Tag Archives: brown

Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Bench and Cinder Block Wall

January 5, 2012 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A bench, chained to the sidewalk, in front of a cinder block wall with male/female symbols.

This is one of “those” photographs – it probably completely baffles many who like my landscape and nature photography… and perhaps a few others as well. ;-)

I’m not quite sure why I wanted to photograph this little scene. The color palette, mostly fairly drab except for the pink circle, seemed a bit different. The almost random gender symbols (as much of them as you can see) on the wall behind the bench seem odd and surprising. (There was probably once a shop in this building that was connected to that sign, but it is no longer there.) If we want to get philosophical – and why not? – the juxtaposition of an unoccupied bench with those symbols could be read in a variety of ways, and the fact that the bench is cabled to the ground is also interesting. In any case, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

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.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Corn Lilies, Late Summer

December 13, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Late summer corn lilies begin to take on fall colors, Yosemite National Park.

Corn Lilies are among my favorite Sierra Nevada high country plants. During their short summer growth period they begin as corn-cob-shaped shoots that spring up in wet areas as the snow melts out. They quickly grow into lush green plant in thick bunches that are intensely green and which have beautiful curving shapes and textures. (This makes them a very popular subject for photographers!) As the season continues they begin to show some “flaws” from insect damage and so forth, and at some point in August they begin to lose their green color, often beginning to pick up some brown coloration that can be nearly golden in the right light. At some point in September even the most durable specimens begin to be striped with yellow, brown, or even black and they finally simply fall over.

I found this bunch very close to our campsite in the back-country of Yosemite National Park around the middle of September. Although you cannot see it in this photograph, this clump of corn lilies had fallen over in a most interesting way – they all fell pointing away from the center of the group! So these plants are in the middle of falling over, and are lit by early morning light diffused by forest cover.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Shoreline Rocks, Sierra Nevada

December 5, 2011 G Dan Mitchell 4 Comments

Small plants grow on rocks near the shoreline of a sub-alpine Sierra Nevada Lake, Yosemite National Park.

Little gardens grow in these jumbles of rocks and boulders near the outlet stream of this sub-alpine lake where I spent nearly four days this past September. During this mid-September time frame the colors of the high country autumn are beginning to appear, as seen in the orange and brown colors of some of the leaves on the plants among the rocks.

I arrived at this lake late in the day, the rest of my party having arrived there earlier. They had the advantage of a pack train to carry most of their gear up here, but I was self-contained and schlepping the whole mess of backpacking and photography gear myself. I was beat when I arrived, and I first thought that I might just write off doing any photography that evening and just rest up and recuperate. But I started to feel a bit guilty about my laziness in the evening, and I went for a walk around the outlet stream of the nearby creek and made a few photographs in the soft evening light.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Water and Granite, Tuolumne River

November 30, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Swift water flows over granite along the bank of the Tuolumne River, Yosemite National Park.

In this section of the Tuolumne River – as in many other places throughout the Sierra Nevada – the river passes through a steep section and across granite slabs that span the full width of the river. As the water flows over the granite it forms constantly changing patterns of rock and whitewater that can only be predicted in general ways. The spot included in the photograph was right along the edge of the river, and you can see the transition between the diminished flow along the bottom edge and the faster and more abundant water in the main channel beyond.

Part of the fun of shooting this sort of subject – and shooting it is a pleasant way to spend an hour along the river – is in trying to find workable compositions in such a changeable subject. And making it even more “fun,” the shutter speed becomes an important decision as it determines just much the image is affected by motion blur and how much of the scene is stopped. Fortunately, digital cameras make this process just a bit more predictable and productive, since they allow the photographer to quickly see the result of composition and shutter speed choices and verify whether or not the educated guesses were correct, and to see just how the infinitely variable and unpredictable patterns of flowing water come together at the instant of exposure.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: brown

Bench and Cinder Block Wall

Corn Lilies, Late Summer

Shoreline Rocks, Sierra Nevada

Water and Granite, Tuolumne River

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.