Tag Archives: white

Evening Shadows, Mono Lake

January 26, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Evening shadows fall across the western shore and islands of Mono Lake

The landscape of Mono Lake, near Lee Vining, California, provides a stark contrast to the Sierra Nevada just to the west. From the alpine ridges of the Sierra along and just north of Yosemite, the eastern slopes of the range drop quickly to Lee Vining and the broad valley beyond. The lake sits in a dry basin that has no outlet, so the water simply (for the most part) evaporates.

The lake is huge, stretching far to the east beyond Lee Vining. The landscape of the lake is simple, partly because the surrounding area was once submerged when the lake was much larger than it is today. Far in the distance is Boundary Peak and the ridge of the White Mountains. The sun sets early here, since the tall peaks of the Sierra raise to the west, and in this photograph deep shadows are already angling across the western shores of the lake.

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Wings of an Egret

January 21, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

An egret spreads its wings as it takes to the air above San Joaquin Valley wetlands

The great egret is an impressive and fascinating bird. They are found in many places here in California — along creeks and drainage ditches, near wetlands, along parts of the seashore. A few years ago there was one that lived at a small pond at a place where I regularly hiked and photographed, and I could count on finding it almost every time I went there. Their striking white appearance draws attention on the winter landscape, where they stand out against darker background and against California’s winter green. They are, perhaps surprisingly for such beautiful and graceful things, skillful hunters.

I first noticed them quite a few years ago in creek beds of urban areas in northern California, and eventually learned that they are found all over the place. They often stand almost completely still, though if you watch them a bit you’ll frequently figure out that they are hunting, observing and then slowly moving toward their prey. Because they seem so still, they look like they would perhaps allow a close approach, but they seem to usually have boundaries — get too close and they take off suddenly, displaying their large and beautiful wings and more than most birds they really do seem to float on the air. Photographing them on the ground isn’t too hard, though getting the in interesting poses can take some patience — but photographing them in flight is quite tricky. They take off suddenly, and I find it hard to be precisely ready for the liftoff when it comes. They tend to fly at very low heights, often flying along ditches and behind plants. And they are most often flying away from you. When I came upon this one I remained in my vehicle but got ready to photograph it if took flight, and when it did I have a tiny moment to fire of a small number of shot, one of which framed the beautiful wings fully spread and against a darker background.

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

Egret on the Hunt

January 18, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

An egret hunts in marshland grasses, San Joaquin Valley, California

On this foggy late-December morning I was in this spot mostly looking to photograph sandhill cranes. It seems that the cranes are often a bit shy in the early morning and I often am not able to get too close to them — I try, but they tend to be a bit off in the distance except when they are in flight, and then they typically diverge a bit when they see me. There were lots of cranes on this morning, but they were by the ponds near the more distant trees in this photograph. (If you look closely you can probably spot a few of them.)

Egrets, on the other hand, are often not that far from my route. Out here they tend to be found along creeks and ditches or out in grassy areas where they can hunt, which is what this one was doing. While the egrets are spectacular in flight — with their slow, swooping trajectories and huge wingspans — they may actually be more interesting to watch when they are hunting. They seem to be very careful and very patient hunters, often sneaking up on their prey slowly. Along the way they may stop in some awkward pose, perhaps standing almost still aside from a bit of neck “rocking” or the slow movement of a foot. Then the neck stretches a bit and suddenly the bird stabs its small prey. This bird was hunting in grasses very close to a gravel road, so I remained in my vehicle to photograph it as it looked for its breakfast.

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

Geesescape, Evening

January 13, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Large flock of geese, airborne and on the ground, during the evening fly-in

On New Year’s Day, a small group of photographers and friends met at a San Joaquin Valley wetlands location, to welcome the first dawn of the new year and to spend a day photographing birds and the misty Central Valley winter landscape. If nothing else, the necessity of getting up at 4:00 AM on New Year’s morning tends to ensure that we keep the partying to a minimum the night before!

The day began with photography in tule fog, which soon cleared enough to allow the sunshine in. We shot all morning and then took a break for lunch in a nearby town before returning for the late-afternoon and evening light. You never know for sure what the geese will do. They might not show up, they might be there in small numbers, they might land in an inaccessible area… or you might be treated to the sights and sounds of many thousands of them in close proximity. We weren’t sure how this evening would turn out — earlier the geese had played a bit of a game of hide and seek with us. But as the evening wore on it became more apparent that there were a lot of geese about and that they were flying in to a large pasture area that was quite accessible. The time of the evening fly-in is a time of a lot of action. Small flocks join those already on the ground, and there is an almost constant coming and going of birds. A huge flock may be on the ground, only to be spooked by something and suddenly and noisily take to the air. Or them might begin to move, a few at a time, from one location to another, often flying very low. At the time of this photograph, many geese decided to land very close to our location, and at times it was hard to pick out a

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: white

Evening Shadows, Mono Lake

Wings of an Egret

Egret on the Hunt

Geesescape, Evening

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.