Tag Archives: san joaquin

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

Female Redwing Blackbirds

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Female Redwing Blackbirds
Female Redwing Blackbirds

Female Redwing Blackbirds. San Joaquin Valley, California. January 21, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Three female redwing blackbirds among the reeds near a San Joaquin Valley pond.

Among the relatively small number of birds that I actually can identify with some certainty are the red wing blackbirds… or so I thought. (To repeat my frequent disclaimer, I’m no expert on identifying birds, despite the fact that I frequently photograph them.) I have long been intrigued by these small birds, which I’ve photographed in large flocks and as individuals. The flocks are fun to watch and shoot for many reasons, but one is that as the birds turn and angle across the landscape many of them may reveal the namesake red areas on their wings for brief instants.

I remember making this photograph and being intrigued by the small birds hanging out in the reeds of this pond where I had gone to photograph other larger and more impressive migratory birds, including geese, cranes, and more. The soft light on the birds caught my attention – fog was thinning but still muting the light – as did the warm golden and brown colors of the vegetation and the out of focus background of small trees. At the time I really did not know what kind of birds these were, but I figured that I could look them up later. I did so somewhat later when I had time to work on the photographs from this shoot. I tried to match them with various different sort of common small birds but nothing quite fit. I finally asked some folks if they knew and one online friend quickly got back to me to say that they were female redwing blackbirds… which don’t have red wings and are not black! (He was sympathetic and suggested that others had been confused by these birds, too. Thanks, Chuq!)

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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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: Central California, Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Wildlife

Three Ross’s Geese, Blue Sky

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Three Ross's Geese, Blue Sky
Three Ross’s Geese, Blue Sky

Three Ross’s Geese, Blue Sky. San Joaquin Valley, California. January 21, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Three Ross’s geese directly overhead against blue morning sky

These Ross’s geese obligingly flew directly over head against a blue sky and in morning light… and, no, they did not drop any, uh, payload on me. (That has happened. It comes with the territory. Someone told me that somewhere in the world – Europe? – it is considered good luck to get “bombed” by a goose. I could write much more on this topic, but I’ll restrain myself. You may thank me later! ;-)

In any case…a difficulty when shooting birds passing overhead is that the light source is often higher than the bird, thus putting the parts of the bird facing the camera into shadow. But in very early or very late light – near sunrise or sunset – the sun is so low that it can cast light on the undersides of the birds, as in this photograph. When shooting this critters as they pass overhead in flight, while I can and do think about their positions in the frame and relative to one another, in the end I have to take what the birds give me. There is a lot that I cannot control about this kind of photography. It comes down to being observant, being able to work quickly and intuitively, and a whole bunch of luck regarding the birds, the light, and the weather.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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

Sandhill Cranes, Fog and Trees

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Sandhill Cranes, Fog and Trees
Sandhill Cranes, Fog and Trees

Sandhill Cranes, Fog and Trees. San Joaquin Valley, California. January 212, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A group of sandhill cranes takes flight in foggy dawn light as others stand in a marsh with blackbird-filled trees beyond.

I almost feel like I know this group of sandhill cranes, as we have found them on several occasions in the same San Joaquin Valley location – and by this I mean in precisely the same spot along a levee and at the same time of day… and often in fog. The first time I “saw” them here I actually heard them more than saw them. It had been an extremely foggy morning, so thick that it was difficult to see any distance into the murk. We could hear lots of birds and certainly recognize the distinct call of the sandhill cranes. Occasionally a small group of them would momentarily emerge from the fog to pass overhead and just as quickly disappear.

On this January morning it was again foggy, but not quite that thick. When we arrived before dawn we were able to make out the large flock of the birds on the ground near the levee, though it was a bit too murky and they were too far away to get clear photographs. But as sunrise arrived, the cranes began to take to the sky in small group, sometimes passing over or near our position before departing. As this group flew across the scene, above other birds still on the ground, the faint light of sunrise managed to pierce the fog and case a bit of warm light on the flock.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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

Geese Take Flight in Dusk Sky

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Geese Take Flight in Dusk Sky
Geese Take Flight in Dusk Sky

Geese Take Flight in Dusk Sky. San Joaquin Valley, California. January 1, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Motion-blurred photograph of a flock of Ross’s geese taking flight in dusk sky above the San Joaquin Valley, California

This is another example of what I’ve taken to referring to my “blurreds in flight” photographs. (Yes, a bad pun on the common subject of “birds in flight,” also known as “bif” photographs.) Very early morning or dusk seem like good times to experiment with this, as the very dim light often pushes the ability of photographer and gear to continue to shoot as ISOs rise, apertures enlarge… and eventually one runs out of maneuvering room. Just lower that ISO and let the birds blur!

But that’s not really why I do these. While I suppose that I’m just as interested in trying to produce very sharp images of birds frozen in flight by high shutter speeds and accurate autofocus, I sometimes feel that this more clinical approach isn’t the only way to capture or express the qualities of these animals and what I can observe of their lives. In a sense, the still camera “lies” about what we can actually see of these birds when we are there and watching them. In low light, often observing from a distance, when a group of Ross’s geese suddenly takes flight in a wild maelstrom of honking and flapping wings, we really cannot see all of the specific details of each feather and the impression we have is more often one of wild motion and surprise. While I don’t think a photograph can ever fully or accurately depict this, allowing the motion to become visible by using slow shutter speeds might evoke a sense of these animals that the razor-sharp, stop-action photographs might miss.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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.