Images

Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

White Pelican In Flight

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White Pelican In Flight
A white pelican in flight on a foggy Central Valley morning

White Pelican In Flight. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A white pelican in flight on a foggy Central Valley morning.

From time to time, as you may have realized if you have followed me for a while, I declare some bird to be my favorite. At various times the “favorite” has been the trumpeter swan, one or another type of egret, ibises, geese (snow? Ross’s?), sandhill cranes (they keep returning to the list), bald eagles, water ouzels, and others I am perhaps forgetting. OK, so I’m fickle! This year I’m starting to think that white pelicans may get the nod this year. For a long time I didn’t know about them. Then I recognized them but didn’t realize how common they are around here. Then I became more fascinated by their stand-offish manner, their lumbering flight, and their prehistoric quality.

As I photograph birds I gradually learn more about their behaviors, at least those that affect how I photograph them. I’ve learned of a few places where I can somewhat reliably find these birds on the ground, typically at a distance that is too great to photograph them well. But I’ve also learned that eventually they take flight, and I’ve figured out a few things about their likely trajectory, thus allowing me to place myself in position for a possible fly-over. That’s exactly what happened on this morning when, after watching them on the ground for some time, they took flight away from me (so as to take off into a slight headwind) and then circled back around to cross almost directly over my position.

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: Birds, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Flock In Flight

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Flock In Flight
A large from of Snow Geese in flight. against late-fall foggy sky.

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

A large from of Snow Geese in flight. against late-fall foggy sky.

If you spend time around birds that live in flocks, especially very large flocks, you will frequently see (and hear!) events like this where many hundreds or thousands of birds take to the air at once. I’ve seen it with geese, to some extent with sandhill cranes (sometimes along with the geese), and even with starlings. It is always a remarkable experience, and the group behavior of flocks never fails to evoke wonder.

This time of year, up and down the western United States, the Pacific Flyway provides plenty of opportunities to experience this. I’ve seen it from Washington to California. And, believe it or not, I’ve also seen much bigger and denser flocks! I am pretty certain that these birds are snow geese.

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: Night, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Brick Wall And Tree, Night

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Brick Wall And Tree, Night. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell - all rights reserved. DescriptionNight photograph of a gnarled tree growing up an old brick wall. Believe it or not, this emerged from a foray to make Christmas photographs. We made arrangements to visit a local place that has an old mansion, extensive grounds, and remarkable gardens, all decorated for the holiday season. We timed our visit for right around sunset so that we would have a variety of conditions for photographing Christmas lights and the background building and gardens. In fact, I did make some more traditional seasonal photographs — people illuminated by Christmas lights and similar. But then I saw this wall with the twisted and gnarled tree growing along its surface, illuminated by a few bare bulbs overhead — and I went into the more traditional night photographer mode. Photographing at night often profoundly transforms the mood of a subject, and that is certainly true in this case. In the daytime you might think of this as a lovely old, weathered wall with a tree. But to my eyes, at night it takes on a darker and possibly even ominous character. 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.
Night photograph of a gnarled tree growing up an old brick wall.

Brick Wall And Tree, Night. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Night photograph of a gnarled tree growing up an old brick wall.

Believe it or not, this emerged from a foray to make Christmas photographs. We made arrangements to visit a local place that has an old mansion, extensive grounds, and remarkable gardens, all decorated for the holiday season. We timed our visit for right around sunset so that we would have a variety of conditions for photographing Christmas lights and the background building and gardens. In fact, I did make some more traditional seasonal photographs — people illuminated by Christmas lights and similar.

But then I saw this wall with the twisted and gnarled tree growing along its surface, illuminated by a few bare bulbs overhead — and I went into the more traditional night photographer mode. Photographing at night often profoundly transforms the mood of a subject, and that is certainly true in this case. In the daytime you might think of this as a lovely old, weathered wall with a tree. But to my eyes, at night it takes on a darker and possibly even ominous character.

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: People, Photographs: People In Landscape, Photographs: Photographers, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Photographer Scot Miller

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Photographer Scot Miller
Photographer Scot Miller at work in the John Muir Wilderness of the Sierra Nevada

Photographer Scot Miller. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Photographer Scot Miller at work in the John Muir Wilderness of the Sierra Nevada.

This photograph of Scot Miller comes from the most recent of our annual Sierra Nevada backcountry adventures. A group of photographers has been spending a week or more in the Sierra backcountry since 2001, typically base-camping and photographing the heck out of a limited geographical area. (I’ve been going out with the group for about the past decade.) As I have become more aware over the years each time I spend another week in the backcountry with this group, the collective vision and experience of this crew is quite special. Among the members there are deep connections to Yosemite and the Sierra, folks who worked with Ansel and other wonderful photographers, a collection of astonishing (and often humorous) stories about these mountains and the people who love them, and a deep appreciation for and understanding of the Range of Light.

Although I’m perhaps not qualified to summarize Scot’s attributes fully, what I know of them is impressive. He’s not “just” a talented photographer, but he is an outstanding videographer (video photographer?) whose work you have probably seen on television. He has been deeply involved in many important conservation projects. He’s an author of several excellent books. He and his wife have operated a Dallas gallery. And he’s also a truly fine backcountry partner.

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.