Tag Archives: park

Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

Woman on Balcony

Leave a comment
Woman on Balcony
A woman sits on the fire escape balcony of a brick apartment building

Woman on Balcony. New York City. July 30, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A woman sits on the fire escape balcony of a brick apartment building

The first stop on our five-week “grand tour” was New York City — our oldest son and our daughter-in-law were getting married. This is the longest the two of us have ever been “on the road,” and before we were finished five weeks later we had been to New York City, London, Paris, Heidelberg, briefly in Munich and Bologna, then the Chianti region between Florence and Siena in Italy, and finally in Florence for a few days. Whew! One thing that came out of visiting all of these places, with between five or six days and up to eight days in each place, is that we got both a sense of the character of each place (though incomplete, of course) and we were able to see the contrasts between them. New York City certainly has its own character, somewhere on the spectrum closer to London than Florence perhaps.

The entire New York visit was not taken up by wedding events, so we did have a chance to get out and explore New York a bit, which we always enjoy. On this afternoon we ended up at the High Line Park, walking part of its length on a hot and humid day the eventually led to some light rain. (That seems to be a theme for us near the High Line.) Since I’ve been to this park before I have gotten to know some of the surroundings, and this particular brick wall of windows and fire escape stairways always attracts my attention. And this isn’t the first time I’ve found an interesting person on that very balcony — somewhere in my collections I’m pretty certain that I have another photograph of someone on this exact same balcony, sitting outside on a similar hot and humid day before the rain arrived.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Summer’s End

Leave a comment
Summer's End
Late summer meadow and forest, Yosemite National Park

Summer’s End. Yosemite National Park, California. September 7, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Late summer meadow and forest, Yosemite National Park

I missed much of summer in the Sierra this season since we were traveling. Soon after we came back to California I managed to squeeze in a few “going home” days in the Yosemite high country during the week following the exit of the Labor Day Holiday crowds. Following my midday arrival and camp setup (and a nap to compensate for my early wake up call that morning) I decided that I’d head out a familiar trail toward an alpine lake that I’ve frequently visited in the past. As it turns out I started a bit too late, and when I hit my predetermined halfway time I hadn’t made it the goal — so I just found a rock and sat quietly for a while before turning around.

Every summer, far before autumn actually begins, I see the early signs of the coming seasonal change. I missed the first hints since I wasn’t there in August. (Though I did see a few early leaves change color in Italy at that time.) But on this early September day the signs were all there. The meadows have turned that familiar golden brown color. Red bilberry plants glow in the low angle backlight. Corn lily plants have lost their green lushness and now turn brown and topple over. A few yellow leaves begin to appear on willows, and here and there it is even possible to find a few aspen trees with premature yellow leaves. Less concretely, there is something I’ve never quite been able to define about the light and the atmosphere, though it is plainly obvious to me that it has changed. Summer is ending in the Sierra, and the inevitable arrival of autumn and winter is just around the corner.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Domes, Haze, Morning

Leave a comment
Domes, Haze, Morning
Morning light and haze, granite domes and peaks

Domes, Haze, Morning. Yosemite National Park, California. July 14, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning light and haze, granite domes and peaks

This is a scene no doubt very familiar to visitors to the Yosemite National Park high country, though perhaps fewer would see it at this time of day — I know that when I am out photographing during the early morning like this I am often surprised by how few people manage to get up and see this beautiful time of day! The scene includes domes, mountains, and a bit of forest at the upper end of Tenaya Lake.

The difference here is that I used a very long lens to photograph the scene, thus eliminating the lake and the higher peaks that stand in the distance. The long lens also intensifies the effect of atmospheric haze by condensing it, here muting the details of the distant peak the stands in front of Mount Conness.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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

Desert Spring

Leave a comment
Desert Spring
Pools of desert water reflect sunrise light on distant mountains, Death Valley National Park

Desert Spring. Death Valley National Park, California. March 31, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Pools of desert water reflect sunrise light on distant mountains, Death Valley National Park

Although it is dawn in this photograph, I had already been up and photographing for some time before I took a break to walk along an observation area and next to the highway at this popular location. The pools of water have their source underground at the base of the tall mountains standing behind my camera position.

Beyond the water are salt flats, some in the “classic” flat white style, and others in the inhospitable and rugged “Devil’s Golf Course” style. The foreground water reflects the morning blue sky, and further out it reflects the ridge of the Panamint Mountains on the far side of the Valley.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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