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

Cranes Before Dawn

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Cranes Before Dawn
A flock of sandhill cranes reflected in a shallow pond before sunrise.

Cranes Before Dawn. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A flock of sandhill cranes reflected in a shallow pond before sunrise.

A few winters ago I mainly went to places like this to photograph the geese that arrive in flocks of thousands. Distracted by the geese, I paid less attention to other birds at first. Surprisingly, the sound of the cranes that brought them to my attention.(That, and a magical evening when thousands of them showed up unexpectedly after sunset.) When I arrived in these places before dawn after a long drive and got out of my car I was immediately taken by the call of cranes. Even though at first I did not recognize it, it is the first thing I look for now.

The behavioral patterns of the migratory birds evolve as the season progresses. The cranes seem to land in remote places early in the season, but later I can get closer to them. In early March many of them were in ponds where I could use a long lens to photograph groups. This group was part of a much larger flock in this wetland pond when I photographed them against the reflection of the pre-dawn pink sky.

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: Architecture, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Columns

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Columns
Columns of a San Franicisco building.

Columns. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Columns of a San Franicisco building.

One of my photographic habits is to take the train up to San Francisco and then walk for miles through its rich environment while I photograph people, buildings, and anything else I can find. The visual diversity there — and in similar urban places — is astonishing. At some point I almost always find myself photographing details abstracted from their surroundings. I have photographed these columns several times, but this time I decided to take that approach and divorce them entirely from their surroundings.

Many of us depend on travel to make our photographs — from relatively short jaunts like my train ride to The City to much longer expeditions. The necessity of doing our part to slow the spread of the corona virus has pretty much eliminated travel beyond our neighborhoods. But when I look more closely I can find similar subjects within walking distance of my home. How about you?

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.

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

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Dunes and Mountains, Evening

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Dunes and Mountains, Evening
Dead plants, sand dunes, and distant desert mountains in evening light, Death Valley National Park

Dunes and Mountains, Evening. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dead plants, sand dunes, and distant desert mountains in evening light, Death Valley National Park.

During normal times I would be leaving for Death Valley today, making my annual early spring visit to spend up to a week photographing in and around the park. Until a few weeks ago that was the plan for this year. That’s not going to happen this spring. As much as I tell myself that I could simply work “off the grid” (not too hard to do in that park) for a week, the truth is that we all have a responsibility to do what we can to drive down the number of opportunities for corona virus to spread. So I’m making a virtual visit by going back into my raw file archives.

This was one of those “typical” Death Valley evenings. I wandered out in to the dunes in the late afternoon, far away from the most popular areas, to photograph the transition from day to evening. I found this spot, with its dead snags emerging from the sand, and photographed it as the last bit of soft light shone on the dunes and colorful sunset light was on the distant mountains.

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.

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: Travel

Big Sur Coast, Clearing Fog

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Big Sur Coast, Clearing Fog
Clearing fog pulls back to the upper slopes of coastal hills along the Big Sur coast.

Big Sur Coast, Clearing Fog. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Clearing fog pulls back to the upper slopes of coastal hills along the Big Sur coast.

As we follow the California “shelter-in-place” order, I’m photographing very locally and to digging back into my raw file archives. I try to do the latter at least once per year, and I am just now reviewing the 2019 files. Every time I do this I discover photographs that I originally overlooked or that I neglected as I moved on to other projects. I’m convinced that we see our own photographs differently a year or two later, and photographs that were not quite what we thought we wanted originally turn out to be interesting when viewed without the context of having just made them.

This photograph comes from a one-day visit to the Big Sur coastline just a few days short of a year ago. I remember it well. It was a day of tricky and challenging light as an early spring weather front moved down the coast. I traveled quickly, trying to stay near the leading edge of the clouds. At this spot just south of the town of Big Sur the surface of the Pacific Ocean glowed brilliantly in muted sun, the steep cliffs were in shadow, and fog was clearing from the upper slopes of coastal mountains.

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.

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