Tag Archives: america

Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

Hats and Cashmere Scarves

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Hats and Cashmere Scarves
A sidewalk vending cart on a winter day in Manhattan.

Hats and Cashmere Scarves. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A sidewalk vending cart on a winter day in Manhattan.

This photograph comes from our last big travel adventure in the Before Times, a week in New York City — mostly Manhattan, but also the Bronx and probably a bit of Brooklyn as well. New Yorkers will either laugh or think we’re nuts — or perhaps both — but somehow the two times of year that we almost invariably visit are in August and late December. Yeah, I know. Not ideal. But by now this has almost become a tradition. Even now — it is August! — I’m thinking about New York again.

This trip, as you may guess from the items being offered for sale here, was the December visit. Street vendors are common all over the world, especially in urban areas, but those in Manhattan seem to have their own special culture. I’m continually amazed at how the products vary by season and even — almost instantly — by weather. Rain on the way? Everyone is suddenly offering umbrellas. Snow and cold? Hats and cashmere scarves.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Shoreline Boulders, Big Sur

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Shoreline Boulders, Big Sur
Jumbled shoreline boulders at the base of rugged cliffs, Big Sur coast.

Shoreline Boulders, Big Sur. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Jumbled shoreline boulders at the base of rugged cliffs, Big Sur coast.

The largest scale of the landscape attracts me when I visit the Big Sur coast of California — the mountains, steep cliffs, and long vistas. These were the first things that attracted me to photographing the place, and they still draw my attention and appear in quite a few of my photographs. However, I have become so familiar with some of those features over time that they start to see… a bit too familiar as photographic subject. I don’t entire eschew them, but I look for other things, too. On my most recent visit I spent much of my time stopping at what might have seemed like the most unlikely pull-outs, gazing over the edge to see what new sights I might find.

I found these boulders at one of those nondescript stops. I had walked to the edge of the cliff where there was a longer view down the coast, but my attention turned to a small bay directly beneath me and these rocks right at the waterline. We tend to regard the landforms of this coast as being mostly static, even though in the back of our minds we are aware that they are transitory and subject to change. There’s a good chance that these rocks are a either a vestige of a former section of the land that perhaps fell into the sea at the water’s edge.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Forest, White Trunks

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Forest, White Trunks
White trunks in a dense forest of deciduous trees, Redwood National Park.

Forest, White Trunks. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

White trunks in a dense forest of deciduous trees, Redwood National Park.

It turns out that I have yet one more photograph from our early June visit to the far northern reaches of coastal California and the Redwood National and State parks. I am embarrassed to admit how long it was before I finally went up there to photograph, but since my first visit a few years ago I have been back every spring, usually trying to time my trips to coincide with the blooming of the rhododendrons. We were less than successful in that regard this year, but there is much else to see there, too. And because this was back in the early “maybe the pandemic is about over” period, it felt great to travel a bit more freely once again.

When it comes to trees, the redwood forests are obviously the mail attraction up there. But they are not the only attractions, and in many places all sorts of trees and plant life grow abundantly in this relatively wet climate. I stop at this particular forest of densely-spaced trees with light colored trunks on every visit — I like the challenge of looking for compositions that somehow bring some kind of order to the wild density of this vegetation.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Edge of the Continent

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Edge of the Continent
The rugged cliffs of the Big Sur coast meet the Pacific Ocean under cloudy skies.

Edge of the Continent. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The rugged cliffs of the Big Sur coast meet the Pacific Ocean under cloudy skies.

Although I was born in the Upper Midwest, I don’t think I could live there anymore — even though many aspects of the place are in my blood and feel comfortable to me. I recall visiting a few decades ago — and, honestly, generally enjoying myself — but watching the sun set and thinking about how many hundreds (more than a thousand, actually) of miles it is to the ocean. I can’t quite put the feeling into words, but it just seemed odd to this guy who has lived perhaps 25 linear miles from the Pacific Ocean for, well, more than a couple of decades.

I was thinking about this feeling as I visited the area in this photograph, the Big Sur Coast of California, the rugged interface between North America and the vast Pacific Ocean. The sense that there is an empty, unknown space that we don’t inhabit has long had a powerful effect on us, and here at the edge of the continent we can come face to face with a wilderness that most of us will never fully explore.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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