Tag Archives: blue

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Autumn Leaves and Frost

Image Leave a comment
Autumn Leaves and Frost
“Autumn Leaves and Frost” — Fallen autumn leaves, covered by frost, on a cold fall morning in the Sierra Nevada.

These fallen, frost-covered leaves were so interesting that I took a significant break from photographing trees to focus on them. They lay in a shaded strip along the edge of a gravel back-country road high in the Eastern Sierra. (I wonder what the other aspen hunters who drove past must have thought when they saw me ignoring the big trees and pointing my lens down at the ground!)

The photograph is a reminder to me — one that I frequently experience — that sometimes the thing you came to photograph is not the only subject worthy of attention. It is important to look away from that and see what else is around. Look away from the “big” and toward the small, turn around and see what is behind you.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

One Rock

Image 2 Comments
One Rock
“One Rock” — A solitary orange-tinted rock on a bed of blue and gray rock.

Rocks tell stories in the high country of the Sierra Nevada. I can’t understand the details of all of these stories (I’m not a geologist!) but I understand some of the themes. One is the constant wearing down and eroding of the highest peaks, a process that eventually transports rocks far from their source. And when this happens you find things like this solitary orange-toned rock sitting on a bed of entirely different material.

These small details fascinate me in the mountains. Yes, I do love and am impressed by wide panoramas and towering, dramatic ridges. But over time I’ve learned to look at smaller things. They provide so much material for photography, they are everywhere, and they turn seemingly familiar landscapes into endlessly fascinating places.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

First Light, North Peak

Image Leave a comment
First Light, North Peak
“First Light, North Peak” — First morning light of the summit of North Peak on the Sierra Crest, feflected in a subalpine pond.

By now the story of this pack trip is perhaps becoming familiar… but there are still more photos! I went on a mid-July backpacking trip into the Eastern Sierra with a group of longtime backcountry friends… plus a few new friends. We camped at a lake near this spot for a couple of nights before moving on. The photograph includes a peak that was visible from my campsite, and the camera position is perhaps a one minute walk away.

Many years ago I would not have taken a trip like this one. Back then I wanted to cover the miles! But this time we only hiked two (!) miles the first day, and we stayed at our first camping location for two nights. These days, when wilderness photography is usually the main goal of these trips, being in one place for several mornings and evenings gives me time to thoroughly explore the photographic opportunities.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

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

Rectangular Patterns (Vertical)

Image Leave a comment
Rectangular Patterns (Vertical)
“Rectangular Patterns (Vertical)” — Patterns formed by light, paint, shadows, and structure on an urban building.

This is the second in a series of three photographs that I made on a walk that took me through an area of urban renewal in my town. A large corporation committed to very extensive building plans, then backed off during the pandemic, and now seems to be trying to, in my view, make it look like something is happening when not much really is. They have painted buildings and put up interesting interpretive signs. To their credit, this is better than just letting the properties decay.

I’m very attracted to strong graphic forms and colors — which I suppose might surprise some who think of me as “just” a landscape photographer. But I don’t see any conflict, and I feel that the interest in such forms underlies quite a few of my landscape images, even though it is possible to look at them primarily as being “pictures of nature.”

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.