Category Archives: Photographs: Northern California

Photographs from Northern California

Green Chain

Green Chain
“Green Chain” — A chain casts a shadow on a corrugated metal wall.

I have admitted to a fascination with graphical elements — shapes, textures, colors, curves, and more. Finding them in the urban or natural landscape can make fairly mundane subjects interesting, at least to me. Here we see a small section of the corrugated metal wall of a very green industrial building. A couple of loops of chain hang from a gap between panels, for reasons that seem inscrutable.

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Blue Feet

Blue Feet
“Blue Feet” — Blue footprints in front of a colorful roll-up door.

I photographed this subject back in July on a long walk that took me to an area that is being redeveloped — or at least that is the story. The city (of San Jose) granted some extraordinary benefits to a very large corporation that promised to build a new campus in a somewhat blighted area. Hopes were high for renewal, but then the pandemic arrived, plans were delayed, and now no one knows when (or if) the plans will move forward. So, in the meantime, it seems that this corporation has decided to apply new paint to old buildings.

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Morning Fog, Autumn Forest

Morning Fog, Autumn Forest
“Morning Fog, Autumn Forest” — Morning fog darkens a dense autumn forest.

Sometimes there are photographs in (almost) your own backyard. As much as anyone else, I enjoy traveling to beautiful places to make photographs. But I can’t go to such places all the time, so it is fortunate that there are plenty of interesting things to see close by. In my area that might include the redwoods or the Pacific Ocean… or just a nearby rural area at the right time of year.

I made this photograph along a road that is far from famous. (Perhaps the only people who would know about it are those who pass by on their way to a nearby local park with hiking trails). But around here, in the San Francisco Bay Area, there are lots of little spots where trees grow thickly and where fall colors continue right on into December.


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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.

Fire Trail, Calero Hills

Fire Trail, Calero Hills
“Fire Trail, Calero Hills” — A trail through Central California oak grassland with winter morning light.

This is an unusual post — a “make up” post to restore a lost photograph to the archives. It is an old photograph from 2006 that probably once appeared on this website but seems to have disappeared. I regularly share older “From the Archive” images on social media, and as I prepared this photo for sharing I was unable to find an original post here. Consequently, I worked up this slightly revised version and am sharing it here today.

The photograph comes from a San Francisco Bay Area park where I have hiked and photographed for decades. I visit at all times of the year and in all imaginable conditions. This one comes from a morning hike in the winter, when the low angle sun cast strong shadows across the landscape beneath the skeletal forms of winter trees.


Leave a comment or question using the form. (Click the title to see the full article and to comment if you are viewing it on the home page.)

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.