Tag Archives: pond

Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Great Egret, Airborne

January 24, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A great egret flies past, skimming above wetland plants

In some ways these magnificent birds are very accessible, but in other they can be hard to photograph in interesting ways. They are common at the locations where I frequently photograph birds, and when I have decent cover (shooting from a vehicle or similar) I can frequently get relatively close to them without scaring them into flight. The key is a very slow and cautious approach and sensitivity to the body language of the bird — there are often hints when egrets think that I am getting too close. From just outside that boundary the egrets are large enough to fill the frame in good conditions, and I have lots of photographs of them on the ground feeding. Perhaps too many!

That’s the problem. An egret on the ground is interesting, but not often quite as interesting as an egret in the air. (Grounded egrets can be beautiful in the right light and with the right background and so forth.) In flight they are beautiful birds, typically using slow wing motion and often gliding, and they assume impressive poses when taking off and when landing. However, the lift off is sudden and the flight path typically takes the bird away from me. But sometimes I get lucky, as I did with this specimen. I was actually unaware of its presence and, in fact, it may have been unaware of mine. I had stopped to photograph something else when the bird suddenly flew into range from my left and passed in front of me as it made a gentle turn around my position. I’ve learned to react fairly quickly and to get the camera up and tracking, but in the best of circumstances it is still a challenge. The first couple of frames are almost humorously off-target, but then I found my subject and centered it in the frame as it passed by very closely.

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Wetland Pond, Reflected Sky

January 22, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Late afternoon light on a pond reflecting the winter sky

I made this photograph during our annual New Year’s Day visit to the migratory birds of California’s Central Valley, something that has become more or less a tradition during the past few years. The idea is to join a few like-minded friends to greet the literal dawn of the new year, and to then spend the day photographing. The only problem with this as a New Year’s Day celebration is that we have to get up at about 3:30 AM, making it somewhat difficult (or at least unwise!) to stay up until midnight the night before.

This time we arrived, as always, very early, and spent the morning working our way around the vicinity trying to figure out where the best locations would be for photographing the birds. The usual schedule has us photographing for a few hours into the late morning, then taking a sort of time out in the middle of the day — often including a nap to compensate for that early wake-up call — and then resuming the wild goose chase at some point in the afternoon. Late in the day we were still trying to decide where we wanted to be for sunset, so we drove a gravel road that took us past this pond on our way to a likely goose roosting spot — and I saw this beautiful reflection of the winter sky along the way.

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

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

Winter Wetlands and Sky

January 6, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Ross’s geese flock on California Central Valley winter wetlands

To simplify, there are two common conditions in California’s Central Valley in winter: dense tule fog that reduces the visibility to mere feet, and immense open skies above the flatlands that reveal the distant snow-covered mountains. Sometimes both condiments — and, to be fair, some other possibilities — reveal themselves on the same day, as happened on this New Year’s Day visit.

We headed out to the Great Valley before dawn, arriving to a combination of scattered tule fog that continued to fill in as the morning went on, eventually turning the day rather gray. We spent the morning photographing this landscape and the tens of thousands of migratory birds that occupy it this time of year. By mid afternoon the sky began to clear as winds blew away most of the fog to reveal a clouded-studded blue sky above the expansive wetlands. Here that sky is reflected in a wetland pond — and a bit further out from the camera position you may be able to make out the flock of many thousands of Ross’s and snow geese on the water.

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

Sandhill Cranes, Pond, Sunrise

January 1, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The first light comes to a pond as sandhill cranes begin to take to the air

Morning in these wetlands brings the literal reawakening of life in and above the ponds. I usually arrive before dawn, in the faint light of morning dusk and often in fog, just as the sunrise chorus of birds begins. Some take flight, but many are still settled in. Sandhill cranes often stand in shallow water and on low islands in this far corner along the western edge of this place, and I often begin my day of photography with these birds.

This was mostly a clear morning, with just a bit of general morning haze and here and there small bits of fog. As the pre-sunrise light in the eastern sky increased these cranes became more active, and eventually they began to take off and depart for the day. I made this photograph just as the first sunrise light arrived on the trees along this levee.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: pond

Great Egret, Airborne

Wetland Pond, Reflected Sky

Winter Wetlands and Sky

Sandhill Cranes, Pond, Sunrise

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