Tag Archives: historic

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Near Keane Wonder Mine

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Near Keane Wonder Mine
Rugged terrarin near the Keane Wonder Mine, Death Valley.

Near Keane Wonder Mine. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Rugged terrarin near the Keane Wonder Mine, Death Valley.

One morning on my recent photographic Death Valley trip I headed up the road from the Valley toward Beatty, Nevada. I didn’t plan to actually go to Beatty, butI wanted to learn a bit more about the closure of part of the read between the park and Beatty, to photograph some large-scale vistas, and perhaps to check out the area near the Keane Wonder Mine. I knew that the latter was closed for restoration work, but I thought I might be able to at least get close to it. It turned out that this was not the case, so I decided to photograph the landscape near the mine from a distance.

The mine was one of the more productive in Death Valley during the 1900s. Its works are extensive, and a lot of remnants are still there. (For years it was closed off due to safety concerns, but access was again permitted a few years agp.) Much of the area in the photograph is more or less natural landscape, but a closer look reveals tailings, the remains of a long pipe system that likely supplied water, and some other evidence of mining.

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: France, Photographs: Urban/Street

Fire Alarm Station

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Fire Alarm Station
A historic fire alarm, Paris.

Fire Alarm Station. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A historic fire alarm, Le Marais, Paris.

This is a photograph that began as a simple, spur-of-the-moment thing and ultimately led me down a rabbit hole of information about the history of fire alarms. I saw this thing while walking in Le Marais. It looked interesting, and the shiny red paint caught my eye, so I photographed the upper part of it with the alcove and barred windows in the background. Later I finally looked into it and learned a LOT about fire alarm systems. The earliest apparently were created about 200 years ago — and before that alarms were delivered by… sending a runner. In the 1800s telegraph technology was eventually used, and near the end of the century early telephone technology made its appearance. Paris was late to the game, with their first alarms in the late 1800s. This one dates to the early 1900s, and people reporting fires would break a glass window and then speak to the department via telephone. Whew.

One other interesting thing came from this photograph. Recently I was working on a photograph of a Paris church, and I did not recognize it. I knew I made it on a day when we walked in and around Le Marais as other nearby areas, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. Then, as I worked on this fire alarm photograph I realized that the building is reflected in the window at the right! Since I could easily find the location of the fire alarm (it is the only one in this area), I went to it on a digital map and there was the church! (More about that location later when I share its photograph.)

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: Agriculture, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Looking In

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Looking In
“Looking In” — Looking into an old mansion through a screen left ajar.

We were at this location to photograph flowers, but I almost always keep an eye out for other subjects besides the one I came for. This large public garden is centered around a historic mansion, and at times I found the old building to be as interesting as the flowers that were my object. I noticed that the outer screen didn’t quite close all the way, and then I noticed that a warm lamp was barely visible inside the building. Looking in at the warmly lit interior scene, as vague as it is, evokes memories of such places in the winter.

This is one of those photographs that —once again! — proves the point that we often do not expose for some compromise, straight-out-of-camera shot. instead, I like to think about what exposure will give me the image data that I can use to in post to produce an image that is true to what I saw. Here I had to control the brightness of the exterior — which was fortunately muted a bit as the sun passed behind some clouds —while getting enough of an image in the dark and subtle interior that I could work with it in post.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: People, Photographs: Photographers

Desert Lunch

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Desert Lunch
G Dan Mitchell and Patricia Emerson taking a break from photography in the backcountry of Death Valley NP.

Desert Lunch. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell and Patricia Emerson take a break from photography in the backcountry of Death Valley NP.

This is not the kind of photograph I typically post here, but why not!? On our late-March visit to Death Valley National Park we headed up this backroad for the day after morning photography in another location. While midday photograph is sometimes possible in the desert, these aren’t typically the best hours from a visual perspective. So midday is a great time to explore, to scout locations, to travel to places for photography later in the day… and sometimes just to take care of camp business or hang out.

We drove slowly up this road, stopping along the way at various points of interest. (Despite the midday light, we did make some photographs along the route, too.) As so often in Death Valley, the road ends at the remnants of the historical mining era. We explored a bit and then it was time for a backcountry lunch. (It looks pretty meager, but it was good. And those oranges? It is a tradition to bring oranges from my trees on these winter and spring Death Valley trips.)

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 | 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.