Tag Archives: artist

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Desert Wash and Mountains

April 15, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A golden desert wash descends toward distant mountains and a valley.

This beautiful wash is very (very!) close to one of the iconic Death Valley stopping places. I’ve never been able to warm up to that particular spot as a photographic subject. Fortunately, even time I go there I look in a slightly different direction — and I often seem to be the only person looking that way — and find this lovely view.

We visited near the end of the day, as afternoon sunlight begins to take on the warm tones of early evening and shadows start to stretch across the valley. Once again, I stopped at this well-known place. Once again I thought it was interesting, but not quite what I wanted to photograph. And, once again, I looked downhill and away to see this wash. The light highlighted the different colors of the geological deposits here, with yellow material lining the path of the wash and the middle distance hills darker and holding tones that are more reddish. The path of the wash winds sinuously back and forth as it descends between the lowering walls, with shadow on one side and sun on the other.

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

Photographs: Cascades, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Pacific Northwest

Alpine Meadow, Artist Point

December 12, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Alpine meadow and mountains, Artist Point, North Cascades

Back in 2010 my brother Richard, who is a long-time resident of the Pacific Northwest, treated me to a trip up into the Cascades at Artist Point. We got lucky and had a day of largely clear skies, with the only clouds being the beautiful sort that catch the sun and allow beams of light to sweep across the landscape — not the other kind of Pacific Northwest clouds that sock things in and drizzle all day!

As a long time Sierra guy, I’m always amazed at how different things are in the Cascades and other Pacific Northwest mountains. The Sierra are, of course, mostly dry mountains. Yes, we get snow in the winter, runoff in the spring, and a few thunderstorms in the summer, but backpacking is mostly a dry weather thing and we are used to the sound of dry sand and rock beneath our boots. But here in the Cascades there are glaciers and ice caps, and the lush green plants grow right up to the snow line. On this visit we had only enough time to spend an afternoon wandering slowly around the Artist Point area, but I came back with a set of photographs that I like a great deal.

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: Music & Musicians, Photographs: People

Violist Janet Sims

July 27, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Symphony Silicon Valley violist Janet Sims at a June, 2014 rehearsal

This weekend I am sharing two more photographs from my ongoing project photographing professional classical musicians, a three-year project during which I have the opportunity to attend many rehearsals and concerts and generally spend a lot of time learning to see and understand this world. (I already understood more than most since I’ve been part of it in several ways for many years.) Both of these photographs are casual shots made during rehearsals. Such photos remind us of several things, I think. First, it is possible to get some odd ideas about who the musicians are if your only experience is seeing them in formal concert situations — but backstage and during rehearsals… they are “regular people” just like all of us. Second, and from the same perspective, it is easy to overlook that fact that the vast majority of the work necessary for a live performance is actually done outside of the performance, with often intense and lengthy periods of individual practice and preparation and significant time spent on group rehearsal. And, finally, in both of these photographs I think you will see the intense focus of these musicians. Janet Sims is a first-stand violist in the Symphony Silicon Valley.

Photographs: Music & Musicians, Photographs: People

Meredith Brown, French Horn

July 26, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Symphony Silicon Valley principal French hornist Meredith Brown

This weekend I am sharing two more photographs from my ongoing project photographing professional classical musicians, a three-year project during which I have the opportunity to attend many rehearsals and concerts and generally spend a lot of time learning to see and understand this world. (I already understood more than most since I’ve been part of it in several ways for many years.) Both of these photographs are casual shots made during rehearsals. Such photos remind us of several things, I think. First, it is possible to get some odd ideas about who the musicians are if your only experience is seeing them in formal concert situations — but backstage and during rehearsals… they are “regular people” just like all of us. Second, and from the same perspective, it is easy to overlook that fact that the vast majority of the work necessary for a live performance is actually done outside of the performance, with often intense and lengthy periods of individual practice and preparation and significant time spent on group rehearsal. And, finally, in both of these photographs I think you will see the intense focus of these musicians. Meredith Brown is the principal French hornist of the Symphony Silicon Valley.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: artist

Desert Wash and Mountains

Alpine Meadow, Artist Point

Violist Janet Sims

Meredith Brown, French Horn

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