Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Sunrise, Fog, And Birds

Image Leave a comment
Sunrise, Fog, And Birds
Geese and cranes in a fog-filled sunrise winter sky above California’s Central Valley.

Sunrise, Fog, And Birds. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Geese and cranes in a fog-filled sunrise winter sky above California’s Central Valley.

Many places in California that were once quiet and lonely and even overlooked or forgotten have become, at times, busy and crowded. I write here not just about well-known and iconic locations along the coast, in the cities, at national parks, but about places that might seem like nothing special at all to most people at most times. The issue, of course, is that there are so many of us now. But I have learned that it is often possible to sneak in around the margins and still find solitude. In some places that means going on days when others won’t be there, arriving when most people are still asleep, picking conditions that keep lots of people away. Arriving before dawn in dense fog on a freezing morning at a distant place that isn’t scenic can do the trick.

This was one of those days and one of those places. You could find a scene like this at innumerable spots in the state on a foggy morning, but you might have to get up before 4:00AM, wear extra clothes, drive through that fog, and then understand that you’ll pay a price in less-than-astonishing conditions on many mornings… in order to earn one on which the sun rises through thick tule fog as thousands of birds wheel overhead.

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.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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

Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

Walking Couple, Brick Wall

Image Leave a comment
Walking Couple, Brick Wall
A couple walks along a brick wall at a Manhattan church on a winter afternoon.

Walking Couple, Brick Wall. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A couple walks along a brick wall at a Manhattan church on a winter afternoon.

There is, for this non-native, a feeling that is evoked by New York City in the winter — compared to California (where it is the green season) the place seems very gray, at least in its exterior and outdoor spaces. There aren’t many hours of daylight, the direct sun is blocked by tall buildings during most of the day, and winter weather amplifies the effect. As an aside, I’m also struck by how much different the interior spaces are — even in a cold, drab building with the obligatory garbage sacks sitting on the curb, the interiors are often warm and inviting.

On this afternoon walk from roughly Midtown to Lower Manhattan on a late-December afternoon these qualities were plain to see. There isn’t a green thing in this scene, only some winter-bare trees. Everything is made of bricks or concrete, and in this scene three colors predominate — the reds and browns of bricks, the gray of the sidewalk and the sky, and the bits of black of the doorway and, of course, the attire of the passing figures.

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.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Dunes and Desert Mountains

Image Leave a comment
Dunes and Desert Mountains
Evening light and shadows on Death Valley dunes and desert mountains.

Dunes and Desert Mountains. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Evening light and shadows on Death Valley dunes and desert mountains.

Much of this day had been spent in locations more off the beaten track than this one, mostly places where I was entirely alone or perhaps only saw another person or two every few hours. Generally speaking, those are the places that most interest me in Death Valley, likely because I have seen and photographed the icons so many times since I began coming here over two decades ago. However, this location is one of the iconic places, one where I thought I might find the interesting light that was in such short supply on this visit! Fortunately I was right — just before sunset the clouds that had blanketed the area all day broke up enough to send some golden hour light across the landscape.

I sometimes write that heading straight to an icon can occasionally be a fine choice. For example, I strongly support first-time visitors going to these places. To borrow the old phrase, “they are icons for a reason,” and when you are new to place they are worth seeing. A second reason that draws me back to photograph an icon is when especially spectacular or unusual conditions arise, and I’m almost always on the lookout for such things. On this trip I realized there can be a reason that I had not thought of — namely that when conditions are not conducive for photography, it may simply be more possible to “make it work” in these places.

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.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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

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

Old Police Headquarters, Evening

Image 2 Comments
Old Police Headquarters, Evening
The dome of the Old Police Headquarters on a Manhattan winter evening.

Old Police Headquarters, Evening. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The dome of the Old Police Headquarters on a Manhattan winter evening.

This is another photograph from our long afternoon and evening walk from more or less Midtown down to Lower Manhattan along a route that kept us off many of the main streets and gave us a look at somewhat more intimate scenes along the way. All of the recent evening photographs that I have posted from Manhattan were made on this walk. (Eventually we ended up at Manhatta, on the 6oth floor of a building with stupendous views over the city and its surroundings.)

When I went to work on this photograph I realized that I had no idea what the dome-topped building is. By looking at photographs made just before and after this one, and by enlarging the image enough to (barely) make out the name on a street sign, I was eventually able to identify it on a digital map of Manhattan. Apparently it is, as the title states, the “Old Place Headquarters.” It is, at least from this angle, a pretty notable piece of old style architecture, especially with that impressive dome.

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.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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.