Photographs: Nature, Photographs: People, Photographs: Photographers, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Photographer Charles Cramer

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Photographer Charles Cramer
“Photographer Charles Cramer” — Photographer Charles Cramer at work in the John Muir Wilderness.

Photographer Charles (“Charlie”) Cramer at work in the High Sierra of the John Muir Wilderness Area. A group of us spent a week base-camped in a particularly scenic portion of this wilderness area, heading out each day to find and photograph the abundant and beautiful subjects present here – ranging from the intimate (wlldflowers) to the monumental (the peaks of the Sierra crest).

The pace and nature of the work in a place like this might surprise those who haven’t experienced it. Many years ago, when my orientation to the backcountry was via long pack trips on which I moved every day, I worried that I would become bored if I stayed in the same place for more than a night. After years of doing just that, I realize how completely wrong I was. We can easily find a week’s worth of things to investigate and photograph in such places, and at the end of each trip I invariably end up wishing I could stay longer!

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

NO FOTO, NO FILM

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NO FOTO, NO FILM
People passing along a narrow street in Siena, Italy

NO FOTO, NO FILM. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

People passing along a narrow street in Siena, Italy.

This photograph comes from our brief, one-day visit to Siena, Italy in 2016, made during a week-and-a-half stay in Tuscany, mostly in the hills between Siena and Florence. We were in Siena only long enough for a single foray into this fascinating city, and I would certainly like to return.

There are several ways to “see” this photograph, I think. It started with the little “pizzicheria” shop across the narrow street, and its catchy little “NO FOTO NO FILM” sign, likely posted to let tourists known that the owners don’t want folks going inside to make photographs. It is also a record of the sorts of crowds you will find here on a summer, tourist season day — many of the narrow streets are absolutely filled with visitors. Finally, if you look a bit closer you might find a few other interesting features — some of the individuals in the scene, some interactions among them, and some shapes and forms that their figures create. I’ll leave it to viewers to have fun with those things.

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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Meadow, Forest, and Mountains

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Meadow, Forest, and Mountains
High Sierra meadow, forest, and mountains, John Muir Wilderness

Meadow, Forest, and Mountains. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

High Sierra meadow, forest, and mountains, John Muir Wilderness.

By the time I made this photograph I had likely been up and at work for an hour or more. This meadow was a relatively short uphill walk from our base camp, and we visited here often during our one-week photographic stay, photographing it early and late in the day, and using it as a route to higher terrain. Although it was relatively late in the season, the fact that this summer followed a wet winter meant that the meadows were still green and wildflowers were everywhere.

The terrain here offered some special opportunities. We arrived at our base camp after hiking over a high pass, descending into a deep river canyon, and then climbing out the other side and rising to a bench where we set up camp above a small, meadow-ringed lake. That spot was one of several similarly situated lake/meadow areas, positioned progressively higher up a broad valley leading to very high peaks. From any of these meadows the views opened back across that deep canyon toward a very high and impressive ridge on the other side of the valley, so we had a wealth of opportunities to juxtapose lovely foreground meadows and forest with distant rugged peaks.

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: England, Photographs: Travel

Greenwich Market

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Greenwich Market
An entrance hallway to the Greenwich Market

Greenwich Market. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An entrance hallway to the Greenwich Market.

Back in 2016 we made a lengthy summer trip that included a brief stop in New York City, roughly a week in London, then visits to Paris, Heidelberg (our European “home base”), and finally to Tuscany. We initially stayed for a couple nights in central London but then moved to a more distant location beyond Greenwich — a quieter and less expensive place! Because Greenwich was only a few train stops away and between our hotel and downtown, we stopped there several times to wander and, of course, find fool.

The area near the train stop is largely commercial, with plenty of shops and restaurants that seem intended to attract the tourist trade. In the center of this area, hidden away behind the many businesses, is a market — not the largest we’ve seen but plenty interesting. One interesting and notable fact: at one point one of the booths was stopping passers-by and offering samples of liquor! That’s something that I’ve never seen at home in the US.

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.