Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Sierra Shoreline

May 30, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Forest and granite boulders at the water’s edge, subalpine Sierra Nevada lake

I’m looking backwards and forwards with this photograph. Backwards to a visit of more than a week to a Yosemite backcountry lake with a couple of photographer friends near the end of last year’s summer season — a season that brought another year of drought and tremendous wildfires. All of that aside — but, boy, did we deal with wildfire smoke! — we had a beautiful period of late season light on many days, and a few days of rain from an early season storm near the end.

And I’m looking forward… to getting back into the summer Sierra before too much longer. Spring has been quite busy since our last big adventure, a visit to Death Valley back at the end of March, and aside from bird photography and a few odd trips here and there, well, it is really time to get back into the field for a more extensive period. Tioga Pass Road has now been open for a couple of weeks, and the High Sierra awaits. I hope to be back there soon, and back at places like this one and it this high country light.

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, Before the Sun

May 29, 2016 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Sand dune shapes in soft light, Death Valley National Park

There are still a few more photographs to share from this year’s spring visit to Death Valley National Park back at the end of March. To answer the inevitable question, we arrived after the peak of the “super bloom” — but there were still flowers and there are always plenty of other things to see. We visited some familiar sites and sights, and we also investigated some areas that were new to us. (It is a big park — even though I’ve been going regularly for over 15 years there is still plenty of new thing stuff to see.)

On the last morning of our trip, after days featuring wind and dust storms and even rain, it appeared to be calm. I got up well before dawn — what else is new? — and headed to a nearby area of dunes. Rather than going to the “usual spot,” I drove on to a location that I had been thinking of for a while, parked, loaded up my pack full of camera gear, grabbed my tripod, and headed out the pre-dawn light across a playa, heading toward some low dunes. Twenty or thirty minutes later I arrived, still before sunrise, and I had some time to photograph in the beautiful soft pre-dawn light.

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

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco

Breakwater, Bay

May 28, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The shadow of a breakwater across a view of San Francisco Bay

I’ve had an obsession with the morning light coming across the San Francisco Bay ever since I started taking an early morning train up there and walking the waterfront, making photographs. The light varies, but it is almost always interesting — muted by fog, brilliantly bright when there is lighter haze, reflecting off the water when the skies are clearer. That latter was mostly the case on this morning, with only a few clouds left from a late-season rain storm that was clearing out.

I began photographing some pier not far from the South Beach Harbor, and as I walked out onto one of them I was intrigued by the overlapping patterns of breakwaters near the entrance to the harbor. As I looked to the right of that entrance the low breakwater cut the bright reflections of morning sun, placing an almost black line across the water parallel with the horizon line.

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

Deals and Sales, Equipment

Fujifilm Update — Deals on X-E2 And More…

May 27, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

I have recently been posting photographs made with my new Fujifilm X-Pro2 Mirrorless Digital Camera. Before long I intend to share a review based on my experiences — but that is a bit too big of a project for today. For now I’ll just say that it is meeting and exceeding my expectations and I can recommend it to folks who can make use of its special set of features. A few pages on this website mention it:

Fujifilm X-E2 Deals

Fujifilm X-E2 Digital Mirrorless Camera (shown with 18-55mm lens)

But the main point of this brief update is to let you know about an excellent deal available on the X-E2, a 16MP interchangeable lens mirrorless camera much like (but better than) the X-E1 that I relied on for three years. Right now you can pick up this camera for as low as $499. Considering that you can apply a free Fujifilm firmware update and give it virtually the same capabilities as the newer X-T10 and X-E2s, this deal is even more remarkable. If you have been thinking about one of these little mirrorless cameras and would like to give it a try, check out these deals.

Several bundles from Adorama include include Fujifilm NP-W126 Battery, Fujifilm Half Case for XE1 Camera, 24/7 Traffic Collection – Small Holster

Fujifilm X-E2 Mirrorless Digital Camera with XF 18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS Lens

Adorama: $689 (Regular $1,099) — Black | Silver
B&H: $689 (regular $1099) — Black

Fujifilm X-E2 Mirrorless Digital Camera Body

Adorama: $499 (Regular $699) — Silver

Free Shipping. While supplies last

There’s More…

Right now Fujifilm has a promotion on a huge selection of mirrorless cameras and lenses with prices on some as much as $400 off: B&H | Adorama

Here is a list of some of these products at Adorama. (The same equipment is also available at B&H.)

CAMERAS

LENSES

This website has an affiliate relationship with B&H Photo and Adorama. Your purchases through website links return a percentage of the sale price to this website — but your cost remains the same. Be sure to verify pricing and descriptions at the vendor websites.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Sierra Shoreline

Dunes, Before the Sun

Breakwater, Bay

Fujifilm Update — Deals on X-E2 And More…

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