Tag Archives: brown

Photographs: Agriculture, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Winter Corn

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"Winter Corn" — Old corn left on the stalk in a winter field.
“Winter Corn” — Old corn left on the stalk in a winter field.

We don’t usually see corn on the stalk this late — by now it usually has been harvested, either for human food or animal feed. The stalks are left to decay for a while or sometimes salvaged for seasonal autumn decorations. Eventually they are knocked down — and it parts of California they get burned. It is quite unusual to find stalks with fully mature ears of corn on New Year’s Day, which is when I made this photograph.

So, why are the ears still there in this field? Not everyone understands the multiple factors driving support for wildlife refuges. Many of us are simply grateful they are there, providing safer places for migratory and other birds. But hunting and agriculture have played a big part. Here, attracting birds to places that are not someone’s field is one of the goals, and this crop provides feed for migratory birds.

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: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: Wildlife, Post-processing Workflow

Pelicans, Winter Surf

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Pelcans, Winter Surf
“Pelicans, Winter Surf” — A quartet of brown pelicans flies above raging winter surf off the California coast below San Francisco.

During last week’s extremely big surf we headed right over to the coast to witness and photograph the conditions. Waves were up to 30′ tall and even higher, and a winter “King tide” sent those waves right up onto the shore in many places. You might have seen news reports of damage to some coastal areas. While staying safe, we were able to get pretty close to the action on a drive between Santa Cruz and Half Moon bay, and we made quite a few photographs.

Most of the photographs were essentially seascapes — the watery equivalent of landscape images, featuring the shapes and colors and so on of the moving water. But as I made a series of photographs of this huge wave a line of pelicans flew through the frame, passing just above the raging surf.

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: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Window, Striped Curtains

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Window, Striped Curtains
Red wall, green and white striped curtain, Venice.

Window, Striped Curtains. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Red wall, green and white striped curtain, Venice.

Venice is, of course, full of all sorts of grand and famous sights — the Grand Canal and all of the smaller waterways, St. Mark’s Square, and much more. We may have spent a bit less time in those places than some visitors, but we did visit them… despite the sometimes oppressive crowds that we knew we would encounter in August. But, as is our habit, we also just plain wandered a lot, enjoying the ambience of the place and discovering things on our own.

I do have photographs of some of the famous, iconic subjects. (Yes, you will see photographs of gondolas.) But as I wander in a place like this, at least on days when I’m actively photographing, I find myself shooting smaller subjects like this one, things that I think may suggest some subtler aspects of the character of the place.

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: Europe, Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Street Art, Bologna

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Street Art, Bologna
Weathered layers of street art and graffiti on a Bologna wall.

Street Art, Bologna. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Weathered layers of street art and graffiti on a Bologna wall.

Recently I have noticed that American visitors to Europe are surprised by the amount of graffiti (aka “street art”) in some cities. There is a lot of it, but I’m not sure if there is more of it than in the US. Perhaps they/we just end up in places where it is found more often when traveling, or maybe we are so used to it at home that we no longer “see” it. Another possibility: In the US I think there are efforts to control graffiti in places that tourists go, but in at least some parts of Europe that seems to be less the case. (This is not to suggest that graffiti isn’t a problem, as some recent stories about cretins writing and carving on antiquities has shown.)

One of the European cities where I first started to notice this is Bologna, Italy. Almost a decade ago we spent one night there during a drive from Germany to Tuscany — and I have this strong memory of walking through unlit streets with tons of graffiti at dusk. (After our recent trip, when walks in the same area at the same time of day included quite a few people, I’m beginning to distrust that early memory.) This photograph comes from a side-street in Bologna, where it was one of many examples. This one fascinated me, with its top layer of glued-on paper deteriorating to reveal layers of earlier marks and its interesting palette of colors.

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 | Twitter | 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.