Tag Archives: wetlands

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

Winter Pond, Birds and Fog

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Winter Pond, Birds and Fog
Thick tule fog obscures the view of a winter pond, a small island, and birds in flight.

Winter Pond, Birds and Fog. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Thick tule fog obscures the view of a winter pond, a small island, and birds in flight.

From time to time I make the point that there is always an element of serendipity in nature photography — no matter how much we calculate and plan, in the end there are always things that we cannot control. This photograph is a fine example. I “knew” there would be no fog when I traveled to this location last week. And when I arrived there was none — the sky was almost completely clear in the hours after sunrise. Then, to my astonishment, tule fog spontaneously developed, and within a half hour the area was socked in.

But that’s not the only unanticipated good luck in this photograph. The active flock of red-winged blackbirds just happened to show up on a small island of reeds where I was, at just the right distance to let the fog mute their forms but not render them invisible. They remained just long enough for me to make a few exposures before they departed.

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

Sunrise, Wetlands

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Sunrise, Wetlands
Winter sun rising through morning clouds is reflected in a Central Valley wetlands pond.

Sunrise, Wetlands. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Winter sun rising through morning clouds is reflected in a Central Valley wetlands pond.

This is a photograph from the same morning that produced another sunrise photograph I recently shared — one with the sun a bit lower and cranes flying above. Usually I might be disappointed to find morning clouds above the distant Sierra Nevada, but this time they were just thick/thin enough to be an advantage. The muted the intensity of the direct sun. I made this photograph just as the sun moved above a thicker band of clouds.

The foreground expanse of water obviously reflects the sunrise light and colors, but the closest portions reflect other clouds higher in the sky and less colorful. In the middle a large group of sandhill cranes stands in the shallow water.

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: Birds, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Great Egret Over Water

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Great Egret Over Water
A great egret in flight about a wetland pond, Central Valley, California.

Great Egret Over Water. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A great egret in flight about a wetland pond, Central Valley, California.

Great egrets are all over the place in California. Years ago when I used to do long bicycle commutes to work, one of my routes took me along a drainage ditch in an area transitioning from rural to urban. Almost every time I passed I would see at least one of these beautiful birds near the water. They are found all over the Central Valley and elsewhere in the state, even along the ocean shoreline.

For being so common, they can be difficult to photograph. Typically they depart if you get too close, and then they fly away from you. So it is easy to make pictures of… the rear end of great egrets! Every so often one gives a side view. Much rarer is a direct frontal approach. This one took off and almost did a half circle around me.

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 | Twitter | 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.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Central Valley Morning Sky

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Central Valley Morning Sky
Clouds above wetland ponds on winter morning in Caifornia’s Central Valley.

Central Valley Morning Sky. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Clouds above wetland ponds on winter morning in Californai’s Cetmral Valley.

California’s Central Valley is a complicated place. If you drive through the impressions are largely of traffic, lots of huge trucks, endless fields, and seemingly nondescript cities and towns. In the winter the air can be awful when inversions put a lid on it for days or weeks at a time. But on the right days and at the right times on those days there is a lot of beauty out there, too — and the immense sky is a good part of that.

This was one of the very first photographs I made in 2023. It was early on New Year’s Day, and I had probably shot a handful of attempts at bird photographs before we arrived at this spot. From here the view to the northeast was clear, clouds from a departing storm still clustered around the Sierra, and early morning sunlight colored the clouds directly overhead.

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 | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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