Tag Archives: nature

Garden Gate

Garden Gate
An entry gate to the Japanese Garden, Portland, Oregon.

Garden Gate. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An entry gate to the Japanese Garden, Portland, Oregon.

Some years back our youngest son and our daughter-in-law lived in the lovely and quirky city of Portland, Oregon. Since it is (just barely, if you have a lot of endurance!) a one-day drive from the San Francisco Bay Area we managed to get up there somewhat regularly, and we came to like the place a lot. Among other things, it is a city of gardens, including several that we visited more than once. This photograph of a stone walkway passing through a gate comes from the lovely Japanese Garden.

Having roots in a non-west-coast part of America (long ago, but they stick with you), I can understand how the character of towns along the Pacific coast is difficult for some to understand in other parts of the country. But Oregon is a wonderful place that is hard to characterize in any single way. There is a long tradition of a kind of counter-culture there, but there is also a large suburban population. Don’t believe the simplistic, politicized claims that the city is “under siege” or a hotbed of some kind of awfulness that requires federal intervention.


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.

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Mono Morning

Mono Morning
Morning light and hazy atmosphere above Mono Lake.

Mono Morning. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning light and hazy atmosphere above Mono Lake.

Mono Lake is, of course, particularly known for the tufa formations found along its shoreline and in the close-in shallow waters. These remarkable features were formed underwater and revealed as the lake’s water level dropped. (By looking at the surrounding hills you can observe evidence of much higher prehistoric water levels. ) The lake also affords dramatic views of the steep eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada.

All of these things appeal to me, but they are not what I most associate with the place, namely its vast expanse of stillness and quiet. The scale of the Mono Basin dwarfs the peaks to the west, quite honestly, though you have to slow down a bit more before its stillness gets to you. I think I most like the morning hours, when the air is often still, and when the morning sun can make the atmosphere luminous.


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.

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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.

Wall and Benches

Wall and Benches
A wall and two benches in a Japanese garden.

Wall and Benches. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A wall and two benches in a Japanese garden.

This is a “quiet photograph” made at the Japanese Garden in Portland, Oregon a few years ago when we were there for a family visit. It was not a photography trip, and I had intentionally travelled light, carrying only a camera and one lens. But we ended up visiting several of the cities beautiful gardens, and I was glad that I had that equipment with me!

The Japanese Garden is a beautiful and quiet place, and there was a lot to see and photograph there. At the time I made this photograph something about the scene caught my eye, but aside from a bit of quick work a few days later the file sat quietly in my archives for eight years. It was only this past week, as I continued my pandemic exploration of old files, that I came across this subject. After some consideration it seemed to me that this photograph was a candidate for a monochromatic treatment.


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.

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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.

Pacific Shoreline, Point Reyes

Pacific Shoreline, Point Reyes
Rugged Pacific Ocean coastline at the furthest end of Point Reyes.

Pacific Shoreline, Point Reyes. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Rugged Pacific Ocean coastline at the furthest end of Point Reyes.

This photograph is literally of “Point Reyes,” as in the actual “point” after which the national seashore is named. It is a remarkable location in many ways. This peninsula extends a good distance out into the Pacific Ocean, and it forms a large bay that is protected from the ocean to the west and north. From the Point you can see south to San Francisco Bay, a good distance north along the Pacific coastline, eastward across that bay toward what would be the coast in most locations, and westward to the horizon. This section runs east-west, and its features echo those along the most rugged sections of the main Pacific coastline. But this section is short, exerting only the length of the end of the Point, and it runs not north-south. but east west.

During the past four months of the pandemic I have not ventured too far from our location in the San Francisco Bay Area, largely because such travels have been discouraged. But I’m beginning to think that I could again safely (for myself and others) venture out to the coast for some new photography before long. Stay tuned…


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 | FacebookEmail

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.


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