All posts by G Dan Mitchell

G Dan Mitchell, photographer and visual opportunist focusing on the Pacific coast, the Sierra Nevada, redwood forests, California oak/grasslands, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography and more. Posting daily photographs since 2005, along with articles, reviews, news, and ideas.

Photographs: Chicago, Photographs: Urban/Street

Cloud Gate

September 21, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Chicago’s Cloud Gate reflecting the city skyline

The Cloud Gate sculpture is one of the iconic sights of downtown Chicago, visited by many people and photographed by almost all of them! It stands in an accessible and central section of the lakeside Millennium Park, just across the street from central downtown areas. We wandered past twice on two different days as we walked around this area during our visit. (There are other fascinating public art installations in the surrounding area, too.)

The sculpture is impressive in photographs, but I did not realize how large it is in person. It is remarkable in a number of ways, not the least of which is the effect it has had on the public consciousness. In a purely objective sense, the existence of such a huge, unbroken and curving reflective surface is a marvel. And it is also, to be plain, a lot of fun — it is hard to imagine how anyone could resist playing around with the distorted reflections it produces. Having seen so many photographs of the thing I first resisted the temptation to shoot it, instead just looking. Then I thought that it might be interesting to photograph the ways that people interact with the sculpture, so I took the camera out and started shooting.

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (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 G Dan Mitchell.

Morning Musings

Aspen Color Update (Morning Musings 9/20/14)

September 20, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Aspen Tree, Morning Light - An aspen tree with morning backlight, photographed high above Bishop Creek Canyon — An aspen tree with morning backlight, photographed high above Bishop Creek Canyon *

Today’s Morning Musings post is a brief summary of some things I’m hearing about the development of the eastern Sierra fall aspen color. With the exception of some things I saw a week and a half ago in the Yosemite backcountry, what follows is entirely second-hand information, gleaned from descriptions and photographs I’ve seen posted here and there on the web. (That means that you will likely want to do whatever other checks you normally rely on if you want more detailed and specific information.)

I usually target the first week of October for my first serious aspen photography in the eastern Sierra, but in recent posts I have mentioned the widespread feeling that the color just might come early this year. I also wrote about seeing some strong signs of autumn color in northern Yosemite during the first two weeks of September, earlier than I would usually expect to see such things.

After reading some years of the annual excitement of “the aspens are changing early this year!” following the discovery of an odd tree here or there with some yellow leaves, I’m usually pretty cautious about reports of early color. However, I’m starting to hear and see a significant number of reports and photographs suggesting that things really are getting underway early this time. Continue reading Aspen Color Update (Morning Musings 9/20/14) →

Photographs: Chicago, Photographs: Urban/Street

North Chicago River

September 20, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The North Chicago River and downtown area buildings

Early in the morning we took what I believe was the first boat on the Chicago River Tour, the (deservedly) popular way to see and learn about the architecture of Chicago that lines the river and its branches. Despite the peaceful and bucolic scene along the banks of this section of the river, the waterway has a bit of a troubled past and still has a quite a way to go before its water quality is sufficiently restored. (One memorable line from the tour narrator pointed out that only in Chicago would it be regarded as environmental progress when a river’s status “rose” from “toxic” to “polluted. ;-)

In any case, there is a lot to see from the river since much of the downtown is very close to its banks, and many additional things that you wouldn’t notice from the sidewalk or road are visible from down on the water. There is a lot of redevelopment work going on, and areas that were apparently once industrial are now being converted to residential and related use. It is possible to walk many sections of the river, and kayakers are a frequent sight. This photograph looks back toward central Chicago from the north branch of the river and past sections where trees line portions of the bank.

Morning Musings

The Young and the Old in the Backcountry (Morning Musing 9/19/14)

September 19, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Backpackers, Near MIlestone Basin — Backpackers, Near Milestone Basin*

I’m no longer the young person I was when I began backpacking at the age of just about 16, nor even the person who was young and footloose and fancy free in the Sierra during college and in his twenties. During the past few years, I and others have noticed a decreasing number of young backpackers compared to what we saw back in our youth. In a recent discussion, the subject of “young people in the backcountry” came up — in the context of noticing that their numbers seem to be increasing again.

During the first part of September I was in the Sierra with a group of photographers “of a certain age,” among whom I may have been the youngest, when we were passed by a delightful young couple on the trail… and they brought back wonderful memories of my own travels when I was more like them in appearance and pace, and when everything in the mountains was new and fresh and unknown. That was a wonderful and magical time! Continue reading The Young and the Old in the Backcountry (Morning Musing 9/19/14) →

G Dan Mitchell Photography

All posts by G Dan Mitchell

Cloud Gate

Aspen Color Update (Morning Musings 9/20/14)

North Chicago River

The Young and the Old in the Backcountry (Morning Musing 9/19/14)

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