Tag Archives: book

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Open Book

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Open Book
A sandstone cliff meets the bottom of a Utah red rock country wash.

Open Book. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A sandstone cliff meets the bottom of a Utah red rock country wash.

My virtual journey back through Utah continues. Since opportunities to go into the field are limited right now I am instead digging back though tens of thousands of raw files in my archives. I have always recognized that I leave some photographs behind as I move on to the next thing — and sometimes I’m not just not yet ready to “see” how a photograph will work. For years I’ve made these return visits to the old files, most often with an end-of-the-year traverse of that year’s images before moving on. This time I’m starting back in 2012 and working my way forward slowly.

I made this photograph in the first slot canyon that I ever visited. You might wonder how I managed to get to 2012 without visiting this kind of terrain. It is a long story, but for some reasons I’ve explained elsewhere I simply didn’t get to Utah and the Southwest until about a decade ago. Shame on me! As we walked into this canyon I really had little idea of what to expect, but I was entranced. This bit of sandstone cliff wall sat immediately next to the sandy bottom of the wash, and the color of the diffused light warmed as it bounced down from above between the canyon walls.

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 and Amazon.

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Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

Sunday Morning, Washington Square

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Sunday Morning, Washington Square
People sitting on a bench and reading on Sunday morning, Washington Square

Sunday Morning, Washington Square. New York City. July 2, 2017. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

People sitting on a bench and reading on Sunday morning, Washington Square

On Sunday morning we walked uptown from our hotel, heading for a rendezvous with others. We could have taken a subway, but instead we decided to walk. Eventually we passed through part of the NYU campus and out into Washington Square. While it was morning, it was no longer particularly early by the time we got there, and park life was in full swing. There were many people everywhere, someone had a grand piano set up in a walkway for an outdoor recital, and several jazz groups were playing elsewhere in the park.

Around the edges, particularly near the northeast corner, things seemed a bit quieter, though there were still plenty of people. Here many of them were sitting quietly on benches, alone or in small groups. As we headed toward the park exit near this corner I passed this group of people quietly reading on one of the benches.

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 and Amazon.
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Commentary, Sierra Nevada Fall Color

And Just Like That… September!

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Red and Orange Aspen Leaves
Intensely colorful red and orange autumn aspen leaves in the eastern Sierra Nevada.

It is the first day of September. What happened to summer? Actually, I know what happened to my summer — we were traveling internationally for the past five weeks, and thus I missed my usual August time in the Sierra. And, yes, I do know that it still is summer for a few more weeks, and that in my (San Francisco Bay Area) neck of the woods it will remain mostly warm and sunny for at least another six weeks of so.

However, the arrival of September does signal the coming end of summer and the inevitable arrival of autumn and then winter. And I’m fine with that! Truth be told, summer is my least favorite season in many ways. Yes, it is warm and sunny, we have an abundance of fresh produce, and I often have more opportunities to travel. But from a photographic perspective, especially when it comes to my wildlife and landscape photography, the other three seasons offer more compelling opportunities. I especially love fall!

Next up is autumn. Although I haven’t been in the Sierra since late July, I have seen the first signs that fall is coming. A week ago in the Chianti region of Italy I photographed (badly, with an iPhone!) the first autumn leaves on an apple tree where we were staying. Yesterday as I walked in my neighborhood the temperatures were cooler, a strong wind came up, and some brown leaves were blown about with their characteristic dry and crackly autumn sound.

And even though I won’t get up there for a few more days, I know that the earliest signs of autumn are already appearing in the Sierra. Creeks are diminishing and drying up. Meadows are turning golden-brown. Corn Lily plants are shifting to brown and yellow, and here and there a few golden leaves may appear. And next up will be the annual spectacular display of aspen color.

If you are also an aspen color chaser like me, you may be interested in some of the California fall color resources on this website. To get started see my Sierra Fall Color page for basic information and links to other articles I’ve written on the subject. As I get up to the Sierra and as I hear updates from various sources I will share them on this page, too.

There is also information there about my book, California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra. This book offers some ideas about where and when to look for aspen and other color in the Sierra, and it includes some photographic basics that can help you once you get there.

California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra

California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra, my book on photographing fall foliage in California’s Sierra Nevada,  is available from Heyday Books and from Amazon.)

The book shares a lot of what I have learned about finding and photographing Sierra Nevada fall color, along with a large collection of my autumn photography. Watch this page for updates and news on the book and for continuing information about photographing Sierra Nevada fall color.

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

Photographs: Germany, Photographs: People, Photographs: Urban/Street

Reading on the Steps

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Reading on the Steps
Reading on the Steps

Reading on the Steps. Heidelberg, Germany. July 11, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A student studies a book on steps at the Physikalisches Institut of Heidelberg University, Germany

On our several walks to and along the Heidelberg Philosophen Weg, we passed by this university building, so I finally stopped for a moment and made a few photographs. The main building looks like an academic structure of some sort, so I had made a guess as to what this place was before I found the sign. One student reads on the steps, and a few of the ubiquitous bicycles are parked nearby. Also ubiquitous is the bit of political graffiti – found in many places near the University buildings, and often relatively small compared to the stuff we frequently see here in the US.

Yes, in a general sense, another postcard photograph. :-)

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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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.