Tag Archives: surface

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Wetland Reflections, Dawn

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Wetland Reflections, Dawn
Dawn clouds reflected in the surface of a wetland pond, Pacific Flyway, New Year’s Day 2022.

Wetland Reflections, Dawn. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dawn clouds reflected in the surface of a wetland pond, Pacific Flyway, New Year’s Day 2022.

The dawn light is remarkably fleeting. The space between “too early” and “too late” can be extremely small, and on a morning like this one I might have only moments to see what is happening in the sky, find a foreground, create a composition, and make some photographs. When the light arrived and a small group of clouds appeared in the distance, I first worked handheld with a long lens in order to narrow the view and get some flexibility about positioning the tree. Then I grabbed another camera that had a wider angle lens attached, and I made a few photographs that included more sky and water than seen here.

I have photographed in some remarkable landscape, where particular objects demanded attention. But this landscape along the Pacific Flyway is not that sort of place. To be honest, often it can seem plain and even boring. Much of the area is agricultural country, and nearby there are large cattle operations — not the most scenic or pleasant of landscape subjects. But for a few months each winter the fields flood and migratory birds return, and when the conditions are just right magic may happen.

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, Photographs: Wildlife

Above the Water

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Above the Water
A flock of small birds, reflected in the surface of a winter pond.

Above the Water. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A flock of small birds, reflected in the surface of a winter pond.

These birds move so quickly and follow such unpredictable patterns that they are a real challenge to photograph. The sometimes stay in one place a bit while feeding but then, without much warning that I can detect, the whole flock of them instantly takes to the air, flying closely together and abruptly turning as if they were a single organism. They move quickly enough that it is hard to track them, and when they appear they are often in and out of camera range in a few short seconds.

Quite often they appear against busy backgrounds of grasses and trees and more distant water, and they can easily get lost against these backdrops. (Here their speed can be helpful, as panning with the birds can blur those backgrounds a bit.) It was foggy on this morning, and I chose (very quickly and intuitively!) to photograph them over a patch of uninterrupted water that gradually faded into the fog.

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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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: Architecture, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Silo and Shadows

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Silo and Shadows
Morning shadows fall across the curving surface of an agricultural silo, Central Valley, California.

Silo and Shadows. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning shadows fall across the curving surface of an agricultural silo, Central Valley, California.

This photograph comes from the area where I first learned about bird photography. I’ve told the story before, but here’s the outline. I had almost no interest in photographing birds — it was completely outside my experience. One morning I was at my local espresso stand when I struck up a conversation with a friend who was also in the line. She happened to mention a birding location that she liked just south of Sacramento, California. For some reason, I was intrigued, and since I had some time to drive a few days later I headed out there, not knowing what I would find. It was a winter morning and as the sun rose I found thousands of birds everywhere — on the ground and in the sky. I had not idea what kind of birds they were (I think I assumed that all birds were geese…) but I was hooked. This was the start of a passion for photographing them.

You may wonder how that connects with this photograph. As I explored that area I came to some flooded rice fields, and nearby found a structure including several silos. I photographed it, and periodically I’ve returned to photograph it again. I photographed this view on a sunny morning, when the reflections of angled pipes, ladders, supports, and wire produced a complex pattern across the curving, corrugated metal skin of this silo.

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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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: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Pacific Horizon, Autumn

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Pacific Horizon, Autumn
Brilliant autumn sun reflects from the surface of the Pacific Ocean, Big Sur.

Pacific Horizon, Autumn. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Brilliant autumn sun reflects from the surface of the Pacific Ocean, Big Sur.

For almost my entire life (since my family moved to California from the Upper Midwest when I was four years old) I have lived within hailing distance of the Pacific Ocean and the western shoreline of the North American continent. Although I don’t live literally on the coast — a range of coastal mountains separates me from it — the Pacific is ever-present. That’s where our big winter storms come from. Fog from the coast cools us when the temperatures are in the 100’s further inland. Drives take me past the San Francisco Bay and the rivers emptying into it. And when I need a quick escape I can be over those coastal hills and at the ocean in less than one hour.

This photograph comes from a late-autumn pandemic-era day trip down the coast into what I think of as the “Big Sur coast” below Monterey and Carmel. These visits, as short as they were, reminded me that the natural world was still there and still doing more or less what it had always done. We think of this coast as running north/south, but it actually cuts inward to the east as you travel down it. Because of this, by noon I can photograph straight into the blinding light of the sun reflected on the surface of the sea.

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.

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