Tag Archives: light

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

At The Edge Of The Dunes, EVening

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At The Edge Of The Dunes, Evening
Evening light on sand dunes, Death Valley National Park.

At The Edge Of The Dunes, Evening. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Evening light on sand dunes, Death Valley National Park.

Much of Death Valley consists of landscape laid bare, with the earth itself exposed in ways that aren’t seen in other landscapes where forests and meadows dominate. Even the places where sagebrush and similar desert plants grow are only thinly covered, and other than a short period each year these plants have the same colors as the earth.

At first this can seem, well, barren. But after you make a few adjustments this sort of landscape presents remarkable opportunities. Of course, this landscape turns out to be less barren than you first thought. Perhaps a single bush can be more remarkable when it stands alone. But even more important, the quality and color of light become more evident as it works its magic on this ostensibly barren place.

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 and Amazon.

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Photographs: People, Photographs: Photographers

Photographer Charles Cramer

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Photographer Charles Cramer
Photographer Charles Cramer setting up a display for a reception to follow an August 16, 2015 concert

Photographer Charles Cramer. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Photographer Charles Cramer setting up a display for a reception to follow an August 16, 2015 concert.

This photograph of Charles Cramer is perhaps a bit unusual in several ways. I made it while Charlie was setting up (or taking down?) a display of a number of his photographs at a concert he gave in the South Bay Area. (Many of you reading this are likely to be aware of his photography, but perhaps not everyone knows that he is also an accomplished pianist and organist… and even a choir director!) The pose is perhaps not typical for a photograph of a “landscape photographer,” either as he is a) indoors and b) setting up a light stand! (The purpose of the stand is to illuminate prints for display in this case.)

We count ourselves lucky to know Charlie and to have known him for some time. (He played at our wedding, believe it or not.) He has also graciously shared his photographic knowledge with us in a number of ways. I often tell the story of how I finally got up to speed on my conversion to digital photography. I had been using digital cameras for a while, and I had purchased an early digital printer, but the results were just not what I hoped for and I was getting frustrated. I contacted Charlie to ask for some advice — should I take a class? sign up for a workshop? read a book? something else? He replied and basically said, “Come over and bring a few files.” I did, and in the several hours he spent with me on these files I learned (as I often say) “90% of what I needed to know about digital post-processing and printing” — and for that I am forever grateful!

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 and Amazon.

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Silos And Shadows, Morning

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Silos And Shadows, Morning
California Central Valley silos in morning light.

Silos And Shadows, Morning. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

California Central Valley silos in morning light.

This photograph might serve as an example of an approach I sometimes take when photographing, especially when the subjects I had in mind may not present themselves or at least not present well. Basically, I have a backup plan, and I’m happy to switch gears and improvise if my primary subject either isn’t working or isn’t at its best. That was the case on this morning when I had traveled to the Central Valley to photograph birds. I did that, but then I decided to head down a narrow country lane looking for whatever I could find, and in this case the search uncovered some agricultural subjects.

It is always a question whether to stay with the subject you came for or to switch to another target of opportunity. To be honest, I cannot recommend one over the other — I do both, and it is hard to rationalize why I choose one over the other. Sometimes, quite honestly, it is mainly a hunch. If you stick with a subject that isn’t quite working you may eventually find a way to make it work, or perhaps that light you hoped for will appear. On the other hand, you could just as easily wait and find that nothing changes!

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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

The Edge Of The Grove

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The Edge Of The Grove
Autumn color at the edge of a grove of white-trunk aspen trees.

The Edge Of The Grove. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Autumn color at the edge of a grove of white-trunk aspen trees.

I photographed this grove of past-peak-color aspens growing at the edge of high desert sage country on a very cold October morning — as we drove to this spot the thermometer in my vehicle read 9 degrees Fahrenheit at one point!Many of the trees in this location were past their prime color at this point, but there were still yellow leaves mixed with the brown among the stark white trunks.

The Eastern Sierra Nevada is typically a wonderful place to look for autumn aspen trees every October. There is a lot of fall color again this year, though something seems different. (In truth, every aspen season is “different” than all o the others…) It started more or less at the typical time, and there was — as still is, as I write this — good color in many places. Yet, some locations where I would have expected good or even great color didn’t produce this time. On the plus side, that gave me all the excuse I needed to investigate some wonderful out-of-the-way locations that I might have ignored in a year with great color in all of the typical places.

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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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