Tag Archives: colorful

Woman on Street, Santa Cruz

Woman on Street, Santa Cruz

Woman on Street, Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz, California. February 16, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A colorfully dressed woman on the street in downtown Santa Cruz, California.

Sometimes a photo just walks right past you… I was in Santa Cruz photographing the finish of the second stage of the 2009 AmgenTour of California when I looked behind me and saw this wildly dressed woman.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: colorful, rags, woman, street, hands, eyes, hat, scarf, character, smile, folded, pink, blue, green, red, sparkle, string, yarn, santa cruz, california, usa, urban, stock, counter culture, hippie, old, happy

Aspen Leaves, North Lake

Aspen Leaves, North Lake

Aspen Leaves at North Lake. Sierra Nevada, California. October 5, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Colorful autumn aspen leaves at North Lake, California.

After being snowed on at North Lake the previous morning, I returned again on this day and concentrated on photographing aspen leaves, branches, and trunks in a grove along the side of the lake and near the famous “tree tunnel” that so many have photographed here.

To add one point… while I love the color and light of the large aspen groves and love to photograph their astonishing colors as well, I think I have come to prefer photographing the smaller details of these groves: a few leaves, some branches, perhaps against a background containing some rocks or trees that have lost their leaves.

keywords: colorful, fall, autumn, foliage, leaves, aspen, grove, forest, red, orange, yellow, gold, trunk, branch, north, lake, califoria, usa, bishop, creek, nature, stock, sierra, nevada, range, mountains

Spring Oak Leaves

Spring Oak Leaves
Spring Oak Leaves. Calero Hills, California. March 8, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Some people might say I shouldn’t admit it, but there was an element of serendipity – actually, I made a mistake – in this photograph. (Some who imagine that all photographs should coalesce in the photographer’s mind in their final form before the shutter is clicked won’t want to hear about this.) I was working with a long lens and wide aperture to narrow the depth of field. My plan was to shoot the colorful foliage in the foreground and throw everything beyond out of focus. I set up, let the camera autofocus… and it focused on the “wrong” branches – the branches that are in focus in this shot. “Wait a minute,” I thought, “I kind of like the way that looks!” Instead of an in-focus foreground with everything else OOF, the middle ground is in focus and objects closer and farther away are OOF. It ended up being my favorite version of this scene; I like it more than the shot I was planning on.

keywords: spring, oak, tree, branches, leaves, bright, colorful, yellow, green, calero, santa clara, county, park, california, usa, nature, stock, landscape, morning