Category Archives: Photographs: Northern California

Photographs from Northern California

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Green and Blue Windows

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Green and Blue Windows
“Green and Blue Windows” — Green and blue window frams on a blue-gray wall, San Jose.

Some subjects turn out to have been right in front of you all along. These window frames are at an old industrial building that I visit frequently. There’s a coffee place inside where we sometimes grab an espresso. Even better, there’s a fine local brewery. Beyond that, the building happens to be on one of my walking loops (the “four mile loop”) and I frequently pass through the parking lot where these windows are located.

Yet, despite having gone there for several years, I first noticed the windows only recently on one of my walks. I resolved to bring the camera with me the next time, and target the late morning hours when I new the sun would be almost in line with the wall, producing some interesting diagonal shadows.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Farm, Clearing Fog

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Farm, Clearing Fog
“Farm, Clearing Fog” — Soft morning sunlight comes to a small mountain farm as fog clears.

On this summer morning I headed over the mountains for the coast, planning to drive north from Santa Cruz and photograph foggy coastal scenes. However, it turned out that there was too much fog for what I had in mind, so I had to recalibrate. There are many lonely little roads that run inland from the Pacific Coast Highway, and I decided at random to explore one of them. I headed up a small valley, crossed some hills, and eventually wound through a narrow valley whose bottomlands held this small farm.

Today a lot of agriculture takes place on large corporate farms, especially here in California where the Central Valley is filled with those gigantic agribusiness operations . But if you poke around a bit off the grid, there are still these little farms in quiet little places. I pulled over and quietly watched the morning sun start to break through the thinning fog.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Forest, Morning Fog

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Forest, Morning Fog
“Forest, Morning Fog” — Soft sunlight appears as morning fog begins to clear above a forested hillside, Santa Cruz Mountains.

One of my favorite kinds of light is found at “the edge of the light” —places that are neither in full sun nor fully shaded. Often I search out these spots, especially when fog is involved. The effect can range from subtle to quite striking when there are strong contrasts between deep shadow and light. Here there is an additional factor — not only are the foreground trees in a bit of that gentle light coming through the fog, but the more distant trees almost disappear into the thicker clouds.

We often hear something along the lines of, “photography is all about the light.” That’s not quite literally true in every case, but there’s no question that interesting light can turn an otherwise-mundane subject into something special. To be honest, this scene would not likely catch your attention at all in typical full sunlight nor in thicker fog — it is that glow on the foreground trees that makes it work.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Lichen-Covered Tree, Fog

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Lichen-Covered Tree, Fog
“Lichen-Covered Tree, Fog” — A lichen-covered tree near at the edge of the coastal morning fog lne.

Unless you have been living through our West Coast heat wave, you might not quite be able to imagine the glorious sense of relief to be standing in this spot on a recent morning. Anticipating another 100+ degree day, I got up early and drove over the mountains to the coast south of San Francisco, hoping for fog. I found it, along with temperatures as low as 55 degrees!

It was almost too foggy right on the coast, believe it or not, so I drove inland a bit to find that wonderful zone at the edge of the fog bank where the fog thins and soft light suffuses the landscape. I doubt that much of anyone would take much notice of this lichen-covered tree on a sunny day, much less stop to photograph it — but on this morning it represented everything that was lovely about this cool, foggy morning.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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