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: England, Photographs: People, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Woman in Red, London

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Woman in Red, London
“Woman in Red, London” — :A woman in red sits on a ledg to check her phone in London.

I confess that I barely, if at all, remember making this photograph, nor can I say precisely where in London I made it. I grabbed it while in a particular mode of street photography that is the antithesis of how I might photograph, say, a landscape. I shoot handheld. I carry a small camera with a single small prime lens. I work very quickly, often not even slowing down to frame the subject, and continue on. In this case, I shot “blind,” holding the camera down at my side. (That created a little problem. More below.)

There are a few things about this photograph that could make some viewers a bit uneasy. First, I did not ask for permission and I doubt the subject was even aware that I made the photograph. There was no time, and if I had asked, the photograph would have been a very different thing. (BTW, sometimes I’m in public and I see that I might end up in someone’s photograph like this — and I remind myself that it is OK since I do it, too!) Second, the original image had a serious problem. It was badly tilted, perhaps as much as 20-degrees. I liked the image, but I had to crop radically to get the framing I wanted, and there were still problems. How did I fix it? For the first time, I allowed an AI tool to generate some content in the corners of the frame. Still not sure how I feel about that, but it seems worth experimenting with at least.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Farm, Clearing Fog

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Farm, Clearing Fog
“Farm, Clearing Fog” — Soft morning sunlight comes to a small mountain farm as fog clears.

On this summer morning I headed over the mountains for the coast, planning to drive north from Santa Cruz and photograph foggy coastal scenes. However, it turned out that there was too much fog for what I had in mind, so I had to recalibrate. There are many lonely little roads that run inland from the Pacific Coast Highway, and I decided at random to explore one of them. I headed up a small valley, crossed some hills, and eventually wound through a narrow valley whose bottomlands held this small farm.

Today a lot of agriculture takes place on large corporate farms, especially here in California where the Central Valley is filled with those gigantic agribusiness operations . But if you poke around a bit off the grid, there are still these little farms in quiet little places. I pulled over and quietly watched the morning sun start to break through the thinning fog.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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Photographs: England, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

London Eye

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London Eye
“London Eye” — Looking upwards at the London Eye on a cloudy day.

I usually have a good sense of direction, and I can often navigate without maps. But I also have an occasional directional problem. When arriving in a new place I sometimes make an incorrect assumption about the compass directions. Once I do, it is darned near impossible for me to fix it. London is one of the places. For some reason, the first time I visited I reversed north and south, and I’ve struggled since then to get it right. I’ve gotten a lot better — when I look north across the River Thames these days it looks like it is north. But this photograph came about due to the residue of my prior confusion.

When we set out from our lodgings to walk to the nearby Borough Market, I went with my gut instead of logic and headed out confidently in the wrong direction. (To her credit, Patty suspected that I was going the wrong way, but went along.) We walked and walked and instead of finding the Market we were (or I was) surprised to walk up to the London Eye, which is in exactly the opposite direction!

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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Photographs: Scotland, Photographs: Travel

Bay at Oban

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Bay at Oban
“Bay at Oban” — Looking across the bay at the Scottish town of Oban toward distant highland mountains.

They tell me the weather in Scotland is supposed to be gray, wet, and cold. It was anything but that on the first days of our May visit. (OK, it lived up to expectations a few days later.) For most of our first five days in the country it was pleasantly warm and brightly sunny. Some of the natives seemed grateful that we had brought our California weather along with us. Here in Oban the skies were blue with only a few occasional clouds, and views stretched to distant highland mountains.

Following our first night at a Glasgow Airport hotel after a very late arrival, we took the train to Oban for two days of relaxation and jet lag adjustment. The town was just about perfect for this low key part of the trip. It is a lovely place that sits right on the waterfront — fishermen, tour boats, pleasure craft, and ferries come and go constantly. The whole place was walkable. We visited the Oban Distillery and did a little whisky tasting. And we enjoyed the beautiful panorama of mountains and water.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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