Tag Archives: monochrome

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sequoia-Kings Canyon, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Lake and Rocky Peninsula

February 17, 2014 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Smooth water behind a small rocky peninsula reflects clouds above a high Sierra back-country lake, Kings Canyon National Park

We stopped at this small lake along the route to and from our destination during our September 2013 nine-day photographic excursion into the high Sierra back-country of Kings Canyon National Park. Between the trailhead and the 11,000′ basin where we camped for nearly a week, there was a 15+ mile hike, two near-12,000′ passes, and a final climb of well over a thousand feet – too far for our party to travel in a single day. So we ended up making a stop here on the inbound and outbound trips. This is a view a few steps away from our campsite near the outlet stream.

My previous visit to this lake had been several decades earlier, back on my very first solo Sierra Nevada backpacking trip. That is a story worth its own lengthy post at some point, but the most striking point may be that I decided that my very first solo trip would be two weeks long! Given that solo backpacking may strike some as a stretch in several ways, a shorter first trip might seem more sensible – but in retrospect I’m glad that I went out for so long. After a few initial days of dealing with the expected “issues” of solo backcountry travel, I got past those concerns and have rarely felt as connected to the natural world as I did during the second half of that trip. At about that point I stopped at this lake on the walk between Bubbs Creek and Rae Lakes, and I recall the next day’s climb to the Pass, where I sat for a long time, in no hurry to leave or get to any place in particular.

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Commentary, Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Textures

Illuminated Wall Panel

February 11, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Woven wall panel photograph — “Illuminated Wall Panel” — The patterns of an illuminated and woven wall in a New York City Chinese restaurant

We had arrived in New York earlier this afternoon, taking the subway in to Manhattan from Kennedy to get to our hotel on Canal Street. The plan was to get settled there — where we would stay for the next week — and then meet up with family and friends and walk to the Chinatown district for dinner. Christmas Eve, New York City, meeting friends and family, Chinese food – what could be better?

We found the restaurant and some of our party were already there. In a city like New York I almost always carry a camera and, yes, I took one to dinner with me. Most of the photographs are of people in our group – and I won’t likely post those here. But as we sat down, across the table was a very interesting wall — wide panels of some material that looked like very thin wood were woven together and lit from behind. I thought that the pattern might make an interesting photograph, so I made a single exposure… and went back to paying attention to the party!

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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

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Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Person, Stairs, Wall, Windows

February 9, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A person ascends stairs inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.

On this day, halfway through our late-December week in New York City, we finally had some bad weather. Not as bad as the snowstorms that shut down the city a week or so later, but enough cold rain that walking around Manhattan was starting to seem a lot less appealing than it had been the day before. We decided that the weather would make it a good day for indoor activities, so we got on the subway and headed up to the Metropolitan Museum of Art… where we joined what seemed like about half of New York City in using the Museum as a rainy day activity!

If you have been there, you know that this museum is huge – far too big to see the whole thing in a day. We’ve gone a number of times, each time poking into new areas that we had not seen before and visiting a few familiar areas. This time we visited some galleries displaying photography and finally ended up way in the back of the facility in a section of newer architecture. This seemed like an odd spot to me. What here looks like the exterior windows of a building, with a sidewalk in front, is actually inside the museum. If I recall correctly, it is in an area where new and old architecture meet.

Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Walkway, Manhattan Bridge

February 8, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A nearly empty walkway on the Manhattan Bridge

New York City’s Manhattan Bridge is not the Brooklyn Bridge. The Brooklyn Bridge is a popular tourist destination and full of pedestrians and cyclists in nice weather, and even sees quite a crowd in conditions that are less appealing. We began this day’s visit to Brooklyn by walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. It was cold – in the twenties, if I recall correctly, but there were still hundreds of other people taking this walk and enjoying the expansive views from the walkway, which is high on the bridge and above the vehicle traffic.

We returned via the Manhattan Bridge… which is most definitely not the Brooklyn Bridge. The first hint was that we were told to expect the thunderous sound of passing subway trains every couple of minutes – they travel above ground to cross this bridge. Once on the bridge, it is clear that no one expects a lot of foot traffic here – and there is not much. Instead of a beautiful walkway, high above traffic and with views in all directions, this walkway is narrow and cramped and bounded by metal walls and cyclone fences. You can’t really see any view to the north of the bridge, and the view to the south is blocked by the fence. In many places there is a lot of graffiti. This is not the Brooklyn Bridge – but I recommend this walk, too.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: monochrome

Lake and Rocky Peninsula

Illuminated Wall Panel

Person, Stairs, Wall, Windows

Walkway, Manhattan Bridge

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