Photographs: People, Photographs: Photographers

Photographer Franka M. Gabler

August 17, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

I often photograph alone — ultimately, most photography of the sorts I do tends to be a solo thing — but sometimes I do get together with other photographers (and occasionally painters and assorted others) in the field. In fact, some of us have a bit of a tradition of meeting in the Central Valley to welcome the new year in the company of one another and of many thousands of migratory birds! Among other things, these get-togethers are a fine opportunity to photograph one another!

I made this photograph of friend and photographer Franka Mlikota Gabler on New Year’s Day this year, as all of us were on a wild goose chase — literally!

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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: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

Street Scene, Manhattan

August 16, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Looking up a narrow street in the West Village

I like old photographs of cities, and especially of big cities like New York. For obvious reasons they tend to be in black and white. Once I started photographing these same subjects and making some of the photographs black and white, I began to notice that things in such places often look far more like they had in the past and that the supposed modern nature of such scenes is not at all obvious when abstracted by the camera.

I made this photograph from an elevated position along the High Line Park path that runs along a portion of the western side of Manhattan. In order to spot much here that is unique to the current time, I have to look closely — the overall impression is almost timeless. Yes, the vehicles are modern (at least for now), there are some traffic barriers in the distance that are a fairly new presence, and a very close look reveals somewhat modern attire on a few of the pedestrians.

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

Photographs: France, Photographs: Urban/Street

Dawn, Paris Rooftops

August 15, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Rooftops and the long view at dawn, Paris, France

The photograph of this view was a result of a couple of coincidences. I have to admit that we rarely got up this early on our trip to France (or the UK, or New York, or Germany…), more often sleeping in and finally getting out the door of our room at 10:00 in the morning or so. We kid ourselves about our ability to adapt to time zone changes — we think we didn’t make it quite all the way to Europe but instead locked into a time about one zone west of Ireland! But on this morning we had no choice but to get up very early since we were scheduled to take an early train to Germany and we didn’t want to miss it.

But being up before dawn wouldn’t have quite been enough to give us this view. There is a hotel story involved, too. When we arrived earlier in the week we were given a room several floors lower. We went up to the room, opened the door, walked in… to find a pack of cigarettes on the bed, suitcases on the shelf, and clothes in the closet! The hotel upgraded us as a result, putting us in a room that was near the top of the building and which gave us a view across Paris. So, up at 6:00 in the morning, still fairly dark in Paris, we got dressed and then watched the light show as the sun spread across the city.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Wildlife

Sandhill Cranes in Morning Flight

August 14, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A flock of sandhill cranes passes overhead, San Joaquin Valley, California

Way back in college, as a music major oh so many years ago, I was lucky to be in a special program that fulfilled my science requirements in a non-traditional manner. Rather than enrolling in the usual undergraduate science courses, we spent part of a year in a series of small group seminars on a range of subject. (As a student with an interest in science, especially biology, I was a bit skeptical at first but thrilled in the end.) One portion on ecology lasted weeks, and reading Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac was a main component. This was perhaps the first such book I read. (I later read pretty much all of Muir and quite a lot of other such writers.)

One thing I remember from that book — and I hope I have this right — was something about sandhill cranes. I had no idea what they were… until many years later when I began photographing the migratory birds of California’s Central Valley. Sometimes ungainly on the ground, they have a refined and elegant way of flying, often flat and level without a lot of goose-like flapping. They are hesitant to fly right over a person with a camera, preferring to take a detour, but this group came straight at me.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Photographer Franka M. Gabler

Street Scene, Manhattan

Dawn, Paris Rooftops

Sandhill Cranes in Morning Flight

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