Photographs: Austria, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Wiener Würstl

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Patrons standing around a “wiener würstl” stand at night in Vienna

Wiener Würstl. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Patrons standing around a “wiener würstl” stand at night in Vienna

I made this photograph on a late-August evening in Vienna. We had just returned from dinner, perhaps a bit early, and I realized that I had just enough time to head out and do some night street photography in the crowded nearby streets… which were absolutely filled with pedestrians. There was a lot to see and photograph — a nearby cathedral, shops and cafes, pedicabs, people passing by. As I neared the completion of my looping walk I passed a couple of the ubiquitous “würstl” stands, which seem to collect people in their circle of light.

This photograph is part of a genre that I’ve been pursuing for the past few years — handheld night street photography. It was just a few years ago that I realized that small contemporary digital cameras are now good enough in very low light that I can photograph street scenes using only available light, especially if I seek out sources of light such as this. I’ve been doing night photography for more than fifteen years, and I’m part of a collective of San Francisco Bay Area night photographs known as Studio Nocturne. As it turns out, we’re in the middle of our “fall season” right now, with several events coming up right away.

For more than 15 years we have exhibited every fall as part of the San Francisco ArtSpan Open Studio Event. This year our “open studio” is at ARCH Supplies in San Francisco. Our opening preview and artist reception is on Friday, October 26 at 6:30-9:00PM. Our exhibit and sale continues on Saturday and Sunday, October 27 & 28, from 11:00AM-6:00PM.

Studio Nocturne 2018 ArtSpan Open Studio October 26-28
Studio Nocturne 2018 ArtSpan Open Studio October 26-28

We’re also doing a San Francisco ArtSpan Open Studio “hub show” mini-exhibit at Farley’s Coffee in San Francisco all month, with a public reception this Friday, October 19 at 6:30PM-8:30PM.

Studio Nocturne 2018 Hub Show at Farley's Coffee
Studio Nocturne 2018 Hub Show at Farley’s Coffee

Why don’t you join us at one or both of these events? We look forward to seeing you!

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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

Bare Aspen Grove

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Bare Aspen Grove
A dense grove of slender white aspen trees after most leaves have fallen

Bare Aspen Grove. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A dense grove of slender white aspen trees after most leaves have fallen

Quite naturally, in autumn our attention turns to the fall color transition, which in the Eastern Sierra Nevada and nearby areas mostly means aspen trees. And this transition can be quite spectacular if you are in the right place on the right day and in the right conditions. The colors — ranging from yellow through orange to red — are often intense, and the biggest groves cover whole hillsides, snake up and down the mountains, and may be reflected in subalpine lakes. But this show is brief, and it ends before the month of October is over.

Fortunately, this isn’t the only condition in which aspens are a worthy photographic subject! In fact, as the last colorful leaves drop my feelings are often mixed — I hate to see the show end, but I also can start to look at the trees in other interesting ways. Bare aspen trees are an interesting subject on their own, suggesting both winter and the end of the warm season… and the prospect of the spring rebirth a few months from now. I know this particular little grove quite well, and I make it a point to visit every season, sometimes more than once. This year I passed by when almost all of the leaves had fallen, revealing the start, nearly white trunks and their fascinating combination of order and complexity.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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

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

Aspens in Transition

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Aspens in Transition
A large Eastern Sierra Nevada aspen grove partway though the fall color transition

Aspens in Transition. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A large Eastern Sierra Nevada aspen grove partway though the fall color transition

This photograph comes from one of the few specific locations for Eastern Sierra aspen color that I’ll typically name and locate without reservations. It is impossible to miss, as it is right next to US 395 between the towns of Bridgeport and Lee Vining, at the high point of this section of the roadway where it crosses Conway Summit. You can pull over to the side of the road — and if you pass by on the best days you won’t be able to resist — and take in a panoramic view up toward the Sierra crest that includes many beautiful aspen groves. (I’m reticent about sending too many people to less-known, fragile, and quiet locations… especially since there are so many great places where you can find aspen color on your own.)

On this afternoon I passed by this spot as I traveled between a couple of other places where I looked for and photographed autumn color. I, too, was unable to resist (another) stop here. You may notice the soft light in this scene. It was overcast and there was light rain falling closer to the crest. On the scene such light can seem drab and dull, but the softer light also fills in the shadows and can provide you with an exposure that allows you to reveal a lot of detail and color in the post-processing phase. Notice also that the color is far from uniform in this large grove, ranging from peak color (and beyond, in a few cases) to very green trees in the distance. It is rare to find an entire large grove producing uniform brilliant color, since the aspens here tend to change color in phases. I’ve come to like and even prefer this less uniform color change pattern, and sometimes I think that the presence of green trees enhances to intensity of the more colorful trees.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Plants and Lichen, Colorful Cliff

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Plants and Lichen, Colorful Cliff
A few plants grow in cracks on a colorful cliff face in the Eastern Sierra Nevada

Plants and Lichen, Colorful Cliff. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A few plants grow in cracks on a colorful cliff face in the Eastern Sierra Nevada

I’ll be honest. I had initially walked past this spot without even noticing it, back on the first day of our trip, when we were hiking in to the location of our base camp for the next week. I was tired, feeling the effects of altitude, and just wanted to “get there.” A few days later one of my compatriots happened to mention the “wall” back at the lake we had passed on the way in, and I made a mental note to try to visit before the trip ended. In fact, it wasn’t until the last full day of our visit that I finally made it back.

The site is special in several ways, though I’d bet that quite a few hikers don’t really notice it. It rises above a section of trail along the shoreline of a lake. The rocks vary from typical Sierra granite gray to dark slate-like rock, with veins of other materials running through here and there. There are some good-sized solid sections, but much of the wall is fractured and broken. Plants grow in some of the cracks and on ledges, and lichen is attached to the rocks as well. The wall remains in deep shade until rather late into the morning, but a beautiful wash of reflected light comes across the valley from bare peaks on the opposite side. Here you can view the photograph as a record of a real place, but you can also view it as an abstract construction of color and pattern. (I tend toward the latter way of seeing it.)

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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 | Twitter | Facebook |
Email

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.