Tag Archives: monochrome

Photographs: Nature

Stems

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Stems
Stems of new bulbs crowd together.

Stems. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Stems of new bulbs crowd together.

It isn’t unusual for someone to ask about one of my photographs, “Have you thought about how it would look in black and white?” Why, yes, I almost certainly have! When I began “doing photography” quite a few decades ago, I started with black and white film and printing, and almost all of the photographers I admired were those doing black and white work. Sometimes I know at the time of exposure that a photograph will be black and white. (Though I prefer today’s technology that allows me to capture for color image data for use in the post-processing conversion to monochrome.) Sometimes I’m positive that a photograph will end up as a color image. And sometimes, to be honest, I’m not certain.

This photograph falls into the latter category. Sort of. But not exactly. The thing that drew me to the subject originally was the pattern of very green plants. In fact, a while ago I shared a version of this photograph that is very much a color image. But yet… I felt that it would also work in black and white, and that in some ways the “abstract” nature of patterns of lines and contrasts between light and dark might even work better in some ways using a monochrome rendition.

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: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Sand Dune Shadows

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Sand Dune Shadows
Creosote plants cast long shadows across sand dunes in early morning light.

Sand Dune Shadows. © Copyright 2022.G Dan Mitchell.

Creosote plants cast long shadows across sand dunes in early morning light.

On every visit to Death Valley National Park I like to combine return visits to places I have visited before with visits to new locations. In the former case I often continue to expand my knowledge of familiar subjects and try to see them in new ways. In the latter I bring what I already have learned about this landscape to these new locations and see how I can draw on that to understand these new places. I made this photograph in a place that I’ve long thought about visiting and finally got to on this trip.

I camped nearby overnight, which gave me the opportunity to photograph in evening and morning light. On that first evening it was exciting to head out on the walk to this new place, unsure of what I would find or how I would photograph it. Early the next morning, as I walked across nearly the same route, the place was already starting to feel like “mine” a little bit, both from the previous night’s visit and from recognizing features familiar to me from elsewhere in the park. These creosote bushes were in a flat area at the base of taller dunes, and as the sun rose over the tops of these dunes the plants cast long shadows.

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: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Creosote, Morning Light

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Creosote, Morning Light
A cluster of creosote in sand dunes, backlit by morning sun.

Creosote, Morning Light. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A cluster of creosote in sand dunes, backlit by morning sun.

As this morning’s light quickly evolved, I had just time to make one photograph of this subject from this camera position. I was photographing almost straight into the sun, which was just above the ridge that creates the shadow in the background. The plant’s mirror image of shadows caught my attention, and it sort of felt like the combination of the plant and its shadow exploded across this bit of dune landscape.

From a photographic perspective, this image is another example of a few semi-technical points I’ve made in some of my recent Death Valley posts. It was made quickly — not at all using the sort of sedate process that some might think of when considering landscape photography. This landscape of dunes and light evolves very quickly at this time of day, and to respond to it I often work quickly, moving rapidly from one subject to the next. It is also a photograph made with a long focal length lens. As I have mentioned, this lets me work a larger area in the dunes more quickly, and it also allows me to limit the scope of the composition.

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 | 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: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Dunes and Blowing Sand

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Dunes and Blowing Sand
Streamers of blowing sand from a rising dust storm along the edges of a tall sand dune.

Dunes and Blowing Sand. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Streamers of blowing sand from a rising dust storm along the edges of a tall sand dune.

The desert landscape has a way of reminding us how small we are. Sometimes this happens in unexpected ways, perhaps in a moment when the air is still in a quiet, lonely place and a sense of deep time may become overwhelming. More familiar manifestations are common, including such things as the nearly unbearable power of a desert wind storm, or standing on a peak and overlooking hundreds of square miles of what appears to be “empty” terrain.

I photographed these dunes on a windy afternoon and evening. The winds increased as I worked alone At times streamers of sand blew past me, over the lips of folds in the dunes, and sometimes even uphill. I would pause, hunch my shoulders a bit, steady tripod and camera, and resume photographing a moment later. I made this photograph from near the bottom of a tall dune, angling the camera slightly upwards to include its windward face.

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 | 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.