Tag Archives: black and white

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

The Grandstand, Racetrack Playa

April 7, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 4 Comments

Black and white photograph of “the “Grandstand” formation standing in the middle of the Racetrack Playa, Death Valley National Park, California.

The Grandstand is a striking formation located a distance out onto the flat expanse of the Racetrack Playa, the location of the famous “moving rocks” in Death Valley National Park. The formation is located not far from where the road first reaches the playa and it is only a short walk. As I recall, it is just the tip of a large “hill” that is mostly buried beneath the very deep silt that was washed down from the surrounding mountains to form the playa. It has a shape this is vaguely “castle-like,” with several “turrets” that tower above the flat surrounding terrain and invite quite a few visitors to climb to the top. (The Grandstand is located at nearly the opposite end of the playa from the location of the largest concentration of moving rocks.)

I think that the Grandstand makes an interesting photographic subject, even though the thing most people come to see and photograph is the phenomenon of the moving rocks. I often plan to stop there and photograph in mid to late afternoon – when light on the rocks is interesting and photogenic, but before the “good light” begins further south on the playa and it is time to photograph the rocks and their tracks. It can also be a compositional element in photographs of the rocks at the south end of the playa, especially when you shoot with a long lens.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM at 55mm
ISO 200, f/11, 1/320 second

keywords: death valley, national, park, california, usa, north america, nature, scenic, travel, landscape, the, grandstand, hill, rock, boulder, formation, race, track, racetrack, playa, sky, clouds, black and white, monochrome, geology, stock, light

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

Sunlit Wall with Textured Glass

March 22, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Black and white photograph of a sunlit wall with textured glass windows along a street in San Francisco, California.

Yet another of the “it is sort of street photography and sort of urban landscape” photographs, this one made on a walking loop that took me through a good part of downtown San Francisco, and finally through the Tenderloin to the Civic Center. I made several photographs of the obscure glass windows of this street-level window along the sidewalk. In this one I wanted to work with the converging lines of the window frame and the vertical lines of the bits of wall between the windows.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
ISO 200, f/11, 1/200 second

(Note: This was accidentally posted a day earlier along with another photograph. Reposting it today puts the block back on schedule.)

keywords: black and white, monochrome, perspective, converge, lines, frame, window, pane, textured, obscured, sticker, worn, distressed, bright, sunlit, sunlight, light, shadow, shape, structure, architecture, concrete, wall, ground, sidewalk, street, urban, city, downtown, san francisco, california, usa, north america, abstract, form, stock

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

Horsetail Fall, Early Evening

March 5, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

The silver strand of Horsetail Fall and water reflecting on surrounding cliffs in late afternoon light, Yosemite Valley, California.

I’m thinking it is pretty nearly impossible to make a truly original photograph of Horsetail Fall – though I won’t completely rule out the possibility.

In any case, here I decided to start photographing the February spectacle a bit before the colorful sunset light showed up. At this point the beam of light on the cliff face around the fall is a bit larger, lighting the rocks to the right of the fall as well as the fall itself. During this season there has been enough precipitation and the weather had warmed enough to not only get Horsetail flowing but to also create some seepage down the face of the cliff next to the fall. As a matter of fact, the reflections from this wet rock caught my attention more strongly at first than did the fall itself. A second process was at work here as well: a stiff breeze from the west was blowing across the path of the falling water, catching it, and blowing thin clouds of spray across the buttress to the left of the fall itself.

I have posted several short articles on photographing this seasonal Yosemite Valley icon:

“Thinking About Yosemite’s Horsetail Fall” (2012)
“Photographing Horsetail Fall – Random Thoughts About Photographing an Icon” (2011)
“Horsetail Fall – It’s That Time Again” (2011)
“Thinking of Photographing Yosemite’s Horsetail Fall?” (2009)
Search results for Horsetail Fall at my blog (results will include the above-listed articles and more)

One of the best sources of current season information about the Horsetail Fall photography potential is photographer Michael Frye, who frequently posts general information and updates each winter.

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

Kelp, Weston Beach

February 26, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Black and white photograph of kelp tossed up by winter storm surf at Weston Beach, Point Lobos State Reserve, California.

I have already worked up a couple of color photographs from this day shooting the kelp washed up on the rocks of Weston Beach by big Pacific winter storms – but earlier this week I was in a black and white frame of mind (it was Ansel Adams’ birthday on February 20!) and thought I’d see where this one might go as a monochrome print. There are several things that I like about this image – though I’ll admit that it may not be one that initially grabs a viewer!. First, although it starts out looking like a pretty amorphous mass of seaweed, kelp, and other detritus, eventually I think that an overall form starts to appear – there are some rough patters formed by sequences of lighter material, by some of the stringy “branches” of the kelp, and by way of some lighter ribbon-like material looping through the image. Second, the print ends up with a wide range of tonalities, ranging from pure black to pure paper-white.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM at 105mm
ISO 200, f/16, 1/15 second

keywords: weston, beach, point, lobos, state, reserve, park, california, usa, north america, wrack, leaf, float, stem, branch, rock, texture, plant, foliage, sea, ocean, pacific, shore, storm, tossed, nature, black and white, monochrome, coast, monterey, carmel, twist, scenic, travel, stock

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