Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Storm Approaches

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Storm Approaches
Approaching storm, sunlight on water, clearing fog along the Big Sur coast

Storm Approaches. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Approaching storm, sunlight on water, clearing fog along the Big Sur coast.

While summer is the most popular time for tourists to visit California’s spectacular Big Sur coastline, I’d rather go there in the winter — which is just what I did today. This is the season of the most interesting and dynamic conditions — storms approaching and departing, big surf, clouds and mist, and the low sun reflecting on the water.

To be honest, I initially thought that I might get ahead of the next Pacific weather front, which was scheduled to arrive in the evening. The weather forecast was calling for partly sunny morning conditions, and I planned this little trip with that in mind. But as I headed south from the Carmel area it was obvious that there were plenty of clouds to the south and offshore. Here and there the clouds thinned enough to bring a bit of directional light or reflect off the surface of the Pacific, but overall the sky leaned in the “ominous” direction. I stopped briefly at this familiar spot to photograph this cliff descending steeply into the water, with a few thinning fog clouds dissipating along the ridge of the mountains extending to teh south.

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: Architecture, Photographs: Germany, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Windows, Oblique Light

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Windows, Oblique Light
The shadows of windows in oblique lighting on a Berlin building

Windows, Oblique Light. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The shadows of windows in oblique lighting on a Berlin building.

You might regard this as “what happens when they let landscape photographers do street photography.” For me, street photography combines a bunch of possible components — the human element, the crystallization of a “moment,” the light and color and patterns, and the nature of urban landscape. I do think of the urban scene as a landscape, and in some ways — though not all! — I approach it that way. (Depending on how far you want to go with that thought… it does have “valleys,” and “faces,” and “peaks,” and even flora and wildlife.)

We had spent the day walking through parts of Berlin, starting at our hotel a way off from the central city, heading past the East Side Gallery area of the Wall, then walking back toward the central area of the Brandenburg Gate. As we got closer to this center we improvised a route that did not take the largest, most popular streets, and it a few places we ended up in rather non-touristy spots. I’d have to go back and consult a map to see precisely where this was photographed, but I was intrigued by the minimalist quality of the architecture, the shadows cast by the protruding window frames, and the contrast between the warm red-brown tones of the wall and the cool blue tones of the windows — and even a resonance with the landscapes of the American Southwest.

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: Germany, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Blue Shirts, Wall

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Blue Shirts, Wall
Two men in blue shirts at the East Side Gallery, Berlin

Blue Shirts, Wall. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two men in blue shirts at the East Side Gallery, Berlin.

Berlin’s “East Side Gallery” is a section of the Berlin Wall — which has been entirely removed in almost all other areas — that was turned into a sort of street art exhibit, with all sorts of artists adopting sections of the wall and creating a kaleidoscope of wildly diverse imagery. We were in Berlin for a few days in 2018, and one day we walked over this direction.

I’m often a bit confused about how and even whether to photograph street art. One problem is that making photographs of the creative work of others feels a bit shallow at times. Another problem is that with some kinds of tagging that verge on vandalism, the photographer can feel complicit by sharing the tags more widely. (By the way, tagging is rampant in areas of Berlin that we visited, and some of the familiar American ground rules — such as not tagging homes — are regularly ignored there.) But sometimes photographing the work of others makes sense, and here I decided to mostly focus on the other people there to see the work. Once I did that I began to see a lot of striking coincidences and relationships — such as this pair of men wearing blue shirts and walking in front of this wildly detailed section of the wall.

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: Urban/Street

Red Doors

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Red Doors
Red doors, reflective panes, San Francisco

Red Doors. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Red doors, reflective panes, San Francisco.

Here is another photograph from my search for color last week in San Francisco. OK, my main purpose in taking the train up there wan’t literally to search for color — it was to do street photography in this rich urban environment. But the way I see “street” often includes color as an important element. (Sometimes I employ a little mental checklist to keep me focused and flexible when looking for subjects, and the word “color” is one of the points on the list.)

As is often the case, I don’t recall precisely where I found this pair of red doors. (It was quite possibly in the vicinity of San Francisco’s Chinatown district.) Oddly, I do have a rather specific memory of seeing the doors and making the photograph though, a process that included an answer to the question, “How do I avoid putting my own reflection in those windows!?”

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.

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