Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Doorway, Battery Spencer

September 9, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Morning sun on a doorway at historic Battery Spencer, Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

The Marin Headlands area of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, just across the bay from San Francisco, is full of old military installations that once guarded the entrance to San Francisco Bay. I’ve been intrigued by these facilities for some time, but my interest was sparked again after seeing the San Francisco Opera production of Wagner’s “Ring” cycle earlier this year, in which some sets were inspired by these structures.

Battery Spencer is one of the most accessible of these sites, though in some ways it may be overlooked since many people simply walk through or past it on their way from the parking area to a very popular and spectacular viewpoint just above the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge. But in the right conditions of atmosphere and light this area can provide a lot of interesting photographic possibilities. This open doorway, lit my morning light, is along a passageway between a number of structures that are half buried in the hillside here.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Fourth Lake and the Palisades, Dawn

September 8, 2011 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

First dawn light on the Palisades above Fourth Lake, Sierra Nevada.

This is a photograph from an eastern Sierra pack trip from a few years back that took us up into the area below the Palisades, the location of the largest glacier in the Sierra and a whole group of impressive and very tall peaks, some of which are visible on the skyline in this scene above Fourth Lake. The photograph was, perhaps obviously, made very early in the morning while the dawn light was still pink, and on a day on which the light was softened just a bit by some haze. We were camped on an exposed bench above this lake which gave us a truly wonderful view of the upper part of this basin.

Any time I talk or write about this trip, I get to tell a story on myself. A few days before we started I had gotten up at night to go do or find something in our home. Stumbling around in the dark I managed to jam my (bare) foot into some piece of furniture or another. I think we all know the feeling! It hurts more than you can imagine, but soon the pain goes away and we forget about it. Well, that is what is supposed to happen.

In this case, the pain didn’t go away. The toe swelled up and turned some interesting colors. My thought process was (based on a healthy dose of denial), I wonder if I broke it (I didn’t really “wonder” much at all), and I really should go see a doctor (I didn’t), and if it is broken I might not be able to go on my pack trip (which, obviously, I did do), because the doctor would tell me (no doubt, wisely) to stay off my foot. So, despite constant pain and swelling and limping I somehow managed to convince myself that it might get better on its own. And it a more stunning feat of denial, I managed to convince myself that it would be fine to go backpacking with a probably-broken toe.

I took it easy, and the uphill walk to this camp wasn’t too bad – though it certainly hurt. Once we got here, I chose to not accompany the rest of my group on a cross-country hike to visit Palisade Glacier, opting instead for a very short stroll to another nearby lake. We “base-camped” for the whole trip, so it turned out that I didn’t need to walk much at all.

Until we left. On the descent, my (gee, maybe it really isn’t) broken toe was jammed into the front of the boot for hours and miles, and at times I wondered just how much real damage I was doing and how much pain I could handle. When I finally got home I did go to the doctor, who basically (and with obvious justification) looked at me like I was nuts and said, yes, you broke your toe, but it is too late to do anything now. Lucky for me, nothing had been displaced and it healed just fine.

And I got this photograph.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Sunrise, Ediza Lake, Minarets, and Mounts Ritter and Banner

September 8, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

First sunrise light on the Minarets, Mount Ritter, and Banner Peak above Ediza Lake, Sierra Nevada, California.

I made this photograph during a long and leisurely pack trip into the Minarets area of the Sierra Nevada near Mammoth Lakes. It was leisurely because I accompanied my brother and his family – and the fact that some kids were on the trip contributed to the slower hiking pace… as did the fact that both he and I wanted to make photographs.

This is a popular and accessible area of the Sierra, and also one that is a bit unusual. Typically the highest peaks of the range are found on the actual crest, but here the Sierra crest is further to the east and rather low, being right about where the Mammoth Ski Area is located. Across an intervening valley – a valley that holds Devils Postpile National Monument – loom the high and jagged peaks of the Minarets, a series of impressive spires, and the summits of Mount Ritter and Banner Peak. While in most of the Sierra the areas to the east of the highest peaks descend rapidly to the high desert, here the areas below these peaks remain very high and provide a different view of the eastern faces of the peaks.

The photograph was made very early in the morning along the shoreline of Ediza Lake on a day when clouds were already starting to build even at this early hour. Yes, there was rain later on!

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Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: People, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Man on Escalator

September 7, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A man rides an ascending escalator in San Francisco, California.

There is a lot I could write about this photograph, but I think I’ll keep it short and simply describe. I made the photograph in 2007 while on one of my walks around San Francisco – walks that usually start at the CalTrain station and then head off in a variety of directions, almost all of which provide opportunities to photograph the urban “landscape and wildlife.”

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G Dan Mitchell Photography

Monthly Archives: September 2011

Doorway, Battery Spencer

Fourth Lake and the Palisades, Dawn

Sunrise, Ediza Lake, Minarets, and Mounts Ritter and Banner

Man on Escalator

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