Tag Archives: bridge

Photographs: Central California

Dawn Fog, Central Valley

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Dawn Fog, Central Valley
Dawn fog rises from a drainage canal in California Central Valley agricultural country.

Dawn Fog, Central Valley. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dawn fog rises from a drainage canal in California Central Valley agricultural country.

This area of California’s Central Valley, not far from Sacramento, is a somewhat special place for me despite its relatively mundane appearance. It isn’t a park, you won’t find it on any maps, it is at the terminus of a narrow dead-end road. But it is the place where I “discovered” the state’s migratory birds and began photographing them. I had not really been interested in the subject at all until one morning I had a chance encounter with a colleague in the coffee line at my college. She told me I should go look at this place — “There are lots of birds.” For some reason, a few days later I arose well before dawn and drove a couple of hours to take a look..

She was right. There were lots of birds. Clouds of them, flying in all directions. I more or less had no idea what any of them were — I think I simply figured they were all “geese” — but I was hooked. (In fact I saw cranes, tundra swans, ibises, egrets, and, yes, lots of geese.) On this later trip I paused out on the little road and photographed back toward the early morning sky as fog rose from the water in an irrigation channel.

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: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Happiness…

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Happiness...
Street scene in downtown San Francisco

Happiness…. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Street scene in downtown San Francisco.

There is a good chance that you don’t immediately see why this photograph is titled “Happiness…” But now that you’ve looked more closely, you have probably figured it out. Yes, the word “Happiness” appears in large letters on the wall of one of the buildings. On one hand, I suppose it is a nice word to have on your building. On the other hand… does painting a word on the side of the building bring happiness. Feel free to ponder.

Aside from that, this spot in downtown San Francisco has intrigued me for some time. It is an area that has been undergoing a lot of redevelopment, with the new transit center right behind my camera position. I have photographed this curving freeway ramp from the other side of this scene, looking back towards the camera position of this image. There’s something attractive about the curve as it cuts right through the angular forms of this downtown area. I’m also a sucker for reflected light, such as that falling on the closed roadway at the bottom of the frame. You might say that it brings me… happiness.

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: Architecture, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Travel

Bay Bridge, Morning Fog

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Bay Bridge, Morning Fog
The San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge, with morning fog bank above Treasure Island

Bay Bridge, Morning Fog. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge, with morning fog bank above Treasure Island.

On the day I made this photograph I headed up to San Francisco to visit the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, where a special Andy Warhol exhibit is soon coming to a close. I’m close enough to San Francisco that I can take the train up for these visits, and that also affords me the time to do some walking around in this city, which of course involves photography. Because I had a specific schedule for the MOMA exhibit, I took a familiar walking path along the Bay waterfront to the Ferry Building before turning inland to get to the Museum.

The early morning light along the bay is often special — the atmosphere often glows in the backlight. Somewhat to my surprise, given the recent warm temperatures, there was a fog bank out in the bay, laying across Treasure Island. I paused at this familiar spot to photograph the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge near where it comes ashore, and the very bright sky and fog created a dramatic silhouette.

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

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

Photographs: Germany, Photographs: Travel

Schloss Heidelberg and Karl Theodor Bridge

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Schloss Heidelberg and Theodor Heuss Bridge
Looking across the Neckar River toward Heidelberg Altstadt, Theodor Heuss Bridge, and Schloss Heidelberg (Heidelberg Castle)

Schloss Heidelberg and Karl Theodor Bridge. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Looking across the Neckar River toward Heidelberg Altstadt, Theodor Heuss Bridge, and Schloss Heidelberg (Heidelberg Castle).

As predicted earlier, this is another straight-ahead travel photograph. The photograph looks across the Neckar River at the Theodor Heuss Bridge, over Altstadt Heidelberg (the “old town”), and up to Schloss Heidelberg (Heidelberg Castle).

Heidelberg is a home base when we travel to Europe, as Patty’s brother and his wife have lived in that area for a long time. We’ve stopped in there on each of our past three trips “across the pond,” so we have had time to get to know the parts of the city that are within walking distance of their place. And this scene is within that distance — up a hill, along a path, down some steps, and across the river, and we are there!

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.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

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