Tag Archives: america

Blue Goose Among The White

Blue Goose Among The White
A solitary “blue goose” in a flock of white (mostly) Ross’s geese

Blue Goose Among The White. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A solitary “blue goose” in a flock of white (mostly) Ross’s geese

A “blue goose” was something I had heard of but didn’t understand — like the “blue moon.” (Yes, I do now know what that is, too!) A few years ago I ran into a wildlife refuge employee while photographing and we got to talking. He remembered that he had seen an unusual bird earlier that day, and he offered to take me to see the “blue goose.”

That sounded crazy. I had never seen or heard of a goose that was blue in color. (That said, in the right light, the whitest geese can appear to be blue in photographs. I’ll explain some other time…) We came to a large flock of the usual white geese and he pointed into the mob of birds and said, “There it is!” At first I couldn’t spot it but eventually I saw that one of the geese was considerably darker than the rest of the flock. I photographed the goose in this photograph on a different occasion — you should be able to spot the anomalously darker blue goose in the middle of the scene. For the record, the “blue goose” is not a separate type of goose — it is one of the common types, but in an unusual color “morph.”


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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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Museum Layers

Museum Layers
A somewhat whimsical view of the interior of San Francisco MOMA through a portal

Museum Layers. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A somewhat whimsical view of the interior of San Francisco MOMA through a portal

When I visit museums I often bring a camera along. I’m not too likely to photograph the art — though that does occasionally happen, most often when someone is interacting with it. I’m more  interested in the light and architecture of such places and with the activities of museum visitors, who tend to behave in different ways than they might in other locations.

This photograph is about the architecture, of course, and how it is lit.  quite simply, the portal (outlined in black) was my initial subject, but then I saw the fantastic landscape of light gradients and contrasting colors. The two figures in the nearly central light circle were a matter of serendipity.


See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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

Sidewalk, Building, SpreadingTree

Sidewalk, Building, Spreading Tree
And urban landscape scene in Pasadena, California

Sidewalk, Building, Spreading Tree. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An urban landscape scene in Pasadena, California

We had an afternoon and early evening to “kill,” so we ended up in a downtown section of Pasadena, first for a bite to eat and then for a random walk as the day came to an end. Our walk started in late afternoon light, continued through twilight, and ended after dark as we looped back to where we had started.

As we walked I had my small rangefinder-style camera out, and I photographed quickly with a single lens. There was a lot to see — some typical older Southern California urban architecture and, as the darkness came on, some interesting artificial light. This tree both contrasted with the geometry of the street, sidewalk, and building… and reminded me of similar trees and scenes in San Francisco.


See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email


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

Morning Light, Meadow and Lake

Morning Light, Meadow and Lake
First morning light comes to Sierra Nevada peaks beyond forest-rimmed lake and meadow

Morning Light, Meadow and Lake. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

First morning light comes to Sierra Nevada peaks beyond forest-rimmed lake and meadow

This photograph includes many of the major visual themes from a weeklong photographic visit to this part of the Sierra Nevada backcountry: The green meadow with its small trees, the still lake, low hills between the lake and the deep valley beyond, and across that valley many high, alpine peaks.

Although it is not the highest peak in this view — not by far — the bulky peak in the center of the frame dominated the view from this spot and many other nearby areas. (It also appears in a previous photograph I posted from near this location.) This morning began with partly cloudy skies, and as the sunlight began to penetrate the overcast it sent a beam of warm light across the face of the peak.


See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email


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