Tag Archives: sandhill

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

Morning Dance, Sandhill Cranes

Image Leave a comment
Morning Dance, Sandhill Cranes
A quartet of sandhill cranes dances in foggy morning light.

Morning Dance, Sandhill Cranes. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A quartet of sandhill cranes dances in foggy morning light.

About a week ago I made my first visit of the season to areas of California’s Central Valley where I like to photograph migratory birds in the late autumn and winter. Many birds have already arrived, but a month or so from now there will be all sorts of them (migratory and year-round residents) up and down the Great Valley: geese, cranes, ibises, herons, pelicans, egrets, and more.

This first visit was a brief one — I arrived early but left at midday. I had been thinking of making the trip for a week or so, but had not seen the weather I was hoping for. Then I heard that there might be a bit of tule fog — that’s my kind of weather! — so I quickly decided to get up hours before dawn the next morning and drive over there in darkness. It was still too early in the season to find the vast flocks of birds that will arrive later, but I did spot some large groups of sandhill cranes. This quartet was holding forth near a larger group, and at this moment had begun a vigorous performance of the crane dance.

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 | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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

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

Cranes Above The Levee

Image Leave a comment
Cranes Above The Levee
A small group of sandhill cranes flies into a mist-filled early morning winter sky above a Central Valley levee.

Cranes Above The Levee. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A small group of sandhill cranes flies into a mist-filled early morning winter sky above a Central Valley levee.

Light comes in infinite variations — bright, warm, cool, clear, misty, back, front, reflected, glowing, harsh, and on and on. (I wonder how many ways there are to describe light?) Photographers and photographers may be characterized by their favorite subjects, how they compose, elements of post-processing, and much more. But what light they prefer and how they handle it may be among the most important factors.

I have my preferences. One of them is for light coming through a glowing, mist or fog filled atmosphere, so bright that you almost cannot look straight at it. In this light the atmosphere almost becomes a tangible thing. This winter morning in California’s Central Valley had that quality as this small group of sandhill cranes flew past.

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.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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

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

Wetlands, Winter Fog

Image Leave a comment
Wetlands, Winter Fog
Early morning winter tule fog rises from Central Valley wetland ponds as sandhill cranes take flight.

Wetlands, Winter Fog. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early morning winter tule fog rises from Central Valley wetland ponds as sandhill cranes take flight.

Winter transforms the arguably-mundane California Central Valley landscape. Much of the area is agricultural country, and while that can look bucolic when fields are green, most of the time they are not. During much of the year they are brown, and during the winter the place can be quite muddy. (Don’t regard this as suggesting I don’t like the Valley. I do!)

On a January morning such as the on the day I made this photograph, magic can occur as tule fog rises and drifts about wetlands and as the sky fills with birds. To make this photograph I stopped along an empty rural road next to flooded fields and waited for cranes to take wing along a levee.

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.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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

Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Swans, Sunrise Light

Image Leave a comment
Cranes, Sunrise Light
A flock of sandhill cranes catches the color of low angle sunrise light.

Swans, Sunrise Light. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A flock of (tundra?) swans catches the color of low angle sunrise light.

About eight years back, on a beautiful January morning, I visited the place where I first photographed migratory birds. The location is south of Sacramento, in California’s Great Central Valley — in agricultural lowlands. (That could, of course, describe huge sections of the Valley.) During most of the year you probably would not regard the area as being exceptionally beautiful, but when the birds arrive everything changes.

And do they arrive! Just counting the large birds, there are sandhill cranes, egrets of several types, ibises, all sorts of geese, swans, and sandhill cranes. At dawn on the perfect mornings, the sky is filled with flocks, flying at different altitudes, crossing in different directions, and making the most impressive racket that I know of. I photographed this group of (tundra?) swans during the brief interval when the sun is low enough in the sky to illuminate their undersides.

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.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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