Tag Archives: monochrome

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

Intertwined Trunks

Image Leave a comment
Intertwined Trunks
Tightly laced tree trunks, Southern Sierra Nevada

Intertwined Trunks. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Tightly laced tree trunks, Southern Sierra Nevada.

This is an older photograph that has languished in my raw file archives for nearly a decade. Back in 2010 I was on a long Southern Sierra backcountry trip with a group of friends — roughly speaking we made a giant semi-circle around Mount Whitney, starting southeast of that peak and coming out over a week later at a point considerably north. A milestone on this trip was realizing — finally! — that re-climbing that iconic peak is less profitable than spending time in many other equally beautiful places in the Sierra. At several points on this trip we found ourselves in lonely, less-visited spots, and I treasure the trip for that reason. These trees were at one of our campsites, in a location essentially right at timberline.

Everyone’s work habits are unique, but for me it is important to periodically go back and look through older photographs that didn’t “go anywhere” at the time. I inevitably find images that are worth the second look. I’ve often pondered how and why this happens. Among my theories: perhaps I simply moved on to quickly to other projects at the time, possibly I didn’t really understand how to “see” the image, my interests and perspectives have changed. Regardless, this is one reason that I’m hesitant to delete a lot of raw files — all too often I’ve gone back and found something that I was glad I kept!

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 | Facebook | Email

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

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

Photographs: Coastal Redwoods, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Redwood National & State Parks

Plants, Redwood Forest Floor

Image Leave a comment
Plants, Redwood Forest Floor
Lush plants growing beneath redwood trees, Redwood National and State Parks

Plants, Redwood Forest Floor. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Lush plants growing beneath redwood trees, Redwood National and State Parks.

One morning while visiting the Redwood National and State Parks in early June we headed away from the more heavily-visited areas on a hunch, and we ended up in a very quite place where no one else was around. It was an area full of tall trees, plentiful undergrowth, a few rhododendron flowers, and the deep quiet and stillness that characterizes such places. We lingered along a section of trail where there were lots of redwood forest undergrowth plants.

If you haven’t photographed deep in a redwood forest, you would probably be surprised by just how dark it can be, even in the daylight hours. When photographing there I often find myself caught between the need to get enough depth of field (small aperture) and keep a short enough shutter speed to stop the constant slight motion of the plants in subtle breezes. I end up raising ISO and, still, sometimes find myself with shutter speeds measured in seconds! This little grouping was entirely green, of course, but the taller plants were a bit lighter and stood out against the background bed of redwood sorrel.

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 | Facebook | Email

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

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

Sunlit Mountains, Sand Storm

Image Leave a comment
Sunlit Mountains, Sand Storm
A desert sand storm spreads dust high into the air above a sunlit mountain range

Sunlit Mountains, Sand Storm. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A desert sand storm spreads dust high into the air above a sunlit mountain range.

You might imagine that this was a quiet and peaceful landscape scene, judging by the sort light and static nature of the photograph. You would be wrong. I was standing in gale force winds, with windblown sand flying everywhere, out of my vehicle just long enough to make a few exposures.

The haze filling the air is from a sand storm that was emanating from more or less my location, and which then carried the blown sand and dust northeast into desert mountains. In some places the cloud seemed to make it all the way to the summit of the mountain range, but in this spot it was clear, even through this thick air, that the sun was still shining on the ridgeline.

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 | Facebook | Email

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

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

Strata

Image Leave a comment
Strata
S”Strata” — ort morning light illumnates rugged desert strata

Desert landscapes can have an almost surreal quality, with features that are close to unbelievable. (I suspect that this happens in most landscapes, but the “barren” desert reveals them more clearly.) The landscape is laid bard, and we get a clear view of eroded features, twisted rock strata, contrasting colors produced by layers of different materials.

In certain places, in the right light, the contests and patterns become even more striking. This is one of those locations, and it was a day with that kind of light. These eroded hills are threaded with both very light and very dark strata, sometimes directly juxtaposed. On this morning the low-angle, directional light was softened a bit by high clouds.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.