Tag Archives: blue

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Urban/Street

Blue House, Flag, Holiday Lights

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Blue House, Flag, Holiday Lights
A house with weathered blue paint, an American flag, and holiday lights.

Blue House, Flag, Holiday Lights. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A house with weathered blue paint, an American flag, and holiday lights.

I have frequently written that I often walk out the front door carrying a camera, and during the last two years I’ve been doing a lot of walking in a several mile radius of my home. This takes me through remarkably varied areas — some very old (one might say run-down) homes, apartment complexes, one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the area, light industrial areas, new office buildings, urban trails, a small downtown, areas occupied by the unhoused, and more. Needless to say, there is a lot to see — which is fortunate, given the amount of time I’ve spent wandering around here.

It has been noted that photographs often ask questions as much as they make statements, and as I walk around and look at these surroundings quite a few questions arise for me. Take this home for example — a small, older home on the edge of a newer and much wealthier neighborhood. It looks a bit ragged around the edges, but I wonder why? Is the occupant perhaps old and unable to take care of the place? Or perhaps one of the “house rich, cash poor” who bought the place years ago and can no longer afford the upkeep? Is the flag a habit, about simple patriotic feelings, or a statement to the neighbors? What, if anything, are we to make of the holiday lights that are falling off the edge of the roof? What about the small, lonely plant next to the concrete?

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: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Winter Sky, Birds, Sun

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Winter Sky, Birds, Sun
Winter sunlight momentarily breaks through winter high clouds and tule fog as migratory birds pass, Pacific Flyway.

Winter Sky, Birds, Sun. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Winter sunlight momentarily breaks through winter high clouds and tule fog as migratory birds pass, Pacific Flyway.

This photograph holds one brief instant of nearly miraculous light… from a morning on which the light was generally much less than miraculous. I was in California’s Central Valley largely because I wanted to photograph in foggy conditions. These are common here at this time of year, when tule fog rises overnight and creates a thin but often very dense layer of fog. Most people prefer to not be out in these conditions — the driving can be nerve-racking — but the landscape can be very beautiful when it all works out just right.

The potential was certainly there as I drove to my destination. The fog suddenly became very dense perhaps twenty minutes before I arrived, but it was shallow enough that the setting full moon was clearly visible in the pre-dawn sky. However, a higher layer of clouds spread over the sky and fog that might have glowed in sunrise light simply went gray. Eventually the thinning tule fog lined up with a few momentary breaks in the higher clouds and some light shone through. During this one brief instant the sun was visible, surrounded by a halo of lighter clouds, and a pair of geese flew past, barely visible in the photograph.

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: Birds, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Great Blue Heron, Fog

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Great Blue Heron, Fog
A great blue heron, photographed on a winter morning of heavy fog along the Paciic Flyway.

Great Blue Heron, Fog. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A great blue heron, photographed on a winter morning of heavy fog along the Paciic Flyway.

Fog can make for lovely, evocative atmosphere when photographing birds. In fact, I often try to time my winter bird photography for foggy days. On the best of these days, the sunrise hours begin with slightly translucent fog, colored by dawn light. Then a transition begins as the sun rises and begins to make the shallow tule fog layer glow. The fog continues to thin and the light becomes more directional. Every one of these stages in the evolution of the light has its attractions, and such mornings are often quite busy.

Then there are the foggy days like this one. There is such a thing as too much fog, especially when it comes to bird photography. On this morning conditions were verging on the “I can hear them but I can’t see them” state — and at first I was unable to see most of the birds that I could hear off in the fog. I finally came across this magnificent great blue heron near the edge of a pasture, and I almost missed seeing it in the murk.

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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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.

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: New York City

The Oculus

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The Oculus
The central skylight of the Oculus, World Trade Center, New York City.

The Oculus. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The central skylight of the Oculus, World Trade Center, New York City.

Almost exactly two years ago we were in New York City for a week spent visiting relatives, making photographs, eating out, and generally wandering about as we pleased. Yes, this was before the Great Transition that came in March of 2020. (We recently visiting New York City again in the post-transition world, and it isn’t the same experience at all. I’m looking forward to a time when it is once again.) To be precise, we were there for most of the period between about Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

At some point — perhaps while on a long walk or possible at the termination of a subway ride — we ended up in Lower Manhattan in the vicinity of the World Trade Center, where this fascinating Oculus structure is located. It is a combination of shopping area and transit terminal, but it is also an arresting architectural presence. Its organic, rib-like structure contrasts with the cubic forms of most of the surrounding buildings. Inside, especially if you lift your eyes above the lower floor shopping area, it is a remarkable interior space that, in many ways, suggest some sort of light-filled cathedral.

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.