Tag Archives: people

Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Up The Stairs

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Up The Stairs
“Up The Stairs” — A woman pauses at the bottom of a staircase, San Francisco.

This was one of those unexpected opportunities that make me operate on pure instinct, with almost no time to carefully think about what I’m doing. I saw the staircase in this fascinating light because we were at this concert hall in the daytime instead of at nighttime. I quickly whipped out the iPhone and framed a shot of the stairs. The masked woman — whose presence makes this a very different photograph than it might have been — was completely serendipitous.

We sometimes dismiss iPhone photography as not being serious. Well, some people do — but more and more folks recognize that it has its place. I wouldn’t normally carry a “real camera” to a symphony concert, but I do almost always have the phone. In this situation I was able to deploy it quickly, make a few adjustments, and capture a raw image that otherwise would have escaped.

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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

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Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: People, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Sports, Photographs: Yosemite

Climbing Rescue

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Climging Rescue
A helicopter hovers next to a cliff above climbers in Yosemite Valley.

Climbing Rescue. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A helicopter hovers next to a cliff above climbers in Yosemite Valley.

If you visit places like Yosemite often enough, the sight of helicopters doing rescue operations almost becomes a normal part of the experience. I saw this helicopter parked in a Valley meadow, surrounded by climbing rangers and crew, but I didn’t stop. Instead I went up the road a bit to photograph some spring trees. But soon I heard the thing take off and saw it rise up toward this face on the far side of the Valley, so I quickly swapped in a long lens and make a few photographs as it ferried climbers back and forth.

I’ve watched a few of these operations over my years visiting the park. We once witnessed a rescue off the top of a dome near Toulumne in electrical storm conditions, and a few years ago we got buzzed by a helicopter looking for a missing person in the backcountry. But the drama of “parking” the helicopter so close to the rock face caught my attention here. I kept thinking that it was great that there was no wind! If you look closely you can see a group of climbers on a ledge in the shaded vertical crack system near the right side of the 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: New York City, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Central Park, Spring Rain

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Central Park, Spring Rain
People pause by the edge of a lake on a rainy spring day at Central Park, Manhattan.

Central Park, Spring Rain. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

People pause by the edge of a lake on a rainy spring day at Central Park, Manhattan.

Who says that all landscapes must be natural landscapes? No one, actually, though there is a long tradition (starting way before photography existed) of depicting the landscape inclusive of the human presence: small figures, structures, bridges and roads, ships, and so on. Although I usually categorize my photographs in various ways (if for no other reason than searching is easier), this series cuts across a few of the usual categories.

It was a rainy morning among a series of rainy spring days in Manhattan, and many of us were anxious enough to get out and enjoy New York’s “spring” that we went out even as rain threatened. At times the rain was heavy but mostly it just sprinkled steadily, as it was when I made this photograph, with people standing on the banks of the pond and clouds shrouding the upper stories of Manhattan buildings.

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: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: People In Landscape

Evening Overlook

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Evening Overlook
Two people watching the early evening view of immense desert mountains from a high overlook.

Evening Overlook. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Two people watching the early evening view of immense desert mountains from a high overlook.

Late in the day during my recent Death Valley visit I went to this overlook. It is more typically a place to photograph the sunrise, which comes from camera-left and illuminates the big ridges in the distance. But I had a free evening, not a morning, so I figured it was worth a shot. I arrived before sunset, and I made this photograph before the sun had dropped behind the western ridge, though the haze and high clouds softened the light a bit.

I’ve never been able to quite describe in words the experience of standing on a very high point in such a vast landscape. From here one can look 5000′ down into Death Valley or look 6000′ up toward the highest peak in the Panamint Range and simultaneously feel “on top of the world” and very, very small in the presence of such immensity.

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 | Twitter | 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.