Tag Archives: pasture

Photographs: People In Landscape, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Travel

Bridgeport, Autumn Sky

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Bridgeport, Autumn Sky
Clouds from an autumn weather front build a above Bridgeport, California.

Bridgeport, Autumn Sky. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Clouds from an autumn weather front build a above Bridgeport, California.

For those who aren’t from my part of the American West, it is probably important to state up front that this is “the other Bridgeport,” the one in the dry eastern part of California. The town is located in a broad valley at the base of the Sierra Nevada, more or less northeast of Yosemite National Park. The valley is full of cattle grazing in its extensive pasture lands that somehow escaped the clutches of the historic Los Angeles water rights grabs in the eastern Sierra. In addition to cattle, the places relies a lot on campers, anglers, backpackers and other visitors to the outdoors — though in a more laid-back, old-school manner of places a bit off the beaten track. Oh, it is also known for being (at least in my experience) one of the two or three most expensive places in the state to buy gas for your vehicle.

To those of us who live in far more urbanized areas — for me, that is the San Francisco Bay Area — places like this have a bit of an appealing raw edge, a sense that they are closer to the cycles of the natural world and, to some extent, dominated by them. On a day like this one, when the clouds of a Pacific weather front fill the sky, the town itself seems quite small in relationship to the landscape that surrounds it.

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: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Central Valley Coyote

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Central Valley Coyote
A coyote pauses during an early evening hunt in California’s Central Valley.

Central Valley Coyote. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A coyote pauses during an early evening hunt in California’s Central Valley.

We know that coyotes are about in the locations where we photograph migratory birds in the autumn and winter. We often hear their cries in the evening, and occasionally we’ll catch sight of them in the distance as they trot across the grassland toward a tasty-looking flock of birds, no doubt encountering equally tasting small mammals along the way. However, seeing one this close in the daytime is a bit less typical.

It was the last hour before sunset, as you might guess from the warm and low-angle light, when this specimen appeared not far away from my position. It was most certainly aware of my presence, but it didn’t seem overly concerned as it passed, pausing occasionally to look around and even cast a glance in our direction.

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 and Amazon.

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Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Sunset Flight

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Sunset Flight
Geese in flight above fields at sunset

Sunset Flight. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Geese in flight above fields at sunset.

Expect to see quite a few bird photographs during the next week or so. David Hoffman and I are featured in “Birdscapes,” an exhibition of our bird photography at the Stellar Gallery in Oakhurst, located near the southern entrance to Yosemite National Park. The two of us photograph birds and the landscapes they inhabit all along the Pacific Flyway. There is a lot more information about the show including details of location and dates at this web page. The show opens next week and we’d love to see you at the artist reception on Saturday, February 16 at 5:00-8:00pm at the gallery. If you are heading to Yosemite to see the recent snows or to try your luck at photographing Horsetail Fall, why don’t you swing by and see us?

I made this photograph on a winter evening, as a slight foggy haze filled the atmosphere and the western sky turned a lovely shade of pink. A large flock of geese was alternately feeding on pastureland and erupting into the sky en masse. I made this photograph at the very end of the day as the last faint sunlight illuminated the birds on the ground as other birds arrived to join them.

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 and Amazon.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Great Blue Heron

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Great Blue Heron
A great blue heron standing in a winter pasture

Great Blue Heron. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A great blue heron standing in a winter pasture.

Great Blue Herons are soloists — I virtually never seem them in groups, with only one strange exception. Both herons and egrets are closely related, and I recall being surprised a few years ago to encounter bird pairs consisting of a great blue heron and a great egret. I particularly remember watching one such pair land and then fly off together.

But this one was definitely alone. Earlier in the season I had seen few great blue herons, but by this point I was beginning to spot more of them, and I had already encountered several on the day I photographed this one — including one memorable critter that flew back and forth in front of me several times, gliding above a shallow bond. The bird in the photograph stood alone in a large pasture that was beginning to green up after winter rains. Up close they are remarkable birds, and their attentiveness to surroundings becomes apparent.

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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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