Ross’s geese lifting off from a San Joaquin Valley marsh, CA, USA

Happy New Year everyone! May all your dreams take flight in 2016.

Tomorrow I’ll be posting the nominees for my best photos of 2015, and you’ll get a chance to vote for your favorites and help me pick the top ten. Keep an eye out for the post! You can see last year’s nominees here, and the winners here.

Here are a few images from a recent trip to the San Joaquin Valley. Every year millions of migrating birds make their way to California’s Central Valley to spend the winter. Watching and listening to these massive flocks as they land and take flight is one of our favorite things to do, so Claudia and I try to get down there every chance we get over the brief winter season. We’ve only managed one bird-photography day so far this winter, but it was a good one, as we got to witness several mass goose takeoffs in beautiful light.

Have a wonderful – and safe – New Year’s Eve, and check back here tomorrow to see the best-of-2015 nominees!

— Michael Frye

Ross’s geese taking flight at sunrise, San Joaquin Valley, CA, USA

Ross’s geese lifting off in early-morning light, San Joaquin Valley, CA, USA

Ross’s geese, San Joaquin Valley, CA, USA

Ross’s geese and cottonwood trees, San Joaquin Valley, CA, USA

Black phoebe in a San Joaquiin Valley marsh, CA, USA

Related Posts: Of Geese and Shutter Speeds; Subject, Meet Light; Picking My Best Images of 2014; My Top Photographs of 2014

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Michael Frye is a professional photographer specializing in landscapes and nature. He is the author or principal photographer of The Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite, Yosemite Meditations, Yosemite Meditations for Women, Yosemite Meditations for Adventurers, and Digital Landscape Photography: In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams and the Great Masters. He has also written three eBooks: Light & Land: Landscapes in the Digital Darkroom, Exposure for Outdoor Photography, and Landscapes in Lightroom: The Essential Step-by-Step Guide. Michael has written numerous magazine articles on the art and technique of photography, and his images have been published in over thirty countries around the world. Michael has lived either in or near Yosemite National Park since 1983, currently residing just outside the park in Mariposa, California.