would not have been possible on most days photographing in California’s Great Central Valley, and it depended on a particular conjunction of weather conditions. On the foggy days when I prefer to visit, of course, none of this would have been visible at all. On other clearer days the sky color is much more muted. On this visit a thin dome of clouds covered much of the sky, stretching far to the east beyond the crest of the Sierra Nevada. The first dawn light lit these clouds in a display of intense color.

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 | Twitter | 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. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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