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: Birds, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Northern Harrier Taking Flight

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Northern Harrier Taking Flight
A northern harrier lifts its wings as it begins to take off from a fence post on a foggy morning.

Northern Harrier Taking Flight. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A northern harrier lifts its wings as it begins to take off from a fence post on a foggy morning.

We were slowly passing along a gravel road when we spotted this bird perched on a nearby fencepost. Most often when I approach birds like this one they don’t leave immediately — but many times they seem to get nervous and depart if I stop nearby. With that in mind we moved very slowly as we approached. We stopped some distance away and photographed. Then we moved a bit closer and photographed some more. Finally we stopped immediately parallel to the bird and continued to photograph. Somewhat to my surprise, the bird continued to stick around. (Don’t judge my distance from the bird by the photograph — I used a very long lens and have cropped from the original full image.)

We were very fortunate to have the opportunity to observe this beautiful bird up close for several minutes as it stuck around. It looked this way and that, preened a bit, but continued to stand on the pole. Often in a case like this I keep photographing since I know the bird won’t be there long. This time the darned thing posed long enough that I paused my photography. Finally, with little warning, the harrier took flight. Fortunately I already had it in my viewfinder, so I was able to capture this instant as the wings came up in preparation for flight.

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 and Amazon.

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Tree With Birds, Evening

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Tree With Birds, Evening
A lone tree full of small birds and still holding a few autumn leaves stands in wetlands on the last winter evening of the year.

Tree With Birds, Evening. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A lone tree full of small birds and still holding a few autumn leaves stands in wetlands on the last winter evening of the year.

There are beautiful landscapes, effects of atmosphere, and light almost everywhere. We often imagine that we have to go to special or iconic places to find them, but that isn’t always true. (Yes, I do go to those places, too.) For many years I have marked the time between those longer trips to more famous places by photographing closer to home, often in less dramatic landscapes — sometimes so close that I can walk out my front door to find them. Over time these places have become as special as any.

Wetlands are found all over California, with the only major exceptions being among high peaks and in the deserts. (If you look hard enough, you may find occasional examples even in those places.) You can find them along the coast and they are abundant along the state’s many river drainages. I photographed this scene at the end of the year, in the early evening of a winter day when a few autumn leaves remained, the light was softened by high clouds, and winter haze muted the colors.

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 and Amazon.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Urban/Street

Smoke Shop

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Smoke Shop
Night photograph of a man approaching the Millennium Smoke Shop in Lower Manhattan.

Smoke Shop. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Night photograph of a man approaching the Millennium Smoke Shop in Lower Manhattan.

We were in New York City for most of the final week of 2019. There is a lot to see and do there, and walking is one of our favorite Manhattan activities. (Even in winter weather, though we were lucky that it wasn’t utterly frigid on this visit… unlike the last time we visited in winter.) So we walked. A lot. Twice we walked more or less from midtown all the way to Lower Manhattan, though on the day I made this photograph we did use the subway to head back uptown after dark.

Urban night photography with handheld cameras (a.k.a. “night street photography”) has become a bit of a passion of mine over that past few years. Night lends a mysterious atmosphere to otherwise mundane scenes, the darkness can hide many visual distractions, and the pools of light from businesses create points of luminous focus.

Update: After sharing this photograph I thought about it a bit more and came to the conclusion that there is another possible interpretation of the scene. I created a different version that I’ll share in the coming days.

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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Window, MOMA

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Window, MOMA
A window at the Museum of Modern Art, Manhattan

Window, MOMA. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A window at the Museum of Modern Art, Manhattan.

Virtually every New York City involves a visit to one or more Manhattan museums. On this visit we spent a morning at the Frick Collection and a half of a day at the recently remodeled/updated Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). My reasons for visiting museums often go beyond the obvious one — seeing the collection — and include photographing people and architecture. For years I have been attracted to these exterior windows at MOMA, both for their views of Manhattan and for their own intrinsic opportunities to photograph form, light, color, and sometimes people.

About MOMA… the recent expansion and update has gotten a lot of attention, and one reason we chose to visit was that this was our first opportunity to see the changes. Mostly I think they are fine and even positive. But based on this one visit (admittedly during a holiday peak period) I have a concern: it was so incredibly crowded that in some cases the experience was seriously degraded. In some rooms the crowds were so thick that it was literally impossible to move at times. There’s a ton of wonderful work at MOMA and it is worth visiting… but try to go at a less-busy time if at all possible.

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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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