Tag Archives: morning

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

Three Cranes in Silhouette

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Three Cranes in Sillouette
Three sandhill cranes silhouetted against dawn sky over the Sierra Nevada crest.

Three Cranes in Silhouette. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Three sandhill cranes silhouetted against dawn sky over the Sierra Nevada crest.

A trio of what may be my favorite kind of bird, the sandhill crane. This group is flying above California’s Central Valley on a late-February morning, silhouetted against a brilliantly colorful sky of thin clouds above the crest of the Sierra Nevada.

Photographing birds against this kind of sky is a challenge. Part of me wants to end up with photographs that show the details of the birds’ shape and texture, but an exposure that would accomplish this would entirely lose the brilliant colors of this pre-sunrise sky. So I go with the silhouette effect — though you may be able to spot at least the suggestion of detail on the birds’ wings if you look closely. Truth be told, seeing the details of the birds in this light is extremely difficult and, I think, perhaps not the most important thing.

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

Cranes, Sunrise, Winter Sky

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Cranes, Sunrise, Winter Sky
“Cranes, Sunrise, Winter Sky” — Sandhill cranes fly in winter sky as sun rises above the Sierra Nevada.

For weeks I have been thinking about how little time remains before many of our migratory birds depart. I have been eyeing my schedule and the weather conditions looking for the right time to go look for the birds. Ideally I want fog, but that has been missing, first due to a string of very warm days and more recently to unusually cold and wet weather. So I stopped waiting for the perfect conditions that might not arrive, and I headed out to the Central Valley before the cold arrived.

I never know precisely what conditions I’ll encounter. On this visit I knew that forecasts predicted an incoming weather system. Fortunately the early clouds only improved the visual conditions. (Later it clouded up, but then it cleared well before sunset — sometimes I get lucky!) It is easy to point the camera at the rising sun out here, but usually that isn’t so productive since the light overwhelms everything else. But on this morning the sun rose into clouds that muted its intensity. I made this photograph as a flock of sandhill cranes flew past.

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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Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Desert Holly, Badlands Wash

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Desert Holly, Badlands Wash
A desert holly plant grows in a wash in Death Valley badlands.

Desert Holly, Badlands Wash. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A desert holly plant grows in a wash in Death Valley badlands.

I went to this general location to photograph something else — there’s a nearby vista that I had photographed during mid-morning light, and I wanted to try it a bit earlier in the day. As I slowly headed that way I was distracted by many other possibilities. One was this little wash, emerging from low, eroded badlands hills and quickly emptying into a much larger main stem wash. The wash was almost barren, with only a few desert holly plants here and there.

This desert plant is among my favorites. That may seem a bit odd, as it doesn’t display spectacular flowers, its color is a subtle gray-green, and often whole sections of the plant seem dormant or dead. But it is a survivor, growing in remarkably dry and inhospitable places — like this gravel-filled wash, a very hot and exposed place that rarely receives significant rain.

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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California Fall Color, Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Desert Hills, Morning Haze

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Desert Hills, Morning Haze
Morning haze obscures distant hills above badlands formations, Death Valley Naitonal Park.

Desert Hills, Morning Haze. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Morning haze obscures distant hills above badlands formations, Death Valley Naitonal Park.

This scene came as a complete surprise. I arrived at this location on a low ridge before dawn and photographed some striking geological formations to my north as the sun came up, gradually filling the landscape with light. Finishing with that subject, I turned around and looked in the opposite direction. Backlit haze had descended on the barren landscape and was glowing in the morning light.

In clear weather, this view reveals badlands in the foreground and dark and tall mountains beyond. But the light made the haze luminous and muted the details of the terrain. I’ve seen such atmosphere in this landscape before, but more often it has come as the result of dust storms. But this was a quiet and nearly still morning.

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.