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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Two Domes, Evening

September 1, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Evening light on granite domes, meadows, and forest, Yosemite National Park

As always when staying in and around Tuolumne Meadows — though this time I had to drive in from a more distant campground — I was out in the meadows as evening approached. The campground was still closed due to late-melting winter snows, so there were even fewer than usual people out enjoying the late-day light and benign clouds floating overhead.

As I walked through the meadow I enjoyed the constantly changing landscape and patterns of clouds and sunlight moved across the forest, meadow, and mountains. From moment to moment the light changed significantly enough to almost create new landscapes. At the moment of this photograph the main subject was actually darkened a bit by the shadow of a passing cloud — perhaps giving it a more ominous appearance — but the light was bright on the smaller, more distant dome and on the meadow and forest at the base of the dome.

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

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

Smile

August 31, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Central Park skaters, Manhattan

From what I’ve seen, New York’s Central Park in the summer is a hotbed for just about every kind of activity you can imagine. (New Yorkers are welcome to roll their eyes and say, “Duh. Californians!”) Folks are doing the loop on bicycles, there are picnickers all over the place, tourists wander about, you can stop and eat at food carts or restaurants, folks are working on their tans, and more.

I’m not usually a fan of noisy music in public places, so when we heard loud (disco!) music coming from nearby I was at first mildly annoyed. Then I decided to go take a look. What I found was wonderful: a sort of spontaneous, free-flowing, street dance on skates with all kinds of folks, from the skaters to those of us observing, just having a great time.

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

Trees, Volcanic Slopes

August 30, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Sunrise light on trees ascending the side of a volcanic cone, east of the Sierra Nevada

I frequently photograph in the Mono Basin, at and around Mono Lake. I have been photographing there long enough that I’ve learned to look beyond the famous tufa formations — worthy photographic subjects that they area — and try to find other elements that also are intrinsic to the character of the place. The lake itself is one subject — its huge expanse, the immense quiet and stillness often found there, the birds, and the sky. The surrounding terrain is also very interesting once you spend some time looking away from the lake: the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada, gentle terrain rising to eastward mountains, ponderosa pine forests, and more.

Many years ago I became intrigued by these trees that grow a good distance up the sides of the volcanic domes rising just south of the lake. At certain times the light bathes them in color and can turn a normally drab scene into something quite striking. ON this morning the sun had just risen into hazy skies, and there was a great deal of red in the light, contrasting with the very blue color of the shadows.

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Urban Geometry

August 29, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A study in shapes, colors, and textures, Manhattan

When I photograph urban/street subjects I am usually looking for quite a range of different things: individual people doing interesting things, masses of people, odd little vignettes, color and line, and sometimes the urban landscape itself. It is, I think, possible to regard the city as a kind of landscape, and even to photograph it in ways that are similar but perhaps not identical to how we photograph the so-called natural landscape.

On this day I was on foot (hiking?) through Manhattan, on my way to meet people, when we passed through the area around Washington Square. The stark and angular architecture of this bit of a building caught my attention, and some of the colors and textures brought to mind a sort of idealized representation of the red rock canyons of the Southwest.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

All posts by G Dan Mitchell

Two Domes, Evening

Smile

Trees, Volcanic Slopes

Urban Geometry

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