Tag Archives: park

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

RK AVENUE BALLRO

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RK AVENUE BALLRO
The front entrance to an urban dance studio, San Jose.

RK AVENUE BALLRO. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The front entrance to an urban dance studio, San Jose.

If you have been following along here you probably can guess that this is another photograph from my (almost) daily long walks in the greater neighborhood, an activity that has become a ritual during the time since March 2020… for reasons that you can also probably guess. These walks range from the short (“Gotta at least put in a half hour!”) to nearly ten miles, virtually always through the urban wilderness of neighborhoods, industrial areas, shopping centers, and similar.

I always carry a camera, though on most walks it stays in the bag. But every so often something catches my attention and out comes the camera. Quite often the subject is something that I’ve passed by many times but only really notice for the first time on one of the walks — a common experience, by the way. The elements that make this building what it is comprise quite a collection — the heavy framing of the entry way, the rather striking and perhaps unusual color choices, and more… some of which lies outside the frame in this photograph.

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

Forest, White Trunks

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Forest, White Trunks
White trunks in a dense forest of deciduous trees, Redwood National Park.

Forest, White Trunks. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

White trunks in a dense forest of deciduous trees, Redwood National Park.

It turns out that I have yet one more photograph from our early June visit to the far northern reaches of coastal California and the Redwood National and State parks. I am embarrassed to admit how long it was before I finally went up there to photograph, but since my first visit a few years ago I have been back every spring, usually trying to time my trips to coincide with the blooming of the rhododendrons. We were less than successful in that regard this year, but there is much else to see there, too. And because this was back in the early “maybe the pandemic is about over” period, it felt great to travel a bit more freely once again.

When it comes to trees, the redwood forests are obviously the mail attraction up there. But they are not the only attractions, and in many places all sorts of trees and plant life grow abundantly in this relatively wet climate. I stop at this particular forest of densely-spaced trees with light colored trunks on every visit — I like the challenge of looking for compositions that somehow bring some kind of order to the wild density of this vegetation.

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: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Sea Stacks and Bluffs, Fog

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Sea Stacks and Bluffs, Fog
Thinning morning fog above sea stacks and bluffs along the Big Sur coast.

Sea Stacks and Bluffs, Fog. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Thinning morning fog above sea stacks and bluffs along the Big Sur coast.

Because I am fortunate to live close to some rather famous places I often find myself at certain photographic icons. Over time I have developed an odd relationship with such places — a sort of love/hate relationship. I recognize why they have become icons, and acknowledge that in many circumstances they are truly amazing places, locations that any visitor to these various parks and other locations will want to see. But over a long period of time two things changed in my thinking about them as a photographer. First, there are so many photographs of such locations that it is probably not a good use of my time to rephotograph them. (To new photographers, it certainly can be a good exercise to photograph them, if for no other reason that to think about how the great photographs of these places were made.) The second change is that, to a certain extent, they start to seem less special.

I have written before about, for example, how I most often drive past the famous tunnel view in Yosemite without even stopping. (I’ve also written about a memorable occasion when witnessing someone else’s reaction to seeing this view for the first time reminded me of what an astonishing thing it is.) Because I have visited the Big Sur coast for decades, I’m less and less inclined to stop for icons… and I’m more likely to stop at random, odd turn-outs just to see what new thing I might find. But this week as I drove past this spot and looked to my right the combination of blue water, drifting fog, and thin light on the foreground rocks persuaded me to quickly pull over and photograph this… icon.

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

The Forest Floor

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The Forest Floor
Ferns, redwood sorrel, other plants, and young redwoods deep inside the coastal redwood forest.

The Forest Floor. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Ferns, redwood sorrel, other plants, and young redwoods deep inside the coastal redwood forest.

Here is another photograph from this year’s late-spring foray to the far Northern California redwood region — the National and State Redwood Parks. It may surprise you to find that this almost-native Californian didn’t really start to get his mind around this region until fairly recently. While I’ve know the redwoods closer to the San Francisco Bay Area nearly my whole life, the parks in the northern reaches of the state were not part of my experience aside from driving through a few of them. Over the past few years I have been exploring them and I am now starting to feel like I know that part of the state a bit better.

This scene comes from one of the state parks. Which park is perhaps not that important, given that you can find scenes like this one almost anywhere. One differentiating factor among the parks seems to be how far they are from the coast — wetter and lusher closer to the coast, warmer and a bit more open further inland. This scene is perhaps more representative of the near-coast forest, with extremely thick and lush undergrowth and green things growing everywhere. (That “green things” comment may seem odd to those who aren’t familiar with much of the rest of California, where things are distinctly not-green during most of the year.)

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.