Category Archives: Photographs: Northern California

Photographs from Northern California

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Beach Walker, Mendocino Coast

Leave a comment

Beach Walker, Mendocino Coast. Mendocino, California. October 29, 2011. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Beach Walker, Mendocino Coast - A person walks across a beach on the rugged Mendocino coast at sunset.
A person walks across a beach on the rugged Mendocino coast at sunset.

A person walks across a beach on the rugged Mendocino coast at sunset.

This photograph is from last fall, during a late-October trip to the Mendocino area of the northern California coast. The Mendocino coast is an area I have known about for some time, but which I have not visited that much at all. (It is among a few areas of California that I’ll sometime admit that I have not yet gotten to know. Oddly, there are large swaths of far northern California that are more or less blanks on my map. I need to fix this!) We had about three days in the area, and since it was brand new to use we did a fair amount of more or less aimless exploring.

One one afternoon we decided to head north to and beyond Fort Bragg, which is located just a few miles above Mendocino itself, where we were staying. We continued north a ways until the road turned inland and away from the coastline. After stopping there to make some photographs of a forested area we began to head back towards Mendocino. As we drove the light became more and more interesting. The generally gentler light of late October began to be enhanced to the soft quality of coastal light and by the late hour, and as we descended to this small beach I looked to my right and saw this beautiful bit of light and shadow. We quickly stopped and I pulled out camera and tripod and worked essentially from the back of the car where we had stopped. I had only a few quick moments to photograph this scene before the sun dipped to the horizon and the light was gone.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Owens Valley, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Dawn Light, Alkali Lake and the Minarets

2 Comments

Dawn Light, Alkali Lake and the Minarets - Pink dawn light illuminates the surface of an Alkali Lake and the Minarets, and Mounts Ritter and Banner
Pink dawn light illuminates the surface of an Alkali Lake and the Minarets, and Mounts Ritter and Banner

Dawn Light, Alkali Lake and the Minarets. Eastern Sierra Nevada, California. October 9, 2011.© Copyright 2011 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Pink dawn light illuminates the surface of an Alkali Lake and the Minarets, and Mounts Ritter and Banner

Although it has been almost a year since I made this photograph, I recall the morning very well. I had stayed at a cheap motel in Mammoth Lakes the night before, and when I got up well before dawn I had no specific shooting plan other than to head in the general direction of places where I would find aspens, most likely somewhat south of Mammoth. I drove down to highway 395 from Mammoth and spotted the steam from the hot springs along with some fog in Long Valley. Figuring that I wasn’t certain where I would find the aspen color I was looking for but that I was certain that interesting stuff was happening out in the valley, I changed plans and headed there instead.

I drove to small lake where I have photographed a number of times in the past, pulled off the road, grabbed my gear, and headed out to the bank of the lake opposite the still relatively dark Sierra crest. This was an unusual early October, and three relatively large winter-type storms had passed through during the previous week, dropping substantial early season snow all along the upper reaches of the Sierra. As a consequence, at a time of year when it usually looks more like summer, the range had taken on a very wintry appearance. As the first pre-dawn light came to the sky, it turned the slightly hazy atmosphere a beautiful shade of pink and this light was reflected in the surface of the small lake.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Tuolumne Meadows, Lembert Dome, and Mount Dana

Leave a comment

Tuolumne Meadows, Lembert Dome, and Mount Dana - Lembert Dome and the more distant Mount Dana rise above Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park
Lembert Dome and the more distant Mount Dana rise above Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park

Tuolumne Meadows, Lembert Dome, and Mount Dana. Yosemite National Park, California. September 13, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Lembert Dome and the more distant Mount Dana rise above Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park

This photograph is from my mid-September trip to the Sierra – I spent the first couple of days camped at Tuolumne Meadows before heading over to the “east side” to meet friends for a short pack trip up into McGee Canyon. The photograph was made from what might be described as the central meadow, shooting across a bend in the Tuolumne River, over a band of forest trees, with first Lembert Dome and then Mount Dana rising beyond. Lembert is the well-known dome that towers above the east end of the meadow, and there is a popular trail to the panoramic views at its summit. Mount Dana is the second-tallest peak in the park, being less than 100 feet shorter than Mt. Lyell. Dana sits on the eastern boundary of the park, along the Sierra crest right above Tioga Pass.

Although it was not longer early (at least by my standards) morning when I made this photograph, the typical early morning haze was still present. At this time of year it is a combination of the campfires at Tuolumne Meadows (a relatively small contributor on this morning), typical late season wild-fire smoke, and a bit of natural atmospheric haze. When backlit, this haze can almost glow, and while it does mute the contrast and details on more distant subjects, it also can accentuate the sense of distance through atmospheric recession. I chose to go with a black and white rendition of this scene for several reasons. One, frankly, is just because I felt like it! But on top of that, I like the way that monochrome can perhaps abstract the shapes and lines of the scene a bit more. And in this case, I ended up feeling that shades of gray might be more effective than the particular not-very-exciting color combinations in the scene!

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Abandoned Control Tower, Hangar One

Leave a comment

Abandoned Control Tower, Hangar One - An abandoned control tower in front of the skeleton of historic Hangar One, stripped of its outer skin, at the NASA/Ames Research Center Moffett Airfield.
An abandoned control tower in front of the skeleton of historic Hangar One, stripped of its outer skin, at the NASA/Ames Research Center Moffett Airfield.

Abandoned Control Tower, Hangar One. NASA/Ames Moffett Field, California. September 21, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An abandoned control tower in front of the skeleton of historic Hangar One, stripped of its outer skin, at the NASA/Ames Research Center Moffett Airfield.

Moffett Field (now officially called “Moffett Federal Airfield”) is an iconic landmark in the southern San Francisco Bay Area. Located along highway 101, in sight of thousands of drivers who pass every day, the most obvious features are the three very large hangars that were once built to house lighter-than-air craft. The largest is the so-called “Hangar One,” which is shown in this photograph. When I was a child, my family used to go to Moffett Field (then “Moffett Naval Air Station,” if I recall correctly) on “Armed Forces Day” (which seemed to be a big deal back then) to see the annual air shows, often featuring the Blue Angels and more. Visiting Hangar One was always a high point. The thing is huge! The wikipedia entry reports, among other things, that it is large enough to hold six football fields.

In the 1990s the airfield was decommissioned and then turned over the NASA Ames Research Center. Not long after that it was discovered that the lead paint used in the structure and perhaps other elements, too, were polluting the waters of the San Francisco Bay, which lie at the end of the runway. To make a long story short, the steel panels that formed the outer shell of the hangar were stripped off as part of the work to fix this problem. I’m unaware of the ultimate plan, if there is one, for the hangar, though its historic status creates some hope that it might be refitted at some point. I made this photograph on September 21, 2012 while waiting for the flyover of the Endeavor on its flight to Los Angeles. Even without the skin, the massive skeletal structure is quite a sight.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.