Tag Archives: gray

Photographs: People, Photographs: Southern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Dining Terrace and Columns

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Dining Terrace and Columns
Dining Terrace and Columns


Dining Terrace and Columns. The Getty Center, Los Angeles, California. December 30, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Visitors on the outdoor dining terrace among tall stone pillars with fog beyond – Getty Museum, Los Angeles, California.

I think this terrace is one of the most interesting places at the Getty Center for a variety of reasons. For one, these slender and tall columns seem to support a rather large part of the museum – being a virtual native Californian I can’t help but think about their seeming fragility here in earthquake country. But the space itself is a very interesting one. While protected from sun and rain (as on the day I made the photograph) it feels very open because of the unusually high “ceiling” and the fact that it is almost completely open along a good part of its edge. While the “back” wall is nondescript – and, in retrospect, I can’t even describe it – the front opens to the large gardens that are spread below.

Elements that attracted me to the scene on this visit included the gradual gradient from shadow at the lower right to much brighter light at the far edge of the terrace, the vertical length of the support columns and their relative placement, the very small figures of the visitors, and the diffuse and misty fog and rain beyond the terrace.

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

Fall Foliage and Rock Face, Tioga Road

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Fall Foliage and Rock Face, Tioga Road

Fall Foliage and Rock Face, Tioga Road. Yosemite National Park, California. September 26, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Fall colors come to plants growing in cracks in a rock face alongside Tioga Road, Yosemite National Park, California.

As I drove across the Sierra via Tioga Pass Road in late September I was watching for early fall color, which often just gets going at about this time. Most of the good color is east of the crest, but there is one area near where the road crosses Yosemite Creek where I sometimes spot some yellow leaves – and, sure enough, as I passed this spot I saw some interesting color along the rock walls beside the road.

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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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Three Aspen Trunks, Lichen Covered Rocks

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Three Aspen Trunks, Lichen Covered Rocks

Three Aspen Trunks, Lichen Covered Rocks. Sierra Nevada, California. October 3, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Three small aspen trees with fall color leaves among small plants grow from a crack in lichen-covered rocks – Sierra Nevada, California near South Lake.

Yet another variation on the “bare aspen trunks with some leaves, photographed against granite” theme – I can’t help myself! :-)

This is another of several photographs I made along the road below Parcher’s Resort on the way to South Lake in the eastern Sierra above Bishop, California. At this early October point in the season there are almost endless ways to approach photography of aspens – still-green aspens, aspens barely starting to change color, newly colorful aspens among still-green aspens, aspens at the height of their yellow/orange/red color, aspens past peak starting to thin a bit, aspens with only a few beautiful leaves remaining (and the rest littering the ground beneath), aspen trunks bare of any leaves and waiting for the winter to arrive – and all of these shot in an infinite variety of light, in an infinite variety of settings, with an infinite variety of compositions.

So I hope no one minds if I continue to post a few more. :-)

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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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspen Grove, North Lake Road

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Aspen Grove, North Lake Road

Aspen Grove, North Lake Road. Sierra Nevada, California. October 3, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Brilliant fall colors come to an aspen grove along the road to North Lake with Sierra Nevada crest peaks in the distance.

I have long been attracted to this grove that grows in a bend on the road to North Lake just before a section of road that switchbacks and climbs steeply. I often photograph in and around this grove, and several other times I’ve stopped along the road above it to try to photograph it with the high peaks above Sabrina Basin in the background.

On this visit in early October 2009 I found that the grove had turned to gold and yellow, so I decided to stop on my way up to North Lake (where I photographed only briefly on this day). The challenge was that the grove is in a low area that doesn’t get the sun until later in the morning, while the peaks beyond were in almost full sunlight and even had a bit of snow on them – quite an exposure challenge! Fortunately some clouds – and a bit of careful post-processing – came the rescue. The cloud shadow fell across the rocky slopes behind the trees, providing a background that set off their color. At about the same time the most direct sun on the peaks was also interrupted by some clouds, so the only tricky spot was the left face of the peak near the side of the frame.

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.

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