Tag Archives: filoli

Photographs: Abstract

Light and Motion

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Light and Motion
Motion blur abstraction of colored light.

Light and Motion. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Motion blur abstraction of colored light.

What this photograph contains is not exactly clear. I would be flattered if you thought that it resulted from something I did intentionally, but I can understand that you might also suspect that it could have been an accident. Perhaps I accidentally hit the shutter release button while handling the camera and, perhaps, it just happened to pan across something that produced interesting, angular patterns of light and color. Perhaps. One can never be certain.

I often have mixed reactions to camera-motion blur photographs. On one hand obscuring the objective subject is interesting, and often the resulting abstract patterns of color and light can be fascinating. On the other hand, some iterations of the technique have become cliches, and when I see them I sometimes think, “Not another one of those!” And then, someone does “one of those ” that catches my attention!

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: Nature

Overlapping Leaves

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Overlapping Leaves
Bright spring leaves overlap in the spring gardens of the Filoli Center.

Overlapping Leaves. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Bright spring leaves overlap in the spring gardens of the Filoli Center.

Whether I find myself on a redwood trail or at a formal garden, I can never resist photographing the leaves of plants. They are among the subjects that supply a virtual infinity of shapes and colors and arrangements to work with — which still somehow surprises me. Are they thick or thin? Long or short? Dark or light? Smooth or veined? Back-lit or top-lit? Direct light or filtered? The expected green or any of a rainbow of other possibilities?

I found this plant (or, more correctly, these plants) tucked away in a corner at a large San Francisco Peninsula garden that we visited in late May. The growth was thick and the shadowed light was soft, which revealed a lot of texture and shape — of individual leaves and of the composite forms created by their overlapping arrangement.

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: Macro, Photographs: Nature

Translucent Bloom

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Translucent Bloom
Light glows through the petals of a spring blossom.

Translucent Bloom. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Light glows through the petals of a spring blossom.

The scale of my photograph subjects usually ranges between the whole landscape and something a bit smaller than that. But Patty, the other photographer in the household, has made a specialty of photographing vey small things, often flowers, and often so close that we see details rather than the whole thing. This was bound to rub off on me, and I realized that I have a series of such photographs on my desktop ready to post.

I made this photograph on one of our periodic forays to a large garden on the San Francisco Peninsula. At first I wasn’t thrilled with the light — we were expecting some lingering fog and soft light, but instead the sun was out. But I found that if I got in really close to some of these flowers that were in just the right light… it was possible to find that “less than all of it” perspective on them.

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: Structures and Objects

Switch Box

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Switch Box
An old, weathered outdoor switch box on a brick wall.

Switch Box. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

An old, weathered outdoor switch box on a brick wall.

Ever since I can remember I have photographed odd bits of “stuff” like this — old fences, door handles and hinges, electrical boxes, anything that has the worn patina of age, rust, and weathering. The first time I recall doing this must have been in middle school or early high school — I went around the back side of my parents’ house and found an old wooden fence with a chain lock, photographed it, and made black and white prints.

On the day I made this photograph we were at a very large garden, with the plan being to photograph spring flowers and foliage. We certainly did that, but I’m easily distracted by things like this, and I came back with this photograph along with others of old signs, door knobs, windows, and similar non-garden stuff.

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.