Tag Archives: mnwr

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Winter Sky, Birds, Sun

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Winter Sky, Birds, Sun
Winter sunlight momentarily breaks through winter high clouds and tule fog as migratory birds pass, Pacific Flyway.

Winter Sky, Birds, Sun. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Winter sunlight momentarily breaks through winter high clouds and tule fog as migratory birds pass, Pacific Flyway.

This photograph holds one brief instant of nearly miraculous light… from a morning on which the light was generally much less than miraculous. I was in California’s Central Valley largely because I wanted to photograph in foggy conditions. These are common here at this time of year, when tule fog rises overnight and creates a thin but often very dense layer of fog. Most people prefer to not be out in these conditions — the driving can be nerve-racking — but the landscape can be very beautiful when it all works out just right.

The potential was certainly there as I drove to my destination. The fog suddenly became very dense perhaps twenty minutes before I arrived, but it was shallow enough that the setting full moon was clearly visible in the pre-dawn sky. However, a higher layer of clouds spread over the sky and fog that might have glowed in sunrise light simply went gray. Eventually the thinning tule fog lined up with a few momentary breaks in the higher clouds and some light shone through. During this one brief instant the sun was visible, surrounded by a halo of lighter clouds, and a pair of geese flew past, barely visible in the photograph.

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: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Great Blue Heron, Fog

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Great Blue Heron, Fog
A great blue heron, photographed on a winter morning of heavy fog along the Paciic Flyway.

Great Blue Heron, Fog. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A great blue heron, photographed on a winter morning of heavy fog along the Paciic Flyway.

Fog can make for lovely, evocative atmosphere when photographing birds. In fact, I often try to time my winter bird photography for foggy days. On the best of these days, the sunrise hours begin with slightly translucent fog, colored by dawn light. Then a transition begins as the sun rises and begins to make the shallow tule fog layer glow. The fog continues to thin and the light becomes more directional. Every one of these stages in the evolution of the light has its attractions, and such mornings are often quite busy.

Then there are the foggy days like this one. There is such a thing as too much fog, especially when it comes to bird photography. On this morning conditions were verging on the “I can hear them but I can’t see them” state — and at first I was unable to see most of the birds that I could hear off in the fog. I finally came across this magnificent great blue heron near the edge of a pasture, and I almost missed seeing it in the murk.

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

Departure

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Departure
Sandhill cranes take to the air in the ealry morning tule fog.

Departure. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Description

My expectations are pretty straightforward. When I arrive at these locations before dawn to photograph birds, I want exactly the right amount of fog, enough developing sunrise light overhead to warm to the light a bit, the right birds against a photogenic background. (A cup of coffee and a fresh muffin would be nice, too, but that might be pushing things.) The reality is usually a bit more complicated.

I certainly found fog when I arrived on this morning. Perhaps a bit too much fog. It wasn’t quite the sort where you might be more successful making audio records of birds than photographing them, but it was close. As I moved around looking for the right birds in the right place, I eventually came upon a group of cranes, barely visible at first in the gray light. Although it isn’t really apparent in the photograph, it was sunrise, and the birds seem to know this even when the sun’s light is blocked by the tule fog. And if it is sunrise, the birds know that it is time to rise from the ponds and head off to wherever it is that they spend their days.

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.

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: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Red-Shouldered Hawk

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Red-Shouldered Hawk
A red-shouldered hawk perched in a wetland thicket.

Red-Shouldered Hawk. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Description

I had several opportunities to photograph what I believe was this same red-shouldered hawk on several days in early 2022. While visiting a location in the Central Valley on New Year’s Day I (and several friends) saw a hawk just like this one in almost this exact same spot. I made this photograph a few days later on a return visit. Is it the exact same bird? I can’t say. But it was perched very close to where the previous bird was and it was equally willing to allow me to be close enough to photograph it. (For those who wonder… I was photographing from the “mobile blind” of my vehicle and using a very long lens, both of which allow me to minimize any disruption to the bird.)

If you look closely at trees in places like this you’ll almost always spot some sort of predatory bird — hawk, owl, or similar — hanging out in the branches. In fact, there are a few trees I’ve gotten to know rather well over the years where I can pretty predict the specific branches on which such birds will be perched. Most of the leaves had fallen from this tree, making the bird easier to spot, and the filtered sunlight illuminated its features.

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.

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.