Tag Archives: light

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Spain

Arches and Columns

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Arches and Columns
Arches and columns in the Mosque-Cathedral, Cordoba.

Arches and Columns. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Arches and columns in the Mosque-Cathedral, Cordoba.

Yes, I am most emphatically not in the Sierra Nevada of California this summer! House-sitters engaged, tickets purchased, reservations made… and we are now three weeks into a grand adventure. (It is also a rather hot adventure, but I’ll save that story for later.) I will not post photographs all the time as we travel, as I’d rather spend the time doing the traveling than post-processing photographs. But from time to time I’ll share a few that I think might interest readers.

We just spent a few days in Cordoba, Spain, where our main goal was to visit the Mosque-Cathedral. I cannot begin to describe the site in a way that does it justice, but it is among the most remarkable places I have ever visited. The deep history it contains, and the blending of influences from Islam and Catholicism, are deeply thought-provoking. It is filled with too many beauties and connections to fully understand it in a short visit — but don’t miss the opportunity if you ever have the chance to go.

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

Yosemite Forest and Cliffs

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Forest trees in afternoon sun with Yosemite Valley cliffs in the background.

Yosemite Forest and Cliffs. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Forest trees in afternoon sun with Yosemite Valley cliffs in the background.

Another recently-shared photograph included three trees, the base of El Capitan, and the lower reaches of the creek that produces Horsetail Fall. In that post I mentioned that the camera position was a fruitful one, and that I had made several photographs from nearly the same spot on this visit to Yosemite. You would need guess from the very different subject, but this photograph comes from the same spot. I’m sure that I did not move the camera more than a few yards between the two photographs, though I did swing it around by about 180 degrees.

This row of trees, conifers mixed with deciduous trees at this elevation, stood at the edge of a partially flooded meadow along the Merced River. Places like this allow longer view that what we typically see within the forest, and from here the view included some of the monumental cliffs of surrounding the valley. In this rendition I cropped tightly around the trees to bring the focus on them.

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

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

Tall Trees and Monolith, Morning Light

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Tall Trees and Monolith, Morning Light
El Capitan beyond tall trees in morning lilght, Yosemite Valley.

Tall Trees and Monolith, Morning Light. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

El Capitan beyond tall trees in morning lilght, Yosemite Valley.

This in alternate version of a photograph of this scene that I shared earlier. It was the first subject I photographed on a very long day when I arose before 3:00AM, drove from the San Francisco Bay Area to Yosemite, photographed all day, and drove back at night, arriving home after midnight. After nearly four hours of driving I entered the Valley and stopped here, where the view opens up for the first time. At this early hour it was still quiet and the morning light was slanting through the thin haze between me and El Capitan.

You might wonder, “Why two versions of the same subject?” A complete answer would take more than a paragraph, but here are a few quick thoughts. Sometimes someone needs the photograph in a particular format, so in cases where the subject can work two ways I make portrait and landscaper orientation versions. Sometimes I just want to see how to make the subject “work” both ways… and then I may end up liking both options!

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 | Twitter | 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.

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

Ribbon Fall

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Ribbon Fall
Yosemite Valley’s Ribbon Fall in full flow during the historic 2023 spring runoff.

Ribbon Fall. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Yosemite Valley’s Ribbon Fall in full flow during the historic 2023 spring runoff.

Let’s begin with by acknowledging that this is a bit of a “record shot” — a photograph whose purpose is as much to record of a thing as to produce an aesthetic effect. But in a year of weather and climate extremes in the Sierra, a few record shots seem to be in order. Ribbon Fall drops from a point high on the walls of Yosemite Valley to the west of El Capitan. You might not know about it since it is often dry. However, in addition to being a seasonal fall, its main claim to fame is that it has the largest uninterrupted drop of any Yosemite waterfall, even exceeding that of Upper Yosemite Fall.

When I arrived in the Valley on this spring morning the week before Memorial Day, Ribbon Fall (along with many others in the Valley) had unusually high flow. Unless you happen to be there right after an unusual cloudburst in the valley it drains, it is unlikely that any of us will ever see more water in this fall.

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 | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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