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

Mud Hills, Evening Light

November 28, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Mud hills near the mouth of a Death Valley canyon

On this evening I had taken a “random” walk into a canyon that I hadn’t visited before. It isn’t a tremendously popular place, so I had its narrow confines almost completely to myself, even though I wasn’t all that far from some rather popular Death Valley locations. The canyon itself was not the most visually striking Death Valley location I have visited, though its narrow dimensions and solitude were notable. I reached a blockage some distance up the canyon, and since the hour was getting late I decided to reverse course and head back out for early evening light.

As is so often the case with these canyons, I emerged from the dark and narrow canyon onto a broad wash that expanded onto an alluvial fan littered with boulders, cut by water courses, and open to more distant views. Golden hour light was beginning, so there was a lot to photograph, and it took me quite a while to work my way down from here toward the trailhead. As I walked, the surrounding hills became lower and more rounded as they gradually merged with the alluvial slopes that tend to line the valley. As the light faded with the already behind hills to the west, I made a final stop to photograph these folded forms, glowing in the filtered and soft light of early evening.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Fractured Granite

November 27, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A fractured granite cliff in the Eastern Sierra Nevada

I made this photograph on a morning when I was in the eastern Sierra to photograph autumn subject, particularly the annual color change of the aspen trees. Being in a place where I have photographed many times, I quickly dispensed with the familiar (and even iconic) subjects in the area and then, as I like to do, simply wandered slowly with my eyes open, looking for little elements of the larger landscape that caught my eye. Although I have walked past this granite quite a few times, it may be the first time I have photographed it.

Granite (along with, as geologist friends might remind me, rocks informally referred to as granite) is ubiquitous in the Sierra, and is one of the most characteristic features of the Sierra Nevada experience. Not only is there a lot of it, but it has been laid bare by (mostly) glacial action, and it appears in its original locations and in places where the rocks have been moved by water and ice. As a person who has hiked here for decades and who spent a few years as a rock climber, I developed an intimate familiarity with this rock. It can be smooth or rough, uniform in color and texture or interspersed with veins and crystals. It can be freezing cold in winter or benignly warm on a summer day. It may be nearly white, gray, or incorporate a host of color variations. It seems to be solid and unchanging, but there is evidence everywhere that it has been moved and broken and shaped.

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

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

Selfie, Reflection

November 26, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Reflection of a couple posing for a selfie, Whitney Museum, Manhattan

I made this photograph when we visited the Whitney Museum on a trip to New York City earlier this year — the new version of the Whitney located in Chelsea near the end of The High Line Park. We were there at least partly to see the Calder exhibit, but also because we like the Whitney itself. I not only like the place (and this is true of other museums I visit) for the work that is exhibited, but also for the photographic opportunities. There are lots of people to see, and this museum incorporates all kinds of other interesting visual opportunities: the architecture of the building, the outside terraces, the views of the surrounding areas.

I made this photograph on one of the outdoor terraces on an upper floor. The terraces provide open views of Manhattan, and they house large works that display well in outdoor spaces. There are always lots of people passing through these spaces, and this couple stopped to make a selfie photo against one of the sculptures, inadvertently positioning themselves where their reflection also incorporated a slightly distorted view of the Manhattan surroundings. The subject of “selfies” is a big one on its own, and I won’t try to take that on in its entirely here. However, people making these photographs of themselves sometimes seem to let down their guard as they temporarily become almost oblivious to their surroundings and they often assemble into interesting group poses.

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

River of Aspens

November 25, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A grove of colorful autumn aspen trees traces the path of a Sierra Nevada gully

Perhaps a more appropriate title could be “Another River of Aspens” — such features are ubiquitous in the Sierra and other locations, where aspens frequently are found along stream beds and can spread out as water might when they reach the lower and flatter elevations. As a result, the “streams” of trees can seem to flow in almost that same way that water might. This is a particularly obvious example, as the trees meander along the descending gully, spread out into a fan at its base, and then arrive at the shoreline of a lake. (The pattern also is similar to that of alluvial fans and even some forms seen below glaciers.)

We were at this location rather early on a fall morning. It is a place that is popular — a bit too popular these days — with photographers and others, but hard to resist if one is nearby for other purposes. We arrived before dawn and spent some time photographing in the cold, pre-sunrise light before we packed up and headed off to those “other purposes” nearby. This very early light is different from what we experience a bit later in the day. It can be quite blue in quality — often so much so that compensation is required during post processing — but the soft light can produce a more subtle effect with light getting into the shadows and revealing some of their details.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Mud Hills, Evening Light

Fractured Granite

Selfie, Reflection

River of Aspens

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