Tag Archives: light

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

Granite, Mist, and Trees

February 27, 2013 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

A momentary beam of sunlight illuminates a granite outcropping and trees against a backdrop of clouds surrounding the upper cliffs of Yosemite Valley

We had one day in the Valley and despite challenging weather conditions were determined to make photographs. I knew that it was likely to be cloudy, but there was also light rain (and snow at slightly higher elevations), making it a rather gray day. However, in some ways these can be among my favorite conditions to photograph here. When it is cloudy or stormy in the Valley, clouds can drift among the feature high up on the surrounding cliffs and peaks, and sometimes there can be fog and other kinds of interesting atmosphere right down in the Valley – and I feel that these conditions are both more interesting and more challenging that a classic “beautiful day” in the Valley. (Not that I won’t take one of those, too, if it turns out to be available.)

Looking for interesting subjects we headed west on Northside Drive and found clouds obscuring the face of El Capitan, blowing enough that they would momentarily reveal sections of the giant granite face. We stopped at one of the locations from which hordes of photographers would attempt to photograph Horsetail Fall later that evening and I made a few photographs of this foggy sight, but then I turned a long lens towards other sections of the steep terrain above the Valley, looking for sections where interesting things might happen as the clouds drifted around and occasional sun broke through. As I lined up a composition that included various diagonals from rocky prominences and cliffs rising above, the sun began to shine weakly through the clouds and light up the closest rock while those beyond remained mostly gray.

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Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Indian Restaurant

February 24, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Late afternoon winter light on the exterior of a neighborhood Indian restaurant.

This restaurant is located not far from where I live – close enough that I could photograph it on a walk from my home. (Though these walks can sometimes carry me out to about a four mile radius or so…) This is not one of those fancy, up-scale Indian restaurants, but rather a local, neighborhood place whose location and outer appearance might not encourage you to go inside and try the delicious food. Yes, I’ve eaten there.

At first I was just thinking about the angles and surfaces of the building, but also about this interesting late-afternoon winter light that slants in almost parallel to the ground in the vertical dimension, and almost flat across the front wall of the restaurant. As I moved in to try to find a composition I noticed the empty vase for the first time, and as I line things up to keep the very bright light on a hidden wall out of the frame, I saw the bright and somewhat orange light reflected from that wall onto the more distant area to the left where a door is open (even though the restaurant is closed) and a blue milk carton crate has been abandoned.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Sandstone Tower, Fruita District

February 21, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A sandstone tower stands above the Fruita District orchards in early evening light, Capitol Reef National Park

These sandstone plateaus and mesas seem characteristic of this front-country area of Capitol Reef National Park, and they are perhaps the most striking visual icon of your approach to the park from the town of Torrey, Utah, to the west. The Fruita District is the most accessible area of the park, being right alongside the main east-west highway that passes through the park. It features some picturesque sites and sights that are enough to make almost anyone pull over and look, including the old orchards that apparently gave the area its name and the accessible petroglyphs on low cliffs that run along the road. (Although this portion of the park is quite accessible once you are out here and driving across Utah, most of the park is anything but easily accessible, and getting to other places within its boundaries can involve some very long drives on some fairly bad roads, plus some hiking. I’m fine with that! ;-)

I made this photograph late in the day, after we had done a bit of exploring along the main tourist route into the park, the largely paved road towards Capitol Gorge and other nearby points. Late in the day I happened to spot this little conjunction of creek and fall-color tree and green grass and red rock cliffs as we were about to leave the park.

Photographs: Abstract, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Urban Wall, Tree Shadow in Winter Light

February 19, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The shadow of a tree casts its shadow in winter light across an urban wall.

I made this photograph in the very late afternoon near the end of December, 2012. For some reason, each year at about this time I get the idea of doing a personal “photo walk” that starts at my front door and then wanders around the “neighborhood” in a two-mile or so radius. Almost invariably, the walk takes place late in the day and lasts through the sunset hours. I frequently cover (or perhaps I should write “cover again”) familiar territory, and I even re-photograph some of the same subjects that I have photographed in the past. (This isn’t the first time that I have photographed this wall.) I usually walk slowly for the most part, focusing more on looking than on walking. By slowing down and especially by paying attention to things I might photograph, I invariably see things – within walking distance of my home – that I would otherwise not see at all.

This photograph probably looks like a very strange amorphous thing to some viewers, so let me at least explain what you see. This is a concrete wall, with low angle sun striking it almost directly from the left, producing stretched shadows from a nearby tree. The wall is painted green, but the very warm golden hour light moves the color toward yellow. The wall apparently is an attractive target for vandals/graffiti artists, since it is apparent that something was previously painted out using a slightly different color paint. Although it is hard to see in this small web jpg, I like this odd mix of colors and the interesting details of the wall’s texture as they are revealing by the side-light.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: light

Indian Restaurant

Urban Wall, Tree Shadow in Winter Light

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