Tag Archives: north

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

Cranes at Dusk

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Cranes at Dusk
“Cranes at Dusk” — The evening fly-in of lesser sandhill cranes at dusk.

We spent New Year’s Day with friends, after getting up early to greet the literal dawn of the new year. OK, it was kind of cloudy and we didn’t see the sun until later. But still, it was a great day and a fine group to share it with. We photographed birds and landscape, and we shared food and drink that each of us had brought for the occasion. The day culminated with the evening fly-in of sandhill cranes.

The sandhill cranes stay in nearby ponds overnight, and around dawn many of them get up and fly away for the day. Typically they return at dusk, when there’s barely enough light left for photography, and their characteristic cries mark the end of the day. This small group was cooperative enough to pass through a patch of beautiful, colorful twilight sky just before landing.

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: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Breaking Wave

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Breaking Wave
“Breaking Wave” — Breaking winter storm wave, Northern California Coast.

Winter surf on California’s coast was so impressive between Christmas and New Year’s Day that it made national news. As happens this time of year, a powerful Pacific storm far offshore produced a huge swell. The biggest waves were upwards of 30 feet tall, and they created real danger to those who live at the coast and to visitors who ventured too close. Naturally, we headed straight over there to view (carefully) the power of nature!

The weather was pretty gray when we arrived, but the storm (which was less impressive than the waves) began to clear and rays of sunlight moved across the surface of the ocean. I went to a peninsula extending into the ocean, and from there I had close-up views of the action. I made this photograph as a huge wave rolled through one of those sunlit patches and began to break.

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: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Breaking Wave, Reflected Sun

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Breaking Wave, Reflected Sun
“Breaking Wave, Reflected Sun” — Winter sunlight reflects on the water beyond a breaking wave during a Pacific storm.

Between Christmas and New Year’s Day, California had several days of extraordinarily high surf, produced by storms far out in the Pacific Ocean. Media reports consistently warned citizens to “stay away from coastal areas.” Consequently, many of us high-tailed it straight to the nearest coastal areas to watch the show! (In all seriousness, this kind of surf really is dangerous. If you go, please observe from a very safe distance.) We visited the section between Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay, and the surf was as big as I’ve ever seen it.

It was cloudy most of the time, but occasionally the sun managed to break through a bit, creating beautiful reflections on the waves and the distant ocean. This photograph is one of a series I made from a high (and safe) observation point on a peninsula that juts out into the ocean. From here I could watch the waveS break and continue on toward the shore to my left.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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

Toward the Moon

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Toward the Moon
A small flock of lesser sandhill cranes flies toward the early morning moon.

Toward the Moon. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A small flock of lesser sandhill cranes flies toward the early morning moon.

This photograph closes out my posts for 2023. This time is an opportunity to look back across the year that is ending and to look forward to what may be coming in the new year. It was a bit of a different year for me photographically, particularly in that we took a long overseas trip (from which I still have many photographs to share). As a result, there were fewer of my familiar Sierra photographs… since I was thousands of miles away during months when I usually spend time in the mountains. What will the new year bring? We’ll start to find out soon enough!

This photograph comes from a November day of migratory bird photography, my first of the new season. I photographed intensely in during the window of beautiful light around sunrise, and at this point I turned my attention to sandhill cranes taking to the air among broken, sunrise-lit clouds, some of which are slightly obscuring the moon in this 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.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | 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.