Tag Archives: green

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Germany, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Wall, Shutters, Window With Heart

November 15, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A window in an old building in the Heidelberg area, Germany

Yes, I still have more photographs from this past summer’s visits to New York, London, and several European locations — lots more! After London and Paris we headed to Germany, and returned to Heidelberg, which almost seems like a home base for us. Patty’s brother and his wife live there, and in the middle of five weeks of travel it was wonderful to spend time in their Heidelberg home.

This time we hopped on a boat and travelled up the river a ways to a more distant suburb (?) of Heidelberg, where things feel a bit more rustic, at least to this first-time visitor to that particular spot. When we got there we spent some time simply wandering around, walking up narrow and hilly streets. I spotted this window in a weathered wall along the shaded side of one of the buildings we passed — so on this one week anniversary of the American election you get a heart in a window.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Aspens, Green and Yellow

October 27, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Transitional early autumn aspen color in the Eastern Sierra Nevada

These tall aspen trees with their straight trunks are not the most common sight in the Eastern Sierra Nevada, where smaller and more twisted trees are more the rule. But in protected and well-watered locations the trees can grow straight and tall. I photographed these at the beginning of what most would consider the prime aspen color season in this region, the first two or three weeks of October. The color starts up high (often even earlier than this) among small, high elevation trees and then works its way down into the canyons and out into the drier lands east of the Sierra. At this spot, though not within the view of the camera, there was an entire hillside covered in bright yellow small trees, but among these larger trees the show was just beginning.

This demonstrates something that Sierra aspen-chasers eventually learn, namely that if the trees in one spot are not ideal we can simply look higher or lower, north or south, and we’ll probably find trees in good condition. Although I did not make it back after this visit during the 2016 aspen color season, I’m quite sure that those who came to this spot a week or two after I was there found that some of the yellow trees had lost their leaves and that the trees that are green in this photograph were brightly colored.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Slender Aspens

October 15, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Slender aspen trees with leaves transitioning from green to yellow

I made this photograph quite a bit earlier in the season that usual — just past the middle of September. More typically I photograph these trees a couple of weeks later. However, this fall I made a reconnaissance trip to the Eastern Sierra at this early date and discovered quite a bit of good color, especially at higher elevations. (The typical pattern has the earliest color starting at higher elevations and in the smaller trees, then progression downwards and into the larger trees over the next few weeks.)

When it comes to the possible ways to photograph aspens, there are too many to count: front, side, or backlit; while there are still green leaves, when everything is golden-yellow (and orange and red), or when the trunks are bare; in sunlight or shadow; big trees and small; up close or from further back. I photographed this beautiful little grove of slender trees from some distance, using a long focal length to flatten the perspective a bit and to create a tighter composition. The leaves were at a typical early stage, with a few having turned yellow and others still quite green. But I think it was the slender and stark white trunks and the patterns they created that drew me to this grove.

Photographs: Nature

Poison Oak

October 11, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A vining poison oak plant grows on the bark of a coastal tree, Point Lobos

Californians learn about poison oak at an early age. I recall that in elementary school occasionally a fellow student would come to school suffering from an awful rash from this plant. From my earliest hikes in the California hills (but not the Sierra Nevada, to the relief of many!) I learned that the plant is everywhere and, like all hikers here, I learned to quickly identify it. It is known to most by the reddish-brown colors of the leaves, but the “leaves in threes” pattern is a more certain feature since it is also dangerous during its completely green phase.

Despite the danger, the plant can be quite beautiful — though I find it difficult to photograph. The red to brown tones of the plant is summer are striking, and it can actually appear quite lush during its winter growth period. I found this growth on the side of the tree at Point Lobos last winter, and was fortunate to be able to photograph it in partial shade and on a day when the sun’s intensity was muted a bit by haze and fog.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: green

Wall, Shutters, Window With Heart

Aspens, Green and Yellow

Slender Aspens

Poison Oak

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.