Tag Archives: snow

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Snow Goose Variations

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Snow Goose Variations
A group of snow geese exhibiting variations in coloration

Snow Goose Variations. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A group of snow geese exhibiting variations in coloration

Upon a first experience with these birds they seem to be nearly identical in every way — the initial impression is of white birds (with a pattern of black wing markings when in flight) and a certain uniformity of their calls. Surprisingly, perhaps, I was first alerted to the differences by a friend who has learned to detect the type of flock by subtleties in their cries. I hadn’t noticed, but once he pointed it out I started to pay a lot more attention… and I can hear this, too.

I soon realized that there is more than one type of “white goose,” and I began to consult various guides to understand how to identify them. Some of the cues are pretty obvious once you learn about them, but the guides also reveal that things are not as regular as you might think. For example, the supposedly white types of geese are most certainly not always white! The birds in this photograph are all the same type… but there is actually quite a range in coloration.

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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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Within The Flock

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Within The Flock
Inside the tumultuous take-off of a flock of migratory geese

Within The Flock. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Inside the tumultuous take-off of a flock of migratory geese

When I first started photographing migratory birds, I was astounded by the sheer numbers of them and how the flocks behave. I still am. While individuals and smaller groups are sometimes spotted, it is the very large flocks that seem the most remarkable. Sometimes they assemble slowly, a few birds at a time, until there are thousands or tens of thousands of birds. Sometimes they disperse the same way. On other occasions whole flocks move at once, and the visual and auditory experience is astonishing when it happens.

This group took off as a group, in response to some stimulus that escaped my attention. This sort of photograph is a “type” among bird photographers — a long lens photograph that tries to get inside the environment of the flock and what appears to be wild tumult as the birds move all at once.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Mount Dana, Stormy Sky

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Mount Dana, Stormy Sky
Thunderstorm clouds begin to assemble above Mount Dana, Yosemite National Park

Mount Dana, Stormy Sky. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Thunderstorm clouds begin to assemble above Mount Dana, Yosemite National Park

In this case I’ll make a bit of an exception to my usual rule and identify this peak by name. It is Mount Dana, a mountain well-known to folks who pass over Tioga Pass on the eastern boundary of Yosemite National Park, as it towers directly above the pass and is automatically the dominant feature of the landscape here. I climbed it once, many years ago, and have never been up it again, with the exception of one aborted attempt with one of my sons quite a few years ago. (We got up to the edge of the first plateau, only to discover a problem with his shoes.) My single ascent was a formative moment for me in the mountains. I can’t have been much older than 12-14 years old, and I was there with my parents and siblings. There was a ranger-led ascent, and my younger siblings weren’t ready for a 3,000′ climb to slightly over 13,000′, so they sent me alone with the group. (My memory is understandably hazy, but it may have been led by Carl Sharsmith.) I barely recall the summit, but I surely recall the climb, and I have a distinct memory of being at the top and looking down to see some hearty mountaineer type striding straight up the talus slopes across which we had just dragged our non-acclimatized bodies. I was impressed, and that image remains with me.

For such an important peak, it isn’t one I photograph a lot, with the exception of some long-lens photographs from the Tuolumne Meadows area. However, I’m aware of a view alternate views of the mountain, including this one that appeared as I returned from a hike just outside the park. The view from this spot is often a bit bland, frequently in full sun with blue sky. But on this day I was blessed with building clouds that still were broken just enough to let light and shadow move across the face of the peak.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Oak in Winter

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Oak in Winter
Light snow covers a meadow and the branches of an oak tree during a spring storm, Yosemite Valley

Oak in Winter. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Light snow covers a meadow and the branches of an oak tree during a spring storm, Yosemite Valley

I went back and forth on the question of whether this photograph should be black and white or color. When I made the photograph, in light snow flurries and soft and low light, there was hardly any color in the scene, and I imagined the “I might as well” go with monochrome. I toyed with the idea of doing a color rendition and leaving the viewer to figure out if it really was in color or not. Finally, I simply decided that color wasn’t a particularly important aspect of the image… and here you are.

The scene might be just a bit deceiving. It is clearly a winter-like scene (though photographed in early spring) with new fallen snow. However, a closer look reveals that the snow is quite light — perhaps no more than an inch or so — yet it is fresh enough to cling to branches and cover the ground. It was snowing lightly as I made the photograph, in fact.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email

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