Tag Archives: twilight

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

Tufa Hill, Twilight

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Tufa Hill, Twilight
Twilight and evening clouds above a tufa hill in the Death Valley landscape

Tufa Hill, Twilight. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Twilight and evening clouds above a tufa hill in the Death Valley landscape

A day or two earlier than this I had been out in a location not far from this spot at the end of the day, hoping to photograph end-of-day color. Just before sunset the sky went “dead” — some haze, no color in the sky, and a generally flat-looking landscape. I was about to pack up when “someone” (thanks, Patty!) pointed out, perhaps more than once, that I really should stick around “just in case.” And, yes, within moments a dull, gray cloud began to pick up pink tones, and before long sufficient color appeared to produce an interesting photograph. I know not to “pack before it is black,” but I need reminding from time to time!

The evening when I made the photograph seen here was challenging in many ways, and it began with perhaps even less promise than that evening a few days earlier. This time the sun went behind clouds to the west as it descended, turning the light completely flat. On top of that, the wind was absolutely howling, and sand was just beginning to blow. If I hadn’t had that reminder a couple of evenings earlier, I would have been out of there! But I stuck around, switching out the long lens that I had been using for a wider lens used for this photograph, and when the post-sunset, early twilight glow and color began I was ready. (A note regarding the title of this photograph. I’ve wondered about the source of these fantastical hills on the floor of Death Valley. As near as I can tell, they were formed many thousands of years ago, at the bottom of what was then a giant prehistoric lake.)

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

Red-Wing Blackbirds, Twilight

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Red-Wing Blackbirds, Twilight
A huge flock of red-wing blackbirds wheels in the twilight sky

Red-Wing Blackbirds, Twilight. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A huge flock of red-wing blackbirds wheels in the twilight sky

First, a confession. Although I’m almost positive that the little black spots in this photograph are individual red-wing blackbirds, I was not actually close enough to verify. I had seen quite a few of those specific birds here earlier and none (or very few) of the birds that I might mistake for them, such as tricolor blackbirds. The rediwings are ubiquitous here in California and, I suspect, many other places. Before this past year I had mostly noticed them as individuals or in very small groups, often perched on a fence or tree or similar. I also sometimes saw them in groups of perhaps a few hundred.

This was the first year that I saw these small birds collect into extremely large group of many thousands of individuals. (In at least one case, I would estimate that there might have been multiple tens of thousands. On that day I saw then in the far distance through light fog in the very early morning — too far away to photography.) These really big groups sometimes perform remarkable group aerial maneuvers, with the entire flock spontaneously changing directions, ascending, descending and forming unusual patterns in the sky. In this photograph we see a diagonal boundary between the main group and a smaller group against twilight sky.

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

Twilight Flight

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Twilight Flight
A rush of (mostly) geese at the end of the day

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

A rushing blur of birds at the end of the day

First, I do know how to make sharp photographs of birds, too… ;-)

There are many things I can’t really explain about winter bird populations. But as I have watched them (and listened to their remarkable sound) from Washington to California, I am starting to at recognize a few more patterns. At times some birds become increasingly active, and at the end of the day, as light fades, there may be opportunities to depict the motions of individual birds and flocks in a different way — rather than trying to stop motion I just go with longer shutter speeds, pan with groups as they fly by, and let the motion blur take over. Frankly, in many ways I think that this confusing blur may better evoke the wild actions of these evening flocks.

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 | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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: Night, Photographs: Wildlife

The Cranes Return

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The Cranes Return
“The Cranes Return” — Sandhill cranes fly over full moon in twilight and return San Joaquin Valley wetlands

I understand that the “Super Blue Blood Moon” or something similar occurred early this morning. I missed it. (Well, not quite. I did look out my window before sunrise, and I saw a bit of the eclipse over my neighbor’s house.) However, almost exactly 12 hours earlier I was in a position to look at and photograph that very same moon as it rose over the Sierra Nevada and climbed into the sky above California. It was a beautiful, quiet, peaceful moment at the end of a long day photographing birds.

I chose this particular day to visit the wetlands for a couple of reasons. First, I knew there would be ground fog in the morning and that fog often leaves behind a soft and hazy atmosphere. Second, I knew that the moon would rise from behind the Sierra about a half hour before actual sunset, putting it at an interesting elevation above the horizon at sunset and during the blue hour, that period when the moon seems bright but the ambient light is still sufficient to illuminate the landscape. I began watching for the rising moon at the appointed time, but it did not immediately appear, because it still had to clear the Sierra and because the atmosphere above the valley was so thick with haze. Perhaps twenty minutes later it began to emerge from the haze, and I quickly moved to a spot I had previously considered, where some trees break up the otherwise flat landscape here where a gravel road winds among them. I hoped that the cranes might appear — they often do during the moments shortly after sunset — and hoped even more that they might pass through the scene. Sometimes one does get lucky, and a long string of the birds flew just above the moon as the sky turned pink and deeper blue.

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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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