Merced NWR – 12/16/09

This is starting to be a habit now. Every Wednesday my kids have gymnastics practice for 4 hours. I drop off the kids and my wife at the gym and I head out to the Merced NWR just before sunset. My goal this time was the very back pond, near the ‘Bittern Marsh Trail’. I had to hustle.

I set up on a small “island” and waited for sunset. I took a few photos, but I started seeing flocks of Sandhill Cranes. I re-set my camera from slow shutter speed to a somewhat higher speed and got this one.

Thinking I was done as the colors were fading, I packed up and started to drive the rest of the loop. Near the last section, paralleling highway 140, I started noticing a reddish tint on some of the clouds and fog was starting to form. Should I drive like a mad man to the platform (there’s water) or do I shoot here? I decided to shoot here since I’m not very good at running! Quickly unpacked the tripod and camera and got this.

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Mike is a Central Valley California landscape and nature photographer whose subjects include scenes from Merced County, Yosemite, SeKi, and the eastern Sierra. He is currently living in Atwater, CA.

The text and photographs are © Copyright Mike Matenkosky (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 Mike Matenkosky.

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