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

Two Trees, Granite Face

August 7, 2015 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Two trees, one very old and one very young, grow high on a granite face in Yosemite National Park

This tree grows high on the apparently barren face of a tall granite dome in Yosemite National Park’s high country. Of all of the improbably places to spot a tree, and one that seems reasonably healthy and strong at that, this has to be one of the most unlikely. Given its location, it must be putting its roots down in little more than a large crack in the rock and it has to be fully exposed to strong winter winds and snow.

I have photographed it more than once in the past, and it continues to intrigue me. For thinking that I know the tree well, I was surprised to find that I had not previously noticed the smaller tree growing just beyond and to the right of the main tree — perhaps the offspring of the larger tree? For a short time in the morning, low angle light streaming across the tops of more granite formations to the east glances across the surface of the dome and beautifully lights the two trees.

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Commentary, Equipment, Photographic Myths and Platitudes

Photographic Myths and Platitudes: The Best Camera! (part 1)

August 6, 2015 G Dan Mitchell 8 Comments

Three manufacturers companies now produce widely available full-frame digital cameras with features that are attractive to folks who photograph landscape subjects, among other things. Two of them recently released new models that are getting a lot of attention, and plenty of photographers are interested in their relative merits and perhaps in choosing among them.

The three I’m thinking of are:

Here is a statement that a thoughtful, experienced, knowledgable photographer who has looked at the options carefully and selected one of them might make:

I chose this camera because it exemplifies the continuing evolution and improvement of digital cameras. It introduces useful and powerful improvements that offer the potential of a range of image quality improvements. The camera has the ability to produce photographs with outstanding image quality in a wide range of conditions and circumstances, and photographers who use it are going to be very pleased with what it can do. It has its pluses and minuses, and other cameras may be a bit stronger or weaker in various areas, but on balance it is a first-class and powerful tool that works extremely well for the most demanding photographers. I recommend that other photographers take a look at it!

The question: To which of the three (and a half?) above-listed cameras does this statement apply?

If you have paid a lot of attention to the passionate and hyperbole-filled discussions and “tests” that inevitably accompany the release of new cameras, you have read proclamations that any one of those is “the best” or even that it will transform your photography. And it is possible that “the answer” is already obvious to you, and you are certain that one surpasses the others in obvious ways. You might even have come to the conclusion that a photographer choosing one of the other options is making a mistake, is probably unaware of the significance of the error, and that his/her photographs are likely to suffer as a consequence of this flawed decision.

With all of that in mind, the answer is… Continue reading Photographic Myths and Platitudes: The Best Camera! (part 1) →

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

Doorway, Stairs

August 6, 2015 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

A doorway opens to a lighted passageway and ascending stairs.

A small group of photographers was exploring portions of nighttime San Francisco on a recent evening, making their way from North Beach through Chinatown and towards the Union Square area. As we photographed and walked the light transitioned from evening (with some sun visible in places) to dusk (as lights came on) and then to darkness — at least as dark as it gets in this City on a Friday night. Our path took us to some areas that are not as frequently visited by tourists, but it also took us straight down a section of Grant Avenue.

Grant Avenue is what comes to mind for many people when they think of San Francisco’s Chinatown. Grant is the touristy “main drag” of the area, lined with a range of shops and business and restaurants, many of which appeal to tourists. At night much of this area shuts down, though restaurants remain open — but even as things close the light remains interesting. So we walked down Grant, stopping to photograph various things along the way. At one point we passed this somewhat mysterious doorway. Most such entrances are closed up tight, usually with a locked gate in front, but this one was open and light from the stairway inside flooded out onto the sidewalk. The walls around the door are painted in many colors, and ambient lighting adds another layer of color. My first thought was to make this a color photograph, but as I looked at it in post that seemed just a bit too obvious so I went with this monochrome rendition instead.

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

Glaciated Ridge and Trees, Morning

August 5, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Trees growing on rocky, glaciated granite terrain in morning light

Among folks who know me a bit, it is not a surprise to hear that this is my favorite kind of Sierra light — early morning light coming across hazy ridges and granite and striking sparse trees from behind, creating a glow among their branches. I can’t explain why it draws me, but it does, and I think it always has. Perhaps I saw something, now forgotten, during one of my first visits to the Sierra, or possibly I saw a photograph (possibly in one of my father’s books) many years ago and it made an impression.

This scene is obviously not a Yosemite icon (though one is nearby), but the nature of the view is iconic Yosemite for me. A handful of things seem characteristic of the Yosemite high country, and one of them is the sight of granite domes, usually with broken rock, and widely separated trees somehow eking out a livelihood on what appears to be bare rock. Undoubtedly, more square miles of the park are covered by forest, but we can find forest almost anywhere — these trees thriving on bare granite are more rare and more a special characteristic of this place.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Two Trees, Granite Face

Photographic Myths and Platitudes: The Best Camera! (part 1)

Doorway, Stairs

Glaciated Ridge and Trees, Morning

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