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: People, Photographs: People In Landscape, Photographs: Photographers

Charles Cramer In The Field

Image Leave a comment
Charles Cramer In The Field
“Charles Cramer In The Field” — Photographer Charles Cramer at work in the Eastern Sierra Nevada backcountry

I made this photograph of friend and photographer Charles “Charlie” Cramer at work in the John Muir Wilderness this past summer during our (more or less) annual group foray into the backcountry for a week or so of photography. I think that several of us found ourselves in more or less this spot… because backlight is wonderful and the sun was just clearing the ridge on the other side of this small lake.

For those who may not know about such things, a word or two about some elements of the photograph. The little rectangular object in his hands is a so-called “framing card” or “framing tool” — a very useful thing to have when you are looking for compositions, since it literally puts a frame around what you are looking at. (There are several jokes about these objects. For example, you really need to carry two of them — the landscape- and portrait-mode versions. And why does Charlie carry larger versions than I use? His are appropriately sized for medium format photography, while mine are for full frame cameras.) And what’s with Charlie standing in the bright sun without a hat! “Welllll…” (as he might say)… the hat was in use just a moment earlier as a sunshade to block stray light from the front of the lens. All joking aside, one wonderful side benefit of going into the field with other photographers is that we often manage to photograph one another!

COMMENT OR QUESTION? Scroll down to the comment form.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspen Grove, Fall Color

Image Leave a comment
Aspen Grove, Fall Color
Shorter aspen trees at the edge of the grove, near the peak of Eastern Sierra Nevada fall color.

Aspen Grove, Fall Color. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Shorter aspen trees at the edge of the grove, near the peak of Eastern Sierra Nevada fall color.

Over a few decades of photographing fall aspen color I have learned a few things, some of them seemingly contradictory. First, despite the annual attempts to figure out “when the color season will start,” it usually starts at pretty much the same time each year. (There are some variations, notably when the range experiences weather extremes such as drought or record-breaking precipitation.) Second, once a season gets underway there are many factors that can affect its progress — changes in temperature, the amount of moisture in the soil, elevation, storms (or lack of same), wind, and so forth. I’m still trying to decide how to characterize the 2019 aspen color season. Once underway it seemed, well, “odd.” In many places the color came early and didn’t last long, while in others there was great color. (For anyone still wondering, the aspen color season is essentially over now — but there’s always next year!)

I had first passed by this spot a week earlier — too early, as it turned out, but that was no surprise as I was there during the first few days of October. There certainly can be color that early, but better prospects typically come around a week into the month. I returned again the following week, but on our first attempt we got distracted by other subjects and by the time we arrived at this spot the light had changed and the trees were in full sun — which washed out the colors. So we came back the following morning, taking care to arrive a bit earlier than necessary, thus leaving time to find camera positions while the soft light still prevailed.

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: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Pinnacles, Mono Basin, Morning

Image Leave a comment
Pinnacles, Mono Basin, Morning
Rocky pinnacles above the immense Mono Basin, early morning

Pinnacles, Mono Basin, Morning. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Rocky pinnacles above the immense Mono Basin, early morning.

As I have written before, my visits to the Eastern Sierra to photograph autumn color often lead me to other non-autumn subjects in the area, and frequently subjects further east than these mountains. That was the case again this autumn, and on more than one occasion I got up early in the morning and left the Sierra to explore the western edge of the basin-and-range country to the east.

The photograph doesn’t give this away, but it was a very cold morning! Temperatures at our campsite in a canyon on the east side were below 20 degrees Fahrenheit, and as we headed out into the more open high desert landscape to the east we saw the thermometer drop to as low as 9 degrees! We arrived at a high overlook before dawn, witnessed the first light on the eastern Sierra crest, and realized that there was quite a bit of wildfire haze floating around. That left me focusing on closer subjects or at least including nearer subjects as foreground to the more distant views. Below our position an impressive set of small buttes stood on the gentle slopes above the distant Mono Basin and the hills beyond.

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: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Wolfe

Image Leave a comment
Wolfe
An old eating establishment in a rapidly gentrifying area of San Francisco

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

An old eating establishment in a rapidly gentrifying area of San Francisco.

Today you get a San Francisco photograph — since that’s where I’ve been hanging out for most of the past week or so. I am a member of Studio Nocturne, a group of photographers who do night photography. The group has a history going back several decades, and I’ve been working with them for the past decade or so. My night photography has evolved over that time — back in about 2003 when I first explored the genre I was photographing what I think of as “industrial landscapes” of abandoned industrial sites. More recently I found that small digital cameras allow me to photograph with a handheld camera in urban settings, and I’ve been adding night street photography to the mix.

To get back to this building… our open studio was in the Potrero district, at the edge of an area that has long housed things like warehouses, industrial concerns, and so forth. Like pretty much all of San Francisco, this area is rapidly losing its former character as it is taken over by condominiums and newer business that serve the new residences. This place, whose signs describe it as a place to get sandwiches, undoubtedly once served the working folks in the area, and time will tell whether or not it manages to find a clientele among the new residents. Meanwhile, when I’m in “The City” I make a point of photographing these places, many of which may no longer be there in a few years.

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.