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

Shoreline Trees and Pond

April 3, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Trees ring a shoreline pond along the edge of a lake, Yosemite National Park.

This little scene is in a not-too-hard-to-find location in the Yosemite high country along Tioga Pass Road. I have another black and white photograph made in nearly the same location that is one of my favorite photographs from last year – in fact, it might be my favorite. I had sort of written off the idea of doing a color version of the same location, but now I’m rethinking that decision.

There are things I like quite a bit about this scene, though there is also one aspect that I’m not completely happy with. I’ll keep the specifics to myself, but one reason for posting this is to remind myself of how I want to re-shoot the subject this coming summer when I think I’ll be able to find very similar conditions once again.

There are a couple of tricky things about this location and this shot. For one, it is hard to find a clear view of the major elements of the scene that is compositionally interesting and does not include distracting elements. (That is something that I now think I may have a solution to…) For another the thing that makes the light so interesting – it is early morning and the trees are backlit – is also the source of a challenge with very wide dynamic range between the shaded portions of the trees and some bright spots of direct and reflected sun on the rocks.

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

Reflections in Curved Window

April 2, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A curved window on the Portside Building reflects a street scene near the San Francisco waterfront.

And now for something quite different from recently posted photographs…

I made this photograph while walking in San Francisco last summer. I’m intrigued by reflections and by scenes holding multiple layers or even multiple layered sub-scenes, so when I found this curved window I had to try to shoot it. For me the first thing I see is the cross-shaped pattern of the metallic bars separating the panes of glass. Looking more closely at what first seems to be just shiny and silver, I see quite a few colors and patterns, especially in the horizontal bars. On the other side of the window is a bit of the interior of the building – a white wall with its own curved shape, the end of a curved cushioned seat, and a dark area opening further into the interior on the right, within which a few shining lights are visible. Then there is the world in the reflections in the glass. (I mostly managed to exclude myself from the reflections, though you might be able to find a bit of me if you look very carefully! ) A person is framed in the lower right quarter of the frame against a background of a warped and curving street and sidewalk. The upper right section features some clearing fog over the Bay and a bit of an overhang in front of the building. The reflections at lower left are faint, though a cross walk can be seen. At upper left is a typical city scene with a traffic signal, wires, and the front of an urban building.

Tongue in Cheek

Spring Comes to Death Valley

April 1, 2011 G Dan Mitchell 6 Comments

Bees, Panamint Range, Death Valley National Park

At about this time every spring, winter begins to fade high in the Panamint Range of Death Valley National Park. (For those who may not know, the peaks of the Panamint Range reach to over 11,000′ and are regularly cloaked in snow during the winter months.) As the warmth returns, the hills begin to green up and wildlife emerges once again. On just the right day in early April, the bees come back to life and emerge into the spring sun.

Commentary, Tongue in Cheek

Rising Gas Prices: Where Will It End?

April 1, 2011 G Dan Mitchell 13 Comments

IMPORTANT: Read on for an important update to this April Fool’s Day 2011 that I have posted near the bottom of the page below the original story.

From a quick iPhone snap as I drove through this part of Death Valley a few days ago. Sometimes it seems like only thing higher than the temperature in Death Valley is the price of gasoline. I tell you, after putting 30 gallons in the Hummer, it will be a long time before I can afford to take another vacation!

NOTE: This photo apparently “went viral” recently, on disinformation posts on social media claiming that this is the price of gas in California today. LOL. I have a bit more to say about that below in an “update” and in the comments section.

If you enjoyed this (hint!) April Fool’s Day post, you might enjoy these, too:

And, of course, the rest of this site features years of my photography, along with articles and stories on photography-related subjects.

And, more fun with Photoshop…

UPDATE 3/10/22: Because the image in this post was ripped off by disinformation posters on social media and used as a fake news meme… I need to give readers the full truth. (Sadly, it does kind of wreck the original April Fool’s joke, but here we are.)

In early 2011 I was in Death Valley to make photographs. I passed by this gas station at Furnace Creek, which is known for having some of the highest posted gas prices in the country. (Smart visitors get their gas for much less at nearby Stovepipe Wells or to the east of the park in Nevada, where it is way cheaper.)

For several years I had been doing an April Fool’s Day post that includes some preposterous story. (See links in the story below.) It occurred to me that I could do one this year (2011) by photographing the sign and Photoshopping preposterous gas prices in place of the actual prices. I don’t actually recall the real prices at the time, but they were probably in the $3-something range. So I pulled over and made an iPhone snap of the sign. (Some wonder: Did I buy gas here. Are you crazy! No! See the previous paragraph. And, no, I do not own a Hummer. ;-)

Conveniently, the “6” on the price for “Supreme” was easy to invert, so I used it to create a “9” that I photoshopped in for the dollar amount. And on April Fool’s Day 2011 I posted the image and the text you’ll find lower on this page. There were several obvious hints in the story about its April Fool’s Day trickery, though I did manage to fool a few folks.

That was the last I thought of it until (I think) 2019 when someone contacted me to point out that the image had been ripped off and posted by alt-right conspiracy theory disinformation social media accounts as “evidence” of the outrageous prices for gas in California. Yeah, our prices are higher than the national average, but not this high! Several media outlets contacted me about it, and if you look around you might still be able to find a few of the stories in which I debunked the claim and pointed to this old post.

So, if you see this “photograph” somewhere online along with claims about the high prices of gas, let them know it is fake and point them here for the truth. ;-)

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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

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