Tag Archives: silhouette

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

Three Cranes, Sunrise Sky

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Three Cranes, Sunrise Sky
Three sandhill cranes in flight beneath dawn sky, Central Valley, California.

Three Cranes, Sunrise Sky. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Three sandhill cranes in flight beneath dawn sky, Central Valley, California.

In an earlier post I believe I mentioned that I made “more than a few” photographs of cranes flying against this colorful pre-dawn sky. The key on this morning was that a thin layer of high clouds stretched to the east over and beyond the Sierra Nevada. It was more or less the perfect sort of cloudiness to create this light — thick enough to pick up the color and glow, but mostly not thick enough to block the morning light. So I perhaps expended more frames than usual on the cranes that passed in front of my camera position.

I recently read that sandhill cranes are one of the most ancient of bird species, and they do have a sort of primordial quality when in flight. They often fly in small groups of two or three, though sometimes I’ll see groups of a dozen or so… and when they fly back to settle in the evening there may be a hundred or more at a time. They are large birds, and their relatively slow wing strokes and frequent gliding are striking.

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

Winter Tree and Pond

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Winter Tree and Pond
“Winter Tree and Pond” — A winter-barren tree at the edge of a foggy pond.

Winter Tree and Pond. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A barren winter tree at the edge of a foggy pond.

This scene was an unexpected opportunity on my Central Valley visit during the first week of March. When I arrived in the predawn light, the sky was completely clear — so clear that the sunrise photography was actually a bit disappointing. But I try to make the best of what I have to work with, so I did some photography in the first dawn light and then moved on. Then, perhaps an hour later and to my complete surprise, tule fog began to develop, and before long the visibility was down to, well, what you see in this photograph.

I headed back to this spot, which I had passed without bothering to pause in that earlier light, and now the fog turned this bare tree and pond into quite an atmospheric scene. The fog often transforms rather unremarkable scenes into something much more interesting, mostly by muting the visibility of distracting elements and leaving the main features and forms.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Winter Tree, Evening Sky

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Winter Tree, Evening Sky
A bare winter cottonwood silhouetted against dusk sky, California Central Valley.

Winter Tree, Evening Sky. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A bare winter cottonwood silhouetted against dusk sky, California Central Valley.

This photograph is an example of why I always try to remember to not get so focused on the primary subject that I forget to look around. I was here to photograph migratory birds, and at this point in the evening they were putting on quite a show, rising and flying in giant circles directly in front of us in the evening light. But when I took a moment to look behind I saw the trees and the colorful evening sky.

This was an “interesting” day in weather terms. I didn’t actually have very high hopes for it as no fog was forecast (and I love to photograph these subjects on tule fog day) and early clouds from a incoming weather system were predicted to turn the sky gray, with extreme winds predicted for the afternoon. All of that happened, but it turned out that the sky cleared again in the afternoon, and the winds may have slowed the birds a bit is struggled to overcome its strength.

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 | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | 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.

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

Three Cranes in Silhouette

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Three Cranes in Sillouette
Three sandhill cranes silhouetted against dawn sky over the Sierra Nevada crest.

Three Cranes in Silhouette. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Three sandhill cranes silhouetted against dawn sky over the Sierra Nevada crest.

A trio of what may be my favorite kind of bird, the sandhill crane. This group is flying above California’s Central Valley on a late-February morning, silhouetted against a brilliantly colorful sky of thin clouds above the crest of the Sierra Nevada.

Photographing birds against this kind of sky is a challenge. Part of me wants to end up with photographs that show the details of the birds’ shape and texture, but an exposure that would accomplish this would entirely lose the brilliant colors of this pre-sunrise sky. So I go with the silhouette effect — though you may be able to spot at least the suggestion of detail on the birds’ wings if you look closely. Truth be told, seeing the details of the birds in this light is extremely difficult and, I think, perhaps not the most important thing.

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 | Twitter | 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. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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