Tag Archives: blue

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

RK AVENUE BALLRO

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RK AVENUE BALLRO
The front entrance to an urban dance studio, San Jose.

RK AVENUE BALLRO. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The front entrance to an urban dance studio, San Jose.

If you have been following along here you probably can guess that this is another photograph from my (almost) daily long walks in the greater neighborhood, an activity that has become a ritual during the time since March 2020… for reasons that you can also probably guess. These walks range from the short (“Gotta at least put in a half hour!”) to nearly ten miles, virtually always through the urban wilderness of neighborhoods, industrial areas, shopping centers, and similar.

I always carry a camera, though on most walks it stays in the bag. But every so often something catches my attention and out comes the camera. Quite often the subject is something that I’ve passed by many times but only really notice for the first time on one of the walks — a common experience, by the way. The elements that make this building what it is comprise quite a collection — the heavy framing of the entry way, the rather striking and perhaps unusual color choices, and more… some of which lies outside the frame in this 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: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Edge of the Continent

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Edge of the Continent
The rugged cliffs of the Big Sur coast meet the Pacific Ocean under cloudy skies.

Edge of the Continent. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The rugged cliffs of the Big Sur coast meet the Pacific Ocean under cloudy skies.

Although I was born in the Upper Midwest, I don’t think I could live there anymore — even though many aspects of the place are in my blood and feel comfortable to me. I recall visiting a few decades ago — and, honestly, generally enjoying myself — but watching the sun set and thinking about how many hundreds (more than a thousand, actually) of miles it is to the ocean. I can’t quite put the feeling into words, but it just seemed odd to this guy who has lived perhaps 25 linear miles from the Pacific Ocean for, well, more than a couple of decades.

I was thinking about this feeling as I visited the area in this photograph, the Big Sur Coast of California, the rugged interface between North America and the vast Pacific Ocean. The sense that there is an empty, unknown space that we don’t inhabit has long had a powerful effect on us, and here at the edge of the continent we can come face to face with a wilderness that most of us will never fully explore.

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

Surf, Sand, and Fog

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Surf, Sand, and Fog
A wave breaks on a Big Sur coast beach on a foggy morning.

Surf, Sand, and Fog. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A wave breaks on a Big Sur coast beach on a foggy morning.

This may be one of the “quieter” photographs I’ve posted in a while, but maybe that’s a good thing. It comes from another recent visit to the Big Sur Coast below Monterey, California. While it has been historically hot and dry in virtually all of California this year, the coastal areas have provided a welcome exception. Even on some of the days when heat (and dryness) records were toppling further inland, along much of the coast it was typical summer weather, cool and foggy. (Some folks are now referring the the current month as “Fogust.”)

We live in a San Francisco Bay Area location that, while not on or ever all that close to the water, is near enough to pick up the ocean influence, which here typically means high fog in the mornings and a breeze in the evening. On the day of this visit to the coast there was fog (and some wildfire smoke and haze) almost everywhere, but it was the thin sort that simply mutes and softens the features of the landscape rather than rendering them invisible. I stopped here to photograph something else, and after finishing that task I looked at the beach and saw this very quiet and peaceful scene of a bit of beach, a single breaking wave, and the ocean extending toward the foggy horizon.

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

Blue, White, and Shadow

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Blue, White, and Shadow
A shadow falls across a blue wall and white window.

Blue, White, and Shadow. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A shadow falls across a blue wall and white window.

Today’s photograph comes from yesterday on my (almost) daily neighborhood walk. Since the beginning of the pandemic and its attendant lock-down, we’ve been doing a lot of local walking, going out almost every day for walks ranging from as little as a mile (just got to get in my mile!) and up to perhaps ten times that distance. Yesterday’s walk was one of the shorter ones, and my initial plan was to “just get in my miles,” likely walking no more than about a mile. But one thing led to another and I ended up doing about several times that distance.

The unanticipated extensions of the walk often come in small increments. Arriving at a turning point, instead of taking the most direct route back home I decide to just add a bit more, heading down one more block. Often that leads to another extension, then another, and before I no it the miles add up. One of those unplanned extensions took me past an older building, once a home but now a small business. Something about the blue and white paint, the old, narrow siding, and the shadow draped across the way persuaded me to stop and make a 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.

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.