Category Archives: Photographs: Northern California

Photographs from Northern California

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Man in Blue, One Way Corner

June 5, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A man in blue walking past a barren San Francisco street corner

This is a street photograph from one favorite corner in downtown San Francisco, where the buildings are tall enough that I can often photograph subjects in soft light. In addition, the buildings and the street are not very colorful, allowing whatever the subject bring to the scene to become more important.

Often when I make photographs like this I think a bit like a landscape photographer. I find a configuration of fixed subjects that interests me, I try to create some kind of composition out of it (usually working very quickly) and then I watch for a person or persons to walk into and through the scene. This time the two components happened almost simultaneously. as soon as I saw the one-way sign on the corner and realized I wanted to photograph it I also saw this man crossing the narrow street and heading toward it — and I had just enough time to lift the camera, frame the scene, and photograph him between the sign and the fire hydrant, and at the closest point on the sidewalk.

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

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

Lake, Rocks, and Clouds

May 26, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

I recently revisited this older photograph, one that I had shared in a color rendition in the past, and this time I felt like I wanted to see it in monochrome. This is a sort of scene familiar to anyone who has spent much time in the high country of the Sierra Nevada, that region where lakes, large sub-alpine meadows, sparse trees, and surrounding peaks come together to produce a landscape like no other.

I often visit this lake, typically several times each season. I go there for several reasons, ranging from practical to aesthetic. The lake is not too far from roadways, and sometimes I have just enough time on a late afternoon to park my car, load up my pack, and do the short, steep hike up and over a nearby ridge to get to this alpine world. In fact, Once there I wander this familiar landscape, often revisiting lakes, rocks, streams, and trees that I have visited many times before. As the evening wears on, I know that I should head back to my car before dark, but I am never able to leave quite soon enough, and I end up lingering through sunset and into early dusk, often ending up on the that ridge between me and the road as darkness comes on, and arriving at my car after dark.

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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.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Wildlife

Ross’s Geese, Evening Sky

March 28, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A flock of Ross’s geese head west against the clouds of a winter evening sky

This may well end up being one of my final migratory bird photographs of the 2014-15 season. It seemed to wind down early this year, at least from what I saw. I suspect that this probably has something to do with the very unusual weather this winter in California. The temperatures were far above normal. In some places there averaged ten degrees higher than usual during the first three months of the year. Precipitation has also been way out of whack. There were some early indications of a possible wet year, then things seemed to be put on hold… until some serious rain (at my elevation) in December, which brought back memories of what winter used to be like in California. Then the tap seemed to be shut off with the new year, and where I live we went nearly 50 days with no rainfall whatsoever at what should be the wettest time of the year. It finally rained again, but not much. More troubling, the Sierra experience roughly 10% of typical precipitation levels, and this is the fourth year of below normal precipitation.

Despite the climate challenges, the season did produce some truly wonderful days of bird photography in the Central Valley. One thing that helped was a long period of tule fog in the Valley, which I find picturesque. Eventually the birds showed up, and we had a great stretch of geese and cranes and more up through the middle of February. At the end of the month we headed to the Sierra for an exhibit at the Yosemite Renaissance, stopping on the way to visit the birds. We didn’t see many at all, and when we stopped again on the way back things hadn’t changed much. Late in the day we did find a group of Ross’s geese on a pond, and I caught groups of them as they departed to the south and west.

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: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Wildlife

American Avocet, Reflection

March 22, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

American Avocet and reflection, San Joaquin Valley wetlands

I have written before — often! — about the tremendous numbers of birds in California’s Central Valley, especially in the winter when migrating birds overwinter here. It is easy to be most impressed by the birds that are the biggest, the most unusual, those that are found in almost unbelievable numbers, and those whose cries are most striking. Frankly, very few experiences can compete with the sound and fury of many thousands of geese taking to the air at once, the magic of squadrons of cranes gliding in at dusk, the grace and size of the slower-moving egrets and herons, and too many others to list.

I’ve never been the classic “birder” type — the guy with the scope who searches out and identifies any and all birds — though I have become much more sympathetic to the passions of such people as I have spent more time among these remarkable birds! More recently, as I have returned to these places more and more frequently, I have gradually become aware that there are many other birds besides the big, impressive specimens mentioned above. These include individuals such as the hawks and owls, small birds that also live in flocks such as red-winged blackbirds, and a bunch of smaller birds that hang out in and around the water… like the avocet shown here. At one end of a refuge where we frequently photograph there are some quiet ponds along the side of the access road. I rarely see the bigger birds here, but I have recently learned that there is a lot more going on here than initially meets the untrained eye. On one of our recent visits I spent some time photographing avocets against the mostly smooth water in the morning just after the fog had cleared.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Category Archives: Photographs: Northern California

Man in Blue, One Way Corner

Lake, Rocks, and Clouds

Ross’s Geese, Evening Sky

American Avocet, Reflection

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