Tag Archives: black

Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Black Point and Negit Island

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Black Point and Negit Island
Tufa formations, Black Point, Negit Island, and distant hills in sunset light at Mono Lake.

Black Point and Negit Island. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Tufa formations, Black Point, Negit Island, and distant hills in sunset light at Mono Lake.

Yes, this is yet one more — but probably the last — of the photographs of this lovely autumn evening at Mono Lake a few years ago. Most of the others feature the rising full moon, but I made this one a few minutes before that event, while the last of the day’s sun was still streaming over the Sierra crest and striking the tops of the mountains to the east of Mono Basin.

Besides being a photograph of a beautiful time of day at the lake, the scene includes a number of important little elements that might not be immediately obvious. In the foreground we see a few of the ubiquitous tufa formations that dot the border of the lake, quite a few of which were revealed when Los Angeles’ thirst for Sierra Nevada dropped the lake level. This also reveals sections of the curving lake shore that would have been underwater some decades ago. At the far left is the dark bulk of Black Point, and intriguing formation that few get to actually visit. Just of Black Point’s shoulder is Negit Island, one of two volcanic islands in the lake. to its right you can barely see the low north side of larger Paoho island. And those far mountains where a bit of sun still shines are a very long ways away, and it a location that is pretty close to inaccessible.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Black Sands Beach, Coastal Cliffs

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Black Sands Beach, Coastal Cliffs
Black Sands Beach and the Lost Coast, Shelter Cove, California.

Black Sands Beach, Coastal Cliffs. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black Sands Beach and the Lost Coast, Shelter Cove, California.

Previously I have shared my dark secret: for decades I barely visited the portions of California north of the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, and Tahoe line. Sure, I visited Lassen National Park with my family when I was young, and I’ve been on Mt. Lassen a few times, and — of course — I have driven north out of the state on Interstate 5. But the Northern California coast remaining mostly off my radar for decades. A decade or two ago this began to change — slowly — as we visited areas in Mendocino County and along the path to and from there, and when we pushed a bit further north from that base on some day trips.

Finally, during the last decade or so, I began to get more serious about this wonderful region and, among other things, I began photographing in the redwoods. (I have photographed closer redwoods for decades.) And then I pushed out toward the coast. On this year’s visit we finally made it to the edges of the Lost Coast area below Eureka, a portion of the coast so rugged that even “the coast highway” takes an inland jog. In the middle of this region lies the isolated (but surprisingly large) community of Shelter Cove. Black Sands Beach extends from this local toward the northern section of the Lost Coast, and no roads touch the coast again for many miles.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Death Valley, Morning Haze

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Death Valley, Morning Haze
Early morning haze obscures distant mountains and valleys, Death Valley National Park.

Death Valley, Morning Haze. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early morning haze obscures distant mountains and valleys, Death Valley National Park.

The truth of the matter is that I’ve become a bit obsessed with this view. I’ve photographed in morning and evening, in warm weather and in the middle of winter. (It gets cold on these ridges, even in Death Valley National Park.) On one occasion I was forced to turn back by snow on the route. I’ve seen utterly glorious light here, and I’ve encountered light so flat and gray that it wasn’t really worth photographing. Sometimes when I visit the park I tell myself that I won’t go here… and then at some point I almost inevitably end up making the trip.

Most often I’m completely alone here, though on a few occasions I’ve encountered one or two others. This place, and others like it, are remarkable at any time, but even more so when I experience them in solitude. Those mountains in the hazy distance are perhaps 30 to 40 miles away. Behind me the view stretches all the way to the snow-covered Sierra, and off to my left lie peaks well beyond the Nevada border. And everywhere in this vast expanse the landscape is laid bare, raw and visible.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Urban/Street

Silicon Valley

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Silicon Valley
The words “Silicon Valley” on an industrial building in San Jose, California.

Silicon Valley. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The words “Silicon Valley” on an industrial building in San Jose, California.

This is probably not quite what comes to mind when you hear the words “Silicon Valley.” Although the photograph does indeed come from that place, the location is in a somewhat run-down area occupied by small light industrial tenants. This particular one has mystified me more than once — as far as I can tell the only signage is the two words painted on the wall, and I never seen anyone there. (I’m tempted here to make some pun about letting the chips fall where they may, but I won’t. Sort of.)

Aside from that mysterious sign, I like the simple geometry and the bright color of the building. (It has been sitting on my desktop for a while now, along with several other urban photographs that also feature a particular color.) In fact, I think it may be possible to view this simply as a sort of a color and form abstraction.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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