Tag Archives: edge

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: New York City

Winter Reflections, Central Park

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Lake edge with ice and reflections.
“Winter Reflections, Central Park” — Trees reflected in a strip of water at the edge of a frozen lake, Central Park.

I photographed this little scene on a cold morning walk through New York’s Central Park this past December. We were fortunate to have light snow one morning, and that changed the appearance of the city and the park. It had already been cold enough to freeze most of The Lake’s surface, but the light snowfall covered imperfections. In this spot fallen leaves rested on new ice and the reflected the silhouettes of nearby trees.

The concepts of “nature” (and even of “wilderness”) are complex and, I think, not entirely fixed. Sometimes we accept the notion that these things mean “devoid of evidence of humans.” But there’s a problem with that idea — it suggests that humans are independent of the natural world. Finding the natural world in places like this — even if you can perhaps hear car horns in the distance — is a reminder that nature is everywhere and we are a part of it.

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” from Heyday Books, is available directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Lake’s Edge

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Lake's Edge
Rocks, autumn leaves, and moving water at the edge of a subalpine Sierra Nevada lake.

Lake’s Edge. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Rocks, autumn leaves, and moving water at the edge of a subalpine Sierra Nevada lake.

This I s a sort of accidental photograph. We went to a subalpine lake before sunrise because the location promised peak fall colors, rugged peaks in morning light, and still water to reflect it all. As happens sometimes, one of those conditions wasn’t met — it was very windy and the lake’s surface did not produce the reflections we hoped for.

But I have learned — though I occasionally forget — that if the thing you came for isn’t there it is a good idea to look around for other unanticipated possibilities. In this case, this one was literally at my feet. (I actually had to back up a bit from where I was standing to get it all in the frame.) At the shoreline the turbulent water had pushed colorful leaves into small piles near interesting rocks, and the water and wet surfaces reflected the light from the sky and sunlit peaks.

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

Ponte De Le Bande, Evening

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Ponte De Le Bande, Evening
A couple sits at the edge of a Venice canal next to the Ponte de le Bande in the evening.

Ponte De Le Bande, Evening. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A couple sits at the edge of a Venice canal next to the Ponte de le Bande in the evening.

This photograph comes from an evening walk in Venice back in August. Looking back on it, I’m still surprised that I managed to find a break in the usual stream of humanity across bridges like this one. It was evening, and things do quiet down at night, but it isn’t all that late. It is pretty likely that I made the photograph quickly while passing, and I’d be willing to bet that seconds after I made it other people entered the scene.

Dealing with crowds in Venice and similar places — as a photographer or just plain as a visitor — is a complex subject. (Some might simplify it by simply staying away at the worst times of the year, but we did not have that option.) To some extent, it is possible to embrace the intense energy of the masses of people, but that can be both distracting and overwhelming. But late at night or — even better — very early in the morning the crowds melt away to nearly nothing. One early morning in Venice I walked through one of the most crowded locations, and it was almost empty.

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: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Edge of the Surf

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Edge of the Surf
Waves retreat from a Pacific Ocean beach north of Santa Cruz, California.

Edge of the Surf. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Waves retreat from a Pacific Ocean beach north of Santa Cruz, California.

This just might be my final “old year” photograph of 2022, though most of you won’t see it until a few days into 2023. Back on the day after Christmas I headed over the coastal mountains to the Pacific shoreline north of Santa Cruz, California. It was kind of a strange day. A storm was working its way toward California from the North Pacific, producing large surf and a building cloud deck. The clouds were still thin enough to allow some sunlight in, but coastal haze and thin fog produced odd, pinkish colors.

Before I made this photograph I had been photographing the impressive surf just off this beach. Here the slope into the ocean is gradual, and even during this season when surf often erodes beaches the shallows stretches quite a ways out from the surf line. These objects (old, worn pieces of driftwood) were right at the edge of the water, and the shallows beyond reflected the color of the cloudy sky.

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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