Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Snag, Sky

November 12, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Old dead snags can be some of the most compelling sights in the High Sierra. They are everywhere —on the glaciated granite slabs, high atop ridges, within the first, lying in meadows. They are the other end of the life cycle begin by small trees at the edges of meadows. Sometimes to me they seem almost closer in spirit to rocks than to other living things, and some that die in dry rocky places continue to stand for a long time before finally decaying and fading away. Because they are stripped of small branches and needles, the reveal the complex and twisting shapes of the inner tree.

I came across this snag high in an area of granite slabs above a lake where we were camped. I visited it several times, intrigued by its shape and challenged to figure out a way to photograph it that did not include the surrounding living trees. Finally I found an angle that I could photograph with a long lens, tightly cropping a section of its form against the gray of a cloudy sky. In the end I decided on a monochrome rendition, feeling that it better captures the abstract from of the trunk and branches.

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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: Architecture, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Reflections, Shadows, Bridge, and Sky

November 11, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Industrial buildings covered with shadows and reflections, clouds moving across the night sky.

On my recent nighttime visit to the historic Mare Island Naval Ship Yard, where I again made night photographs with a group of like-minded photographers, I decided to forego some of the more familiar subjects and instead poke around in some dark corners of the place. I began by spending nearly an hour photograph an odd little area of concrete structures at the base of a long stairway, and once I finished there it only seemed right to walk up those stairs and find out where they led. This took me to what seemed like an old parking area behind some abandoned buildings — though it is sometimes hard to tell in the inky darkness. I could tell that there was a lot of debris in this lot, so I stepped around it carefully as I explored this blocky building that was painted by light and shadow from its surroundings in interesting ways.

Much of this light was virtually invisible to me, but it is a combination of light from close and far artificial light sources, the shadows of trees and other structures, and the well-defined shapes of windows through which more distant light shines. Overhead there is a covered walkway between larger buildings, and the darker form of one of them is visible at the lower left. Clouds were moving across the sky, and their shapes blurred during the long exposure.

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

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

Shipyard Hoist

November 10, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Night photograph of an industrial hoist at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard

Night photograph from the historic Mare Island Naval Ship Yard are something of a long-standing photographic theme for me. Over a decade ago I first went there to try out night photography at an event sponsored by The Nocturnes, and I was immediately hooked on the place and on night photography. Since that time I have returned to Mare Island several times every year, each time discovering something new to see and photograph.

This time I joined other photographers as part of a Nocturnes Alumni event that is part historical investigation, part social, and (a big) part night photography. On this evening I began by searching out some non-iconic subjects (some of which I’ll share later) in odd, out-of-the-way corners of the place. Eventually, though, I walked back toward the familiar central area near the huge dry docks, where I found that one of these huge ship yard hoists had been moved out of its typical position at the water’s edge behind security fences. This meant that I could photograph from right underneath it, shooting almost straight up, and positioning myself so that it would be illuminated by ship yard lighting.

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Orange, Yellow, and Green

November 9, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Autumn aspen color along Bishop Creek in the eastern Sierra Nevada

By the time this photograph appears at my website, the transitory seasonal aspen color show will be mostly a memory. (Or, for many of us who think way in advance, a promise for next year!) With this fall’s release of my book on Sierra fall color (“California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide of Autumn in the Sierra” — Heyday Books, 2015) I made a point of spending as much time in the Eastern Sierra as possible. I started looking for easy signs of developing autumn color all the way back in early September — and in this unusual, drought-influenced year, I found it. The first notable aspen color appeared in late September, and by the end of the month I saw very good color in some high elevation locations, and I spent a good portion of the next few weeks returning to photograph as it continued to develop.

I made this photograph in early October, typically the beginning of the period of best color — though this year some areas had already lost leaves by then. Aspens grow in a range of different surroundings — these grow in a drier area of sage brush rather than begin interspersed with pines. This group of aspens had achieved more or less peak color, and some nearby trees were losing leaves rapidly. In this photograph the colors are intensified by the quality of the light — I like to photograph these trees in the very early and very late times when they have fallen into shadow, softening the otherwise harsh contrasts of brighter light.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Snag, Sky

Reflections, Shadows, Bridge, and Sky

Shipyard Hoist

Orange, Yellow, and Green

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