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

Forest and Tower, Afternoon

Image May 31, 2023 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Gentle afternoon haze and soft spring light on forest and granite towers, Yosemite Valley.

The main visual aspect of Yosemite Valley, I think, is of massive, iconic formations in combinations that would be almost impossible to imagine: a dome sliced in half, waterfalls launching from the edges of cliffs thousands of feet above the valley, incomprehensibly massive expanses of granite, the u-shaped form with a carpet of trees at the bottom. But more subtle things characterize the place, too: the back-lit afternoon haze, cloud shadows moving ac ross the landscape, trees and meadows next to the river, and more.

The location is a bit west of the most popular parts of the Valley, wheres a beautiful small meadow provides more open views of the surroundings. The meadow that can be more of a lake in the snow melt season when the nearby Merced river rises. This spot was almost the final stop on my recent one-day visit to the Valley, and there I found multiple subjects to photograph.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Central Park, Spring Rain

Image May 30, 2023 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

People pause by the edge of a lake on a rainy spring day at Central Park, Manhattan.

Who says that all landscapes must be natural landscapes? No one, actually, though there is a long tradition (starting way before photography existed) of depicting the landscape inclusive of the human presence: small figures, structures, bridges and roads, ships, and so on. Although I usually categorize my photographs in various ways (if for no other reason than searching is easier), this series cuts across a few of the usual categories.

It was a rainy morning among a series of rainy spring days in Manhattan, and many of us were anxious enough to get out and enjoy New York’s “spring” that we went out even as rain threatened. At times the rain was heavy but mostly it just sprinkled steadily, as it was when I made this photograph, with people standing on the banks of the pond and clouds shrouding the upper stories of Manhattan buildings.

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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

Trees in Flooded Meadow

Image May 29, 2023 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Yosemite Valley trees stand in a meadow flooded with spring snow run-off.

At first glance, this photograph might look like something from the Florida Everglades. But as the spring snow melt switches into high gear, many typically dry places in California are distinctly wet. During my pre-Memorial-Day visit to Yosemite Valley many meadows and even low forest areas were flooded by the rising Merced River. More than once as I hiked in the Vally my trails simply disappeared under water!

I know this spot well and have photographed here often in the past — when it was a dry forest along the banks of the Merced. But this week the water came almost to the roadway and flooded the trail in places. In fact, I had to set up on some rather spongy and unsteady ground in order to frame this scene!

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Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Scene From the Urban Jungle

Image May 28, 2023 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A tree in a planter on a Manhattan sidewalk, amidst urban detritus of various sorts.

This is yet another photograph from my spring visit to New York City. There’s more going on in this photograph than might be immediately apparent. I’ll share a few hints here, but you may want to look a bit deeper, beyond my description, and even consider potential metaphors, not all of which may be immediately obvious. Some of them were not even obvious to me when I made the photograph, and I only saw them later. Yes, I’m being a bit opaque about this. Have fun…

The backstory is pretty simple. I was staying in Manhattan, a few blocks south of Central Park, while visiting my sons and daughters-in-law. My usual plan is to get out for a bit of a walk in the morning before connecting with them, though the constant wet weather interfered a bit with that. But I did head out for a random walk with my camera. I passed this planter before thinking that it might make a photograph, so I backed up and framed a couple of shots, mainly thinking about colors, the petals on the ground, and a few other odd juxtapositions.

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G Dan Mitchell Photography

Forest and Tower, Afternoon

Central Park, Spring Rain

Trees in Flooded Meadow

Scene From the Urban Jungle

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