Tag Archives: twilight

Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Sunset Flight

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Sunset Flight
Geese in flight above fields at sunset

Sunset Flight. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Geese in flight above fields at sunset.

Expect to see quite a few bird photographs during the next week or so. David Hoffman and I are featured in “Birdscapes,” an exhibition of our bird photography at the Stellar Gallery in Oakhurst, located near the southern entrance to Yosemite National Park. The two of us photograph birds and the landscapes they inhabit all along the Pacific Flyway. There is a lot more information about the show including details of location and dates at this web page. The show opens next week and we’d love to see you at the artist reception on Saturday, February 16 at 5:00-8:00pm at the gallery. If you are heading to Yosemite to see the recent snows or to try your luck at photographing Horsetail Fall, why don’t you swing by and see us?

I made this photograph on a winter evening, as a slight foggy haze filled the atmosphere and the western sky turned a lovely shade of pink. A large flock of geese was alternately feeding on pastureland and erupting into the sky en masse. I made this photograph at the very end of the day as the last faint sunlight illuminated the birds on the ground as other birds arrived to join them.

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

Geese, Twilight Flight

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Geese, Twilight Flight
A large flock of geese takes to the air at twilight.

Geese, Twilight Flight. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A large flock of geese takes to the air at twilight.

For many of us, one of the most exciting events when photographing birds is the eruption of many thousands of them into flight, a scene usually accompanied by wild sounds — the cries of the birds and a loud rustle (not sure how else to describe it) of thousands of pairs of wings. We often like to speculate about the cause of such take-offs — is there an eagle nearby, or did a plane fly over? — but often it takes place without a clear trigger. It may begin in one portion of the flock, within what seems like little more than a second the launch spreads across the flock.

Compositionally there isn’t a lot to this photograph, but it does have a few things that attract me — both to the shot itself and speaking more generally about these birds. Especially if you haven’t seen such things yourself quite a few times, the sheer density of the cloud of birds is striking. There are some many that it takes some effort to pick out individuals. In addition, there was special light on this evening — a gentle haze had developed and the western sky produced a luminous and colorful glow. Finally, there is a light subtlety here that I have learned to appreciate: The birds are between me and that sunset sky, but the light above the birds and behind my position is the much bluer and darker light of twilight. The birds themselves, while set against that colorful background, are themselves lit from the front by the soft yet intense blue light.

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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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife, Shows

Snow Geese in Twilight Flight

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A flock of snow geese in flight at twilight

Snow Geese in Twilight Flight. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A flock of snow geese in flight at twilight,

This post is partially about this photograph, partially about birds, and partially about an upcoming event. Stick with me for a moment, and I’ll explain. I came a bit late to photographing birds, having photographed landscapes and other subjects for many years before thinking to approach this subject. For a long time I didn’t regard myself as a “birder” type, but I had a few bird encounters that started me steering in this direction roughly a decade ago. Two of them involved the Pacific Northwest. Back then I did the long drive from the San Francisco Bay Area up to Seattle over two days, starting in the afternoon and passing through the upper Sacramento Valley around dusk. I was amazed to see tens or thousands of birds in the beautiful evening sky, and my interest was piqued. On another visit to Seattle I found myself with a free day and I headed up to the Skagit Valley, not really knowing what I’d see. Soon after arriving I pulled over at a bend in the road near the crossing of the river, and to my astonishment tens of thousands of snow geese descended into the field next to where I had parked.

Since that time photographing birds has become important to me. I’ve come to think of it largely as “birdscape” photography, more about the place of the birds in their landscape and generally not so much about individual birds. I often (though not exclusively) photograph them in flocks, and I work to position them as part of their environment.

And, there is a show coming up! My friend David Hoffman and I are doing a joint exhibit at Stellar Gallery — in Oakhurst at the southern entrance to Yosemite National Park. The opening reception will be on February 16 at the Gallery — I’ll share more information soon, and I hope to see you there!

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 | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Photographs: France, Photographs: Travel

Pont Neuf, Twilight

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Pont Neuf, Twilight
“Pont Neuf, Twilight” — The Pont Neuf Bridge over the Seine, twilight

Near the end of this year’s European travels we were able to spend four nights in Paris before we left that city to meet up with family members in a nearby rural area. Three days and four nights isn’t a lot of time in Paris, but we used it to revisit some places we had been to in the past and to go to a few places we previously missed. We did “the usual” — ate a lot of food, sat in cafes, went to museums, walked a lot, attended a concert, made photographs.

The final evening before we departed ended up being special. It wasn’t that we went anywhere we hadn’t been before or did anything new. In fact, the places we went were all familiar to us. It was a conjunction of several things that made it magical. It was a weekend evening and there were huge crowds of people out walking everywhere. Along the Seine there were walkers, cyclists, people lounging, dancers, musicians, and more. We crossed the bridge at Pont Neuf right around sunset and continued along the banks of the river… and a few moments later I made this twilight photograph looking back toward the bridge.

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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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