Tag Archives: america

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

Corn Lilies, Late Summer

December 13, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Late summer corn lilies begin to take on fall colors, Yosemite National Park.

Corn Lilies are among my favorite Sierra Nevada high country plants. During their short summer growth period they begin as corn-cob-shaped shoots that spring up in wet areas as the snow melts out. They quickly grow into lush green plant in thick bunches that are intensely green and which have beautiful curving shapes and textures. (This makes them a very popular subject for photographers!) As the season continues they begin to show some “flaws” from insect damage and so forth, and at some point in August they begin to lose their green color, often beginning to pick up some brown coloration that can be nearly golden in the right light. At some point in September even the most durable specimens begin to be striped with yellow, brown, or even black and they finally simply fall over.

I found this bunch very close to our campsite in the back-country of Yosemite National Park around the middle of September. Although you cannot see it in this photograph, this clump of corn lilies had fallen over in a most interesting way – they all fell pointing away from the center of the group! So these plants are in the middle of falling over, and are lit by early morning light diffused by forest cover.

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco

San Francisco Skyline, Pre-Dawn Sky

December 12, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Pre-dawn sky begins to light the skyline of San Francisco, California.

While at San Francisco’s Crissy Field to photograph the lunar eclipse over the Golden Gate Bridge I realized that this unusual celestial phenomenon was by no means the only worthy subject at this early morning hour. Meanwhile, there was a beautiful and mysterious sunrise developing in the eastern sky beyond the City and over the East Bay, enhanced by a lot of atmospheric haze. (This was the same haze that ultimately caused the eclipsed moon to fade to invisibility shortly after the sky began to lighten.) So, while 99% of the photographers were still pointing their lenses west, I (along with a few other folks) pointed east and toward this section of the San Francisco skyline in roughly the Knob Hill and Russian Hill areas, with the familiar shape of the Transamerica pyramid partially hidden behind closer buildings and some typical San Francisco neighborhood buildings and trees up close at the bottom.

Yet again, this scene reinforced the idea that it is always important to look around at the whole scene. It is so easy to become completely focused on the single subject that you started out with – and sometimes this is a good thing! – that you may overlook other worthy subjects in other directions. I still have to remind myself sometimes to look up and scan my surroundings to see what else might be worth photographing.

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco

Alcatraz Island, Dawn Sky

December 11, 2011 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Dawn light gently lights the morning clouds about San Francisco Bay haze and Alcatraz island.

After photographing the lunar eclipse over the Golden Gate Bridge – along with many hundreds of other photographers – I stuck around and turned my attention to other subjects, too. As sky began to lighten with the approaching dawn, and the eclipsed moon sank into the high clouds and generally murky atmosphere over the Pacific coast, I began to see other photographers look around and notice other elements of this urban landscape. But, surprisingly the larger number simply packed up their gear and left as soon as it became hard to see the moon!

I was quite surprised, to say the least. One one hand, it was something to see that so many photographers and other viewers had gotten up at a very early pre-dawn hour just to assemble and together watch this celestial event. On the other, once along the shore of this beautiful bay at sunrise on a mysteriously hazy morning, I’d expect that they might want to look around and try to sustain the experience. (OK, it was cold. They probably wanted coffee. And breakfast. But, still!) In any case, within a surprisingly short period of time, where people had been lined up almost tripod-to-tripod a few minutes earlier, there were few at all left to see the sunrise color come to the high clouds above the bay, here with the misty shape of Alcatraz along the horizon.

Night Photography, Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Lunar Eclipse, Golden Gate Bridge

December 10, 2011 G Dan Mitchell 6 Comments

Moon, in full lunar eclipse, drops behind the Golden Bridge South Tower, San Francisco, California.

Very (very!) early this morning I joined the surprisingly large throng of photographers out to shoot the lunar eclipse in the San Francisco area. I was up and out the door shortly after 4:00 a.m. and heading toward San Francisco. My first thought was to see if I could get an interesting composition with the moon over the San Francisco skyline by shooting from Treasure Island, in the bay between the City and Oakland. I arrived there while it was still very dark and found that lots of other photographers (and a motorcycle club!) were already on the scene. The photographers included to semi-astronomy types with the really, really big lenses and plenty of others.

The problem was immediately apparent. Even though the moon was still fairly high in the sky, it was apparent that it was going to set far to the right of San Francisco. I might have been able to find a workable spot on the island, but I still wasn’t sure the moon would be in a good spot once it got close to setting. At this point I decided to try a “plan B,” and I felt that there was a pretty good idea that I could make something work in the Crissy Field area. So I hopped back in the car, passed through downtown San Francisco, and arrived at the Crissy Field area…

… only to find out that I was most certainly not the only photographer thinking of using this location! There were hundreds of tripod-lugging photographers lined up a long the shoreline! My main idea at this point was to find a location from which the setting moon would pass above and then behind the bridge. So I headed off quickly towards the area where I thought this juxtaposition might be available. Soon I found it, and just as the sky was beginning to lighten up a bit and shedding a bit of natural light on the bridge. It was still quite challenging to get even a workable shot. The wind was blowing stiffly, making the necessary long exposures a bit tricky. In the end I think I got one or two that are interesting.

A vertical format version of this scene is posted here – I still haven’t decided which I prefer!

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: america

Corn Lilies, Late Summer

San Francisco Skyline, Pre-Dawn Sky

Alcatraz Island, Dawn Sky

Lunar Eclipse, Golden Gate Bridge

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