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

Beaver Pond, Autumn Aspens

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Beaver Pond, Autumn Aspens
A beaver lodge in an eastern Sierra Nevada pond reflecting autumn aspen trees.

Beaver Pond, Autumn Aspens. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A beaver lodge in an eastern Sierra Nevada pond reflecting autumn aspen trees.

As the end of 2019 approaches… I’m still working my way though photographs from much earlier this year. That is actually typical for my work process. I tend to “work over” images in phases. I often start immediately with some images that jump out at me, frequently photographs that seemed like highlights at the time I made them. Then I dig a bit more deeply into the collection, and photographs that weren’t quite so central in my memory and those that take a bit more work appear. Over the following weeks or months I continue to dig into the archive, and I often find things that I missed earlier. (I’m near the end of this phase with the end-of-summer and early autumn work.) Beyond that I usually do a year-end review of the past year’s work, and periodically I go through even older files.

This photograph comes from a familiar location that I have visited many times over the year, an eastern Sierra canyon where active beavers (are rarity in the Sierra) have transformed the landscape by knocking down trees and damning the stream to flood a valley with shallow ponds. Although I’ve go to this place every year, this autumn was the first time I’ve actually paused to photograph one of the beaver dens.

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: Birds, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Four Sandhilll Cranes Taking Flight

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Four Sandhilll Cranes Taking Flight
Four sandhill cranes take to the air above California Central Valley fields.

Four Sandhilll Cranes Taking Flight. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Four sandhill cranes take to the air above California Central Valley fields.

Some folks are perpetual bird photographers, but I (mostly) photograph them on a seasonal basis. My serious interest began with migratory geese coming to California along the Pacific Flyway, and I got in the habit of heading into the field during their season. Along the way my interest expanded to include other birds I saw on my excursions: sandhill cranes, white pelicans, ibises, various herons, egrets, the occasional eagle, hawks, and more. Each year, about half way into the fall season, my attention turns back to the birds. I made this photograph back in early November on an early foray out into California’s Central Valley.

Sandhill cranes are marvelous birds in many ways. They flock but typically in much smaller groups than geese, so it is much more possible to photograph individual animals. (They do collect in larger numbers at times, too.) They are fairly large birds, and when they take to the air there is an initial interval when they can appear a bit awkward. They get a bit of forward motion, launch themselves upwards, and flap strongly to get altitude. In this photograph the four birds are nearly, but not quite, past that point in the take-off, and there is still a bit of what seems like flailing going on.

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: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Emergency Exit Only

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Emergency Exit Only
Two trash containers in the doorway of a San Francisco building, with “Emergency Exit Only” signs.

Emergency Exit Only. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two trash containers in the doorway of a San Francisco building, with “Emergency Exit Only” signs.

So, yes, trash bins in the doorway of a San Francisco business — photographed on one of my street photography walks in The City. I’m tempted to just leave that there with no further explanation.

OK, a few hints. You could just look at it as two trash bins in a doorway — after all, that is what you see here. But if you enjoy such things, you could look at it in a variety of other ways, ranging from the mundane (code violations?) to more metaphorical. Your choice.

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: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Mono Lake, Paoha Island, Hills

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Mono Lake, Paoha Island, Hills
Arid hills above Mono Lake and Paoha Island.

Mono Lake, Paoha Island, Hills. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Arid hills above Mono Lake and Paoha Island.

To look at this photograph you would never guess that it was a very cold autumn morning that felt much more like winter than fall. We were camped in an eastern Sierra canyon, had gotten up very early to head out across the Mono Basin, as not far from this spot we encountered temperatures below 10 degrees at one point! Such is autumn in and around the Sierra — summer one moment and distinctly winter-like the next.

This view, photographed in early morning light, looks across the rounded, volcanic hills between the lake and Mono Craters toward the lake and Paoha Island, one of the two volcanic islands here. The distances encompassed by the photograph are quite huge, extending beyond the far shore of Mono Lake to the slopes to the north. That immensity is one of the main features that quantify the experience for me: immense space, deep quiet, and the huge sky.

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.