Tag Archives: america

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspens and Granite

October 30, 2013 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

A stand of aspen with fall color in front of a granite filled slope, eastern Sierra Nevada

This beautiful stand of aspen trees is easily visible from the main highway running up and down the eastern Sierra, and I notice the trees every time that I drive past. It is across a small meadow where sheep graze at certain times of the year, and the trees are set against the backdrop of a small rocky hillside. I have stopped here before, but most often either the light hasn’t been quite right (I have been looking for a certain combination of back- and side-light) or the leaf color hasn’t been exactly idea.

On this October eastern Sierra trip we passed this spot quite a few times as we looked for photographic subjects in nearby areas. Conditions ranged from snow to fog to night to midday. Each time I again looked over at the trees and thought about the conditions in which I could photograph them, and because the trip was an extended one I passed by a few times when I could have stopped and photographed. Finally, on the second-to-last day of the visit, I figured out that I might or might not pass them again on this trip, the trees were showing a lot of color, and the light seemed about right.

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Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: People, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Twenty Minutes of Street Photography – Six Photographs

October 29, 2013 G Dan Mitchell 9 Comments

I was in San Francisco this morning for a demo/announcement of new Google Plus features and after the event I had a bit of extra time on my walk back to the Caltrain station – 20 minutes to be precise. So, just for fun, the results (most of them at least) of 20 minutes of street shooting in The City.

It might seem odd to some that a photographer who does so much landscape work would be interested in photographing the sometimes-gritty urban environment of San Francisco. There is a lot I could write about this, but I’ll limit myself to a few ideas here. First, to some extent I think of photographing the urban environment as an extension of landscape photograph – let’s call it “urban landscape.” Second, shooting handheld while on the move leads to a different way of seeing that is quicker and more “improvisational” (to use a term from my music background), and this is, if nothing else, a great exercise in seeing.

Woman with Phone, Tall Building. San Francisco, California. October 29, 2013, 11:01AM.

I had stopped to try to photograph a woman pushing a stroller with this wall as a backdrop. She walked out of the frame too quickly, but I managed to grab this one of the solitary woman against the same backdrop.

MUNI Bus Yard. San Francisco, California. October 29, 2013. 11:03AM.

A moment later and on the other side of the street, I walked past this MUNI yard full of buses ready to head out.

Woman and Dog, Brown Building. San Francisco, California. October 29, 2013. 11:04AM.

One minute later and back on the other side of the street once again, I saw this interesting structure and a woman with a dog fortuitously walked in front at just that moment. This photograph is about many things, but the colors are quite important.

Pedestrian, Sidewalk. San Francisco, California. October 29, 2013. 11:16AM.

Slacking now, it was 12 minutes between the previous photograph and this one… ;-) Here I was trying to figure out my best route and I think I wandered around a bit without shooting, but then I saw this low building which was covered with swatches of paint that had been applied to cover graffiti. Once again, I was lucky and a pedestrian walked into the frame just as I was ready to shoot it.

Autumn Leaf, Sidewalk. San Francisco, California. October 29, 2013. 11:19AM.

After making a wrong turn I ended up walking around a block and back up towards where I started. While walking I saw this leaf and photographed it quickly without looking through the viewfinder.

Garage and Fence. San Francisco, California. October 29, 2013. 11:21AM.

A moment later and on the other side of the street from the leaf, I saw this small lot and the light blue building with the roll-up door, and the bright sky beyond. Initially I wanted to include the more of the building to the left along with a street light near its corner. So I made a few exposures of that, pausing as traffic passed by, and then made this one that eliminated all of the left-side building except for the tall wall facing the lot.

At this point I realized I had a train to catch, and one stop to make on the way there…

Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Chimneys and Building Details, Standard Mill

October 29, 2013 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Details of buildings and chimneys at the Standard Mill, Bodie ghost town, California

On the final day of our October eastern Sierra visit we covered a lot of ground, starting with dawn virga and light snow near Mammoth Lakes before heading east into the high desert toward the Nevada border and then north by back roads past Mono Lake to Lee Vining, where we finally stopped for a very late breakfast. We headed north from Lee Vining, first stopping to photograph aspens near Conway Summit, and the snow that was still falling above along the Sierra crest. With this “interesting” weather still around, it seemed like it might be worth a trip out to Bodie.

I’ve been to Bodie a number of times, and while the historical story is fascinating and the presence of such a large abandoned town is remarkable, I have sometimes been frustrated by the stark and cloudless skies and the realization that the place has been photographed so darned much! But a number of years ago I made it out there on a spring day when there was light snow falling, and I realized that in the right conditions it is still well worth a visit. Since there was a possibility of similar weather this time – though snow did not fall after we arrived – and since it was the off-season, the drive seemed worth it. And it was. Along the way we saw high desert aspen groves, which have a very different appearance than those of the eastern Sierra. The weather gave us a combination of blue skies, partial clouds, and occasional mists covering hill tops – and all of this was constantly changing as the clouds thickened and thinned. As I have walked around Bodie in the past I have been fascinated by the large Standard Mill that sits across the Valley. Since it is fenced off and access isn’t permitted without a guide, I was not able to walk among the buildings… but I was able to get close enough to make some photographs of the interesting juxtapositions of stark metal walls, windows, and chimneys.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Beaver Pond, Early Snow

October 28, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The first snow of autumn falls on an eastern Sierra Nevada beaver pond

We began our October visit to the eastern Sierra aspens with a very long drive from the north, necessitated by an early season snow storm that swept across the range on the day of our drive, closing all of the passes that are not normally plowed – Tioga, Ebbetts, and Sonora. So we drove over Carson and Monitor Passes to reach highway 395. The snow started before we reached the summit of Carson pass and continued intermittently throughout the rest of the day – never enough to interfere with our driving (aside from the closed passes) but enough to make the photography interesting and to create an appearance that seemed more winter- than autumn-like.

As we headed south on highway 395, we stopped quite a bit to make photographs or even take a side road detour or two. Just before reaching Lee Vining we headed up this canyon, which is known as a good spot of aspens – and for a very narrow section of roadway that passes along the side of a so-called beaver pond. I’ve been past this spot many times, but this was the first time in falling snow. The gray skies and the falling snow created a very peaceful effect around the pond, and we paused to photograph it before making a brief visit to the trailhead at the end of the road.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: america

Aspens and Granite

Twenty Minutes of Street Photography – Six Photographs

Chimneys and Building Details, Standard Mill

Beaver Pond, Early Snow

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