Tag Archives: sunset

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

Meadow, Forest, Cloud-Shrouded Peak

June 10, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Cloud-shrouded Mount Conness towers above the domes and forest of Tuolumne Meadows

I’ll take a break from the recent urban, night, and street photography and go back to the high country with a photograph from about this time a year ago. I spent a few days in the Tuolumne Meadows area, photography in the high elevation areas of the park. This was a particularly memorable evening that started without a specific plan, led to a surprise meeting with friends and photographs, including a hike down a river to a lovely area of granite slabs, and concluded with sunset back in the big meadow.

As we came back up the river we split up — some heading up onto a nearby high prominence and others (that would be me!) hanging out along the edge of the meadow, between the base of a granite dome and a large herd of grazing deer. As the final sun light touched the tops of the highest peaks, fog formed around the summit of Mt. Conness up along the Sierra crest.

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

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Dunes, Evening

April 28, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Evening light comes to desert sand dunes, Death Valley National Park

I made this photograph on the evening of our arrival in Death Valley this past March, when we spent the better part of a week photographing in this desert park. We took a slow drive into the park from Ridgecrest, stopping at Trona and then in the Panamint Valley before crossing Towne Pass and dropping into Death Valley itself. It was early enough that we decided to take a “little” side trip to some slightly remote canyons in the afternoon and go for a short hike. We returned to the Stovepipe Wells area and then headed out along the dunes in the evening.

The evening light, especially when softened a bit by clouds or else just after the sun sets, paints the dunes and the surrounding terrain in marvelous and subtle colors. Mountains that are blue-gray in daylight and dunes that are almost colorless take on the colors of the haze, the sky, and the evening light, with shades of pink and yellow and blue and purple and more. This little vignette adds the green of the lush plants growing atop this sand dune, though the dead plants at the right betray the harsh conditions that are found her much of the time.

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

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

Twilight Birds

March 26, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A flock of geese against twilight sky above the Central Valley

February was mostly a very good month for photographing migratory birds in the Central Valley this winter. This was a relief, quite honestly, after the past four years of drought and increasingly dire conditions in the Valley and throughout the state. In normal times, the wildlife refuges where I often photograph can be filled with water and life in the winter — flowing creeks and flooded fields where thousands of birds collect. But much of this water comes from sources that are not local, and as they dried up the refuges also began to shrink the acreage that was under water. It was sad to see locations that I’ve thought of as ponds become plain, dry fields. And at times the birds seemed to suffer a bit, too, or at least change their habits. Back in the late fall, before the course of the winter season became clear and Northern and Central California received rain again, we were concerned about what would happen this year.

But in most of California the rains came, at times heavy, and water flows once again. The birds returned, and sometimes it seemed that there numbers were exploding with the return of water. By February it wasn’t uncommon to find many thousands of birds in the refuges, and by late in the month the scene was downright wild, with all kinds of geese, huge numbers of cranes, and much more. In the evening things become active, and as the light fails I often continue to photograph, but at longer shutter speeds that allow me to work with the moving poetry of blurred birds in flight against dusk sky.

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

Snow Geese, Sunset Light

December 24, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A group of snow geese fly into sunset light

I made this photograph on my second visit to the San Joaquin Valley migratory birds this season, on a day that features some very beautiful light near the end of the day. As always, I arrived before dawn, at first photographing in very thin fog. (Overall, this year so far seems have produced a lot less fog than usual and much less than last year.) I photographed all morning, finally took my midday break, then returned in the mid-afternoon.

This group of birds managed to pose quite nicely for me. There are many challenges when it comes to getting a group of birds together in one photograph. There are the usual issues — the birds need to fly past within camera distance, they must be oriented so that they are decently lit, there must be enough light to allow a fast enough shutter speed in order to minimize motion blur. While “decent” light can work, better light is, well, better. In this case the group of birds cooperated and flew toward the low angle light source of the sun, with just enough side light to enhance their features. Another challenge is taking advantage of opportunities when the birds line up in interesting and photogenic ways. Here they are all (well, almost all) headed the same direction. Wings are mostly in interesting and dynamic positions. There is barely any overlap among the birds, and the one small overlap has the head of the closer bird visible.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: sunset

Dunes, Evening

Twilight Birds

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