Category Archives: Photographs: Structures and Objects

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Central Valley Silo, Detail

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Central Valley Silo, Detail
Close-up view of a California Central Valley silo

Central Valley Silo, Detail. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Close-up view of a California Central Valley silo.

My acquaintance with this location goes back to an important day a number of years ago — the first time I went out to seriously photograph California migratory birds. Earlier that week I had a chance encounter with a colleague in the coffee cart line at my college, and she happened to mention a California Central Valley location where sandhill cranes congregate. It really hadn’t crossed my mind to photograph birds — I was most definitely not the birder type — but based on nothing more than her mention of this place I headed out a few days later… and was entranced by what I found. (My ignorance of birds was impressive at that point. For example, only later did I realize that I had photographed a beautiful flock of tundra swans overhead. I probably thought that they were just more geese!)

On that visit I did something that has become a standard part of my bird photography forays — I photographed other subjects! Heading down a narrow country road through agricultural country I came upon flooded rice (I think!) fields next to a group of silos, and I made a few photographs of the two subjects juxtaposed. This close-up photograph features the same silos I photographed on that first visit to “bird country.”

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 and Amazon.

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Silos And Shadows, Morning

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Silos And Shadows, Morning
California Central Valley silos in morning light.

Silos And Shadows, Morning. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

California Central Valley silos in morning light.

This photograph might serve as an example of an approach I sometimes take when photographing, especially when the subjects I had in mind may not present themselves or at least not present well. Basically, I have a backup plan, and I’m happy to switch gears and improvise if my primary subject either isn’t working or isn’t at its best. That was the case on this morning when I had traveled to the Central Valley to photograph birds. I did that, but then I decided to head down a narrow country lane looking for whatever I could find, and in this case the search uncovered some agricultural subjects.

It is always a question whether to stay with the subject you came for or to switch to another target of opportunity. To be honest, I cannot recommend one over the other — I do both, and it is hard to rationalize why I choose one over the other. Sometimes, quite honestly, it is mainly a hunch. If you stick with a subject that isn’t quite working you may eventually find a way to make it work, or perhaps that light you hoped for will appear. On the other hand, you could just as easily wait and find that nothing changes!

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 and Amazon.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Looking Down

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Looking Down
Street patterns observed while using a crosswalk.

Looking Down. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Street patterns observed while using a crosswalk.

The sight of me making this photograph might have raised a few eyebrows, made a few observers wonder… though, in truth, I tried to make it in a sneaky fashion. The basic idea was that the conjunction of colors, textures, and shapes caught my eye as I was entering a crosswalk in downtown San Francisco at a rather crowded time of day… so I pointed my camera straight down and made an exposure.

I’m naturally attracted to patterns and shapes and juxtapositions, so I see things like this everywhere, at least when I have my visual senses engaged. To be sure, more of my street photographs include people, but these urban colors and patterns have a place in it as well.

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 and Amazon.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

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

Silo Walls

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Silo Walls
Metal silo walls, California Central Valley farm land

Silo Walls. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Metal silo walls, California Central Valley farm land.

On the first day of November I made my first bird photography foray of the fall season. In a way it was almost an accident. I had to deliver three prints to the Sandhill Crane Festival in Lodi in the morning, and since I was getting on the road quite early anyway I figured that I could try to be at one of the crane locations by dawn on my way there. Arriving more or less as the first sunlight came over the horizon, I opened my car door and heard that amazing and wonderful sound of the migratory birds. There’s nothing quite like it!

I photographed just a bit — the photography wasn’t going to be an all-day affair this time. Then I continued on the narrow backroad, heading further away from the main highway and on into the agricultural country. I stopped at this collection of silos, which I have photographed in the past, and this time thought I’d move in close and photograph details and juxtapositions rather than the larger scene.

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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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