Tag Archives: nwr

Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Flying Above the Flock

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Several Ross’s geese in flight above the flock on a foggy morning.

Flying Above the Flock. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Several Ross’s geese in flight above the flock on a foggy morning.

This photograph looks both backwards and forwards. It is retrospective in the sense that it comes from a season that has already passed and from eight years ago. I don’t recall if I was in this place by myself or with friends — I think it was with friends — but I do recall a very, very foggy morning, with the Central Valley tule fog making it difficult to see any distance away. When I made the photograph it had cleared a little bit, but even very close birds were somewhat obscured. I caught this group as they circled around to land and join the flock.

The photograph looks ahead because the season when I photograph these birds is almost here. Some of them have already arrived in California’s Great Central Valley, though the larger groups won’t be here for a bit yet. But by the end of November I’ll be heading out there frequently, typically on a cold and foggy morning well before sunrise, to spend the day with thousands of 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: Birds, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

December Geese

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December Geese
Migratory geese flock in Central Valley pastures on a foggy morning.

December Geese. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Migratory geese flock in Central Valley pastures on a foggy morning.

The experience of photographing winter’s migratory birds in California might be divided into several sorts of exercise. One is looking for the birds, often without finding them or perhaps spotting them too far away to photograph. Then there is the experience, after not finding them, of waiting for their hoped-for arrival, perhaps spending time doings something else entirely. When they do show up we then watch, often making a few hopeful initial photographs as they do the same things we’ve photographed before.

Sometimes we manage to get very close — occasionally because the geese, by some miracle, come to us, rather than due to our skills are finding them. The geese have work to do, and they seem almost oblivious to our presence as they feed. The flocks often move slowly across the landscape, producing a remarkable low, droning sound. If you have watched them long enough you know that eventually they will move, sometimes by leaving in groups that follow one after another, but sometimes in a sudden and virtually unpredictable eruption of flight that produces first a sort of “ripping” sound as thousands of pairs of wings flap and the flock becomes airborne.

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: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Water Plants

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Water Plants
Water plants reflected on the surface of a wetland pond.

Water Plants. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Water plants reflected on the surface of a wetland pond.

In another post that I queued up recently I mentioned some aspects of the experience of photographing migratory birds, pointing out that a lot of “down time” is part of the experience — times when there isn’t a lot of action going on. The birds may be static — or missing! — and one waits. In that other post I point out that these slow times are certainly not a bad thing! The quiet stillness can grow on you eventually, and there are other things to see and photograph, too.

I’m not at all a “pure bird photographer.” When I’m in the field photographing this subject I spend a good portion of my time thinking as a landscape photographer. Even when the primary subject is a bird or birds, I often consider how that bird is part of the landscape. But I also frequently switch gears entirely and focus on the space in which the birds live… and I photograph landscapes. On this occasion I was working a wetland area and the reflections of plants in the water caught my attention.

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.

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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: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature

Thinning Tule Fog, Morning

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Thinning Tule Fog, Morning
Autumn trees begin to emerge from thinning morning tule fog, Central Valley.

Thinning Tule Fog, Morning. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Autumn trees begin to emerge from thinning morning tule fog, Central Valley.

As I post this photograph and text it is mid-September, although the post is being queued up for the first day of October. Most of you will see it on October 1. (If you see it earlier, use your imagination!) The onset of autumn in my part of California always seems to take longer than I expect, even after decades of experiencing it. For many years I subconsciously felt that it began when school started again “in the fall,” even though the start dates usually occurred while it was still late summer. This association with fall led me to expect to see fall weather in September, but September in most of California feels much more like summer. I still struggle with this seasonal displacement.

But if you are seeing this on October 1, it now actually is fall, and even though we typically have some warm days ahead of us — and usually the real rains are at least a month away — the change is now becoming more obvious. The nights last longer than the days, mornings are cool, the clouds from incoming Pacific systems start to pass overhead, and the aspens are turning in the Sierra Nevada. This is my favorite season — the time of soft light and clouds and autumn colors. This photograph comes from a late-autumn day in California’s Central Valley, as morning tule fog began to thin. (Note: This is a reworking of an image posted previously.)

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.

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