Tag Archives: eye

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Wildlife

California Ground Squirrel

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California Ground Squirrel #1
California Ground Squirrel #1

California Ground Squirrel. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. July 21, 2011. Three photographs © Copyright 2011 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Three photographs of a ground squirrel along a shoreline trail at Point Lobos State Reserve, California.

Since I don’t quite think these photographs warrant separate posts, consider this to be my first three-for-one offer on the blog – three photographs in one post! I had taken a break from seascape photography on my recent visit to Point Lobos State Reserve south of Carmel and at the upper limit of what we might think of as the Big Sur coast. I was at the top of a bluff overlooking the “point of the sea wolves,” the actual spot that gives this park its name, and was trying to photograph the rather small number of pelicans that were coming past from time to time. (This was an odd day for photographing pelicans – fortunately that wasn’t the main reason I was at Point Lobos. Ten or fifteen minutes would go by with no pelicans at all… and then a giant flock or 30 or more would cruise by and be gone.)

So, I was parked at a spot along this trail on top of the bluff, waiting for interesting birds to come by when a couple stopped to look, too. As they stood there, this squirrel emerged from the brush and came right up to them – obviously not the wildest wild animal around. (Later I had to chase it off the bench that my camera bag was sitting on.) Since there weren’t any bird in photography range and there was a very close squirrel, and since I was standing there with a 100-400mm zoom on my camera, I figured I might as well get some close up shots for my gallery. This seemingly well-trained squirrel (is there a squirrel modeling school somewhere?) went quickly through a delightful sequence of poses: first all fours on the ground and looking quizzically to my right; then up on hind feet to eat a seed; and finally lowering the paws holding the seed to look ever so cutely at something to the right.)

So, now I have squirrel photographs.

California Ground Squirrel #2
California Ground Squirrel #2
California Ground Squirrel #3
California Ground Squirrel #3

G Dan Mitchell Photography
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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.

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Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

Wall With Face and Ivy, Chelsea

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Wall With Face and Ivy, Chelsea
Wall With Face and Ivy, Chelsea

Wall With Face and Ivy, Chelsea. New York, New York. August 14, 2010. © Copyright 2010 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Detail of a wall in Chelsea along 10th Avenue near High Line Park, New York featuring ivy, bricks, and a face.

I was on the move when I grabbed this shot, so I can’t say with precision where I made it. I think it was along 10th Avenue roughly in the same area as the Standard Hotel along the High Line Park – I sort of recall looking up to see some people coming out of the hotel at about the time I made this photograph.

The face first caught my attention. I think that it is a somewhat worn poster or similar attached to the surface of the wall near this junction between two buildings, hence the division between brick and not-brick. The rich textures of worn concrete with some graffiti painted on it, the two colors of brick wall, the staring face with the intense eyes, and the incongruous growth of lush green ivy were a surprise on this very urban bit of sidewalk.

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

G Dan Mitchell Photography
About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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.

(Basic EXIF data is available by “mousing over” large images in blog posts. Leave a comment if you want to know more.)


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

Marmot and Rocks

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Marmot and Rocks
Marmot and Rocks

Marmot and Rocks. Yosemite National Park, California. June 5, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A marmot with a quizzical expression emerges from rocks at Olmsted Point, Yosemite National Park, California.

Since it is a busy week and I have this photo sitting here on the computer, I have declared it another “furry mammal photograph day.” This is the third, and perhaps the last for now, of the marmot photographs I made at Olmsted Point on my early June trip over Tioga Pass Road. The marmots at Olmsted are quite used to human presence – and they better be since they live in rocks right below a very popular overlook and parking area. Although it wasn’t that busy on this day when the road first opened for the season, a month or two from now this will be a very popular place with Yosemite tourists.

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

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Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM at 400mm
ISO 200, f/8, 1/125 second

keywords: yosemite, national, park, sierra, nevada, mountain, spring, nature, marmot, mammal, fur, alpine, animal, wildlife, nature, creature, face, quizzical, expression, eye, olmsted, point, tioga, pass, road, highway, 120, tuolumne, meadows, california, usa, north america, stock

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

Marmot, Sierra Nevada

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Marmot, Sierra Nevada
Marmot, Sierra Nevada

Marmot, Sierra Nevada. Yosemite National Park, California. June 5, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A marmot emerges from winter conditions along the Tioga Pass Road, Yosemite National Park, California.

Sometimes this is just a bit too easy. Almost anyone who has driven over Tioga Pass Road through the high country of Yosemite National Park has stopped at the famous overlook at Olmsted Point. From here you can look one direction and see the “back side” of Half Dome or look the other way and see Tenaya Lake and the procession of domes, ridges, and peaks beyond. But you can also see marmots up close. They hang out in the rocks right below the parking area and are less fearful of people than are normal high-country marmots. (I’m more familiar with the latter. Getting a good photograph of them is possible but very challenging.)

I stopped here on my drive over the pass on the first day it was open this year, and two marmots were active near where steps lead down toward a nearby dome. I simply sat down near by, kept very still, and then waited for them to appear where I could photograph them. They were very cooperative – and there will be more photographs of these “guys” to come.

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

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM at 400mm
ISO 200, f/11, 1/250 second

keywords: yosemite, national, park, sierra, nevada, mountain, spring, nature, animal, rodent, marmot, wildlife, nature, fur, nose, eye, whiskers, foot, thick, brown, rock, face, teeth, oldsted, point, tioga, pass, road, highway, 120, spring, stock