Tag Archives: national

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

Ross’s Geese, Dusk

December 17, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A group of Ross’s geese takes flight in hazy dusk light

I try to visit California’s San Joaquin Valley as often as possible during the fall, winter, and early spring months when migratory birds settle in for the cold season. The sounds of the birds and the sight of flocks of them setting in or flying overhead is addictive – so much so that I’m willing to go to somewhat great lengths to experience this. Most often this means getting up way before dawn, often on very cold mornings, and driving a couple of hours into the foggy landscape of the valley and then photographing for hours in the cold. I’m not complaining – I love doing this! I also have what has become an annual routine connected to my periodic Death Valley photography trips. I try to arrange my schedule on the last day in Death Valley so that I can do a morning shoot there, quickly strike camp and pack up, and leave soon enough that I can stop to photograph birds on the way home. (The two worlds – the dry, austere world of Death Valley, and the cold, damp, and bird-filled Central Valley – could not be more different.)

This photograph is one of several (well, OK, more than “several”) I made during a one hour stop at some valley wetlands at the end of the day on the long drive home. I arrived, did a quick reconnaissance around the area, discovered a large flock settled in along a gravel road in a pasture, and settled in to watch the evening’s events. I recall a time when I was disappointed when the light faded, since it eventually became too dark to maintain shutter speeds that would stop the motion of the geese as they flew in, out, and around. But it didn’t take long to discover that continuing to shoot in the fading light and accepting the slower shutter speeds led to motion blur would let me present the birds in a more abstract way, but one that is in many ways as true as isolating a moment of seeming stillness in a scene that is actually full of motion. I now look forward to this time of low light, when I can make photographs that might possess a bit more mystery.

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: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Fractured Rock, Reflected Light

December 16, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A few plants grow on fractured pink and blue canyon rock illuminated by light reflected from nearby cliffs

In my experience, the geology of Death Valley mostly features relatively subdued coloration. While this geology is laid bare by the lack of thick vegetation, the colors are mostly shades of gray, white, tan, with occasional blues and greens from mineral deposits. But you rarely will see here the intense colors of, say, the sandstone formations of the Southwest. (Sorry to disappoint anyone, but if you have seen some photographs featuring intensely colorful deposits in places like “Artist Palette,” you may be a bit disappointed to see the real thing!) This is not entirely bad news, as subtle colors can also be very beautiful, and even these colors can become intensified in the right light… and that does occur in Death Valley.

This photograph perhaps tells a story that is partially about the color of rock and a bit about the light, and is also about keeping my eyes open for the fleeting and sometimes surprising examples of color. I was in a place that is not known for brilliant colors, at least not in the walls of this narrow canyon. As I passed through a narrow and twisting section, two things happened, and even though I’ve been there before this was the first time that I noticed them at this point. First, the steep, almost seems cliff-like wall has fractured layers and slabs that remind me a bit of exfoliating granite that I know so well from the Sierra. These layers alternate pinkish rock (that this non-geologist thinks look like some sort of sandstone) with inner layers that have a blue cast. Second, at the right time of day when the light strikes the upper walls of the narrow canyon, the light reflects down into its depths and warms the color of the light, emphasizing these subtle colors to produce what is, at least for Death Valley, some rather striking coloration.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Decaying Tree

December 11, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The decaying stump of an ancient sub-alpine Sierra Nevada tree

I came upon this jumble of the remains of a very old and large tree while walking about on our first full morning camped at the spot where we would remain for six nights in the Kings Canyon National Park high-country. From our camp at about the 11,000′ level I walked uphill, intending to investigate a dome on the ridge behind us and to see if I could find anything to photograph around a small lake that I could see on our maps.

As I walked up the hill I passed through small meadows and by dried-up tarns with their barren rocks and the branches of various fallen trees. As I approached the location of the lake I had to find a route between rocks and various small but thick groves of trees. As I passed one of these spots I noticed this old tree in the (long) process of disintegrating. The boundary between these ancient and rugged living thing and rock has sometimes seemed fuzzy to me. While I understand that the rocks are far, far older than any tree, these trees grow so slowly, are often so twisted and gnarled, wind so intimately among the rocks and boulders, and are of a color that looks more like rock than wood.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Pacific Northwest

Strait of Juan de Fuca, Evening

December 7, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Evening light near Hurricane Ridge and over the Strait of Juan de Fuca

After shooting in the lowland rainforest earlier in the day, we planned to head up to Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park in the evening, hoping for some interesting late day light. I’ve been “skunked” (frustrated by poor conditions!) on more than one occasion here, including one notable visit when the clouds reduced visibility to a distance that might have been measured in yards. An earlier web cam check and what we could now see from down below encouraged us to think that we might get something better this time, so into the park and up the road we went.

When we arrived the conditions were not quite stupendous, but they held the promise of becoming better, so we stuck around and photographed. Although it was mostly somewhat hazy and cloudy, every so often the sun would come through an opening in the clouds to the west, and the beams of light would move across the rugged landscape of the Olympic Mountains spread out in front of us – and on one occasion this light crossed through rain showers and produced a momentary rainbow. As things wound down – without there ever having been a real climactic moment of light – I decided to walk over to a low ridge from which there was a view to the north and the Strait of Juan De Fuca, with Canadian territory beyond. Again, the atmosphere was murky, though there were potentially interesting clouds about. I made this photograph near the very end of the day when a bit of filtered though direct light swept across the foreground ridge.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: national

Ross’s Geese, Dusk

Fractured Rock, Reflected Light

Decaying Tree

Strait of Juan de Fuca, Evening

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