Tag Archives: tree

Photographs: Yosemite

Merced River and El Capitan

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MercedElCap2005|05|21: Merced River and El Capitan. Yosemite National Park. May 21, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

Merced River and El Capitan. Yosemite National Park. May 21, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

This photograph was made during the spring of 2005 when the Merced River was flooding during a very high spring runoff. Here the water is almost spilling over the banks near where it passes by El Capitan.

keywords: el capitan, cap, merced, river, flow, high, water, reflection, cliff, face, morning, tree, forest, meadow, grass, nose, light, spring, yosemite, valley, national park, california, usa, landscape, travel, scenic, sierra, nevada, mountains, stock

Photographs: Owens Valley

Pastures Near Bishop, California

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BishopPasture2005|08|06: Pastures and Eastern Sierra Nevada near Bishop. August 6, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

Pastures and Eastern Sierra. Bishop, California. August 6, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

There were thunderstorms up and down the eastern Sierra on this late August afternoon.

A little story about getting this photo: I had spent the day up in the White Mountains visiting and photographing the famous Bristlecone Pines. It had been a long day – longer than expected – and I had finally made my way back to Owens Valley to begin the long drive back to the San Francisco Bay area. I had done so much photography already that I was feeling burned out when I saw this lovely light in the pasture area just north of Bishop. I almost drove right past it, but at the last minute took a quick exit from the highway and drove off onto a side road where I found this wonderful scene.

keywords: pasture, bishop, california, eastern, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, highway, 395, owens, valley, thunder, storm, clouds, dark, meadow, tree, agriculture, usa, travel, scenic, landscape

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

Yellow-Headed Blackbird

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Yellow-Headed Blackbird
“Yellow-Headed Blackbird” — A yellow-headed blackbird perched on the branch of a Central Valley tree.

This bird was a bit of a surprise. Some large cottonwood trees packed full with a flock of tai-colored blackbirds caught my attention. I pulled over and got out the long lens and began to photograph dense groups of those birds. But as I looked through the telephoto I realized that not all of the birds were the same. Two in particular didn’t quite fit — this yellow-headed blackbird and a nearby European starling.

While the tri-colored blackbirds were clumped closely together in a wildly-singing flock, this bird perched just a bit to the side. It was close enough to initially look like part of the boisterous group, but just far enough away to make a case that “I’m not one of those loud birds!”

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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