Tag Archives: light

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Trees, Marsh, Fog

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Trees, Marsh, Fog
Trees grow in flooded San Joaquin Valley marshland pond

Trees, Marsh, Fog. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Trees grow in flooded marshland pond

On January 1st, New Year’s Day 2018, a group of friends and photographers gathered to greet the dawn (literally!) of the New Year, raise a toast or two, hang out, and photograph birds and the expansive landscape. It meant going to bed early on New Year’s Eve, but I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the first day of the new year. (Though that 4:00 AM alarm and two-hour drive in the dark was perhaps just a bit less festive…)

After photographing all morning the bird action seemed to slow and we all gathered for a quiet little party in a parking lot near large ponds. A bit later all of us felt like we needed a walk, so we broke off into groups and followed a trail around a marsh and to some tall trees. I was the last one to start, and I decide to simply bring along my smallest camera with a single little lens, foregoing the usual Big Bag Of Gear and Gigantic Tripod. As much as I was more of a mind to walk and think than to photograph, I couldn’t help but stop and make a few handheld photographs of the complex landscape of the marsh.

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: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Night

San Joaquin Valley Moonrise

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San Joaquin Valley Moonrise
Winter full moon rises over San Joaquin Valley utility lines

New Year’s Moonrise. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Winter full moon rises over California utility lines

I have to admit that one reason I made this photograph was simply because I could. Such a photograph likely could not have been made just a few years ago, and certainly not in the way I made it. The photograph is, believe it or not, handheld… using a 300mm focal length on a 100-400mm zoom lens. Because this technical capability is so wonderful, I think it is worth mentioning it in this case. The moon is relatively bright, producing about as much light as daylight on our planet. However, it does not shed much light on the landscape, yet here I was able to retain some color in the sky and even make the details of the very dark utility lines and poles visible.

The genesis of the photograph is also significant. I was not here to photograph the full moon, and I actually was unaware that it had risen. I was focused on another subject, a large flock birds assembled in twilight in front of me, when someone said, “Look over there!” I turned around and saw the moon rising through the thin clouds above the valley. I could not take time to use a tripod — I photograph the birds handheld — so I simply took a chance that I might be able to hold the camera still enough and come up with the right exposure. I grabbed a few shots, then turned my attention back to the birds.

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: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

Soda Candy Luncheonette

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Soda Candy Luncheonette
Street scene in winter light on the Upper East Side, Manhattan

Soda Candy Luncheonette. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Street scene in winter light on the Upper East Side, Manhattan

Today’s photo takes us back to the urban world again, and away from the world of winter migratory birds that I have shared more recently. The photograph is from our weeklong visit to New York City between Christmas and (almost) New Year’s Day. It was a cold week! As we usually do, we went out and wandered Manhattan quite a bit — hard to do street photography without going into the street! Daytime highs made it (barely, and not always) into the low 20 degree range, but we fought back by layering up and by stopping frequently for refreshments in warm places. Not that the latter is a bad thing!

I made this photograph on one of those cold days. We had queued up to get into the Guggenheim, but the line wasn’t moving at all. Standing there in the bitter cold and strong wind, the thought of finding a place with warm soup suddenly occurred to us, and we left the line and found food. Feeling warmer now, we headed back out onto Lexington and walked south. When I first spotted this place, somewhat interesting in its own right though not quite unique as a structure, the words on the sign caught my attention: “Soda Candy Luncheonette.” Then I noticed the nice light coming up Lexington and the interesting arrangements of pedestrians as they walked past.

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: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

The Photograph, New York

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The Photograph, New York
A woman poses for a photograph as friends look on, Manhattan

The Photograph, New York. = © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A woman poses for a photograph as friends look on, Manhattan

For today’s photographer we are back to Manhattan, with a photograph from our recent end-of-December week in New York. I always go into street photographer mode (with essence of travel photographer sprinkled in, as well) when we visit there — which we get to do relatively frequently since two sons live in Brooklyn. The street wandering on this trip was a bit more of a challenge than usual, as we were there during a rather extreme bout of very cold weather that taxed this coastal Californian’s ability to stay warm. Our routine often became one of walking and photographing until we were too cold to continue, stopping in a warm place for coffee or food, and then heading out again.

I think I made this photograph in Soho, as we walked north from near the southern tip of Manhattan. I’m pretty certain that the lighting on these group first caught my attention. (This was the trip on which I finally realized that the light in Manhattan is as interesting as that almost anywhere else, including a lot of places that are otherwise not at all like New York City.) The arrangement of the members of the group also caught my attention — the one woman (the subject of the photograph they are making) standing apart and with her back to me and being hit by the light just a bit, the fellow with the camera trained on her, a woman seated next to him looking on closely, and the woman apart on the left and in darker clothes, who is smoking and doesn’t seem all that involved. The light shines obliquely across the scene from the left, catching both the people and the scene in front of the building.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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