Tag Archives: photo

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Building Clouds, Upper Young Lake

September 23, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Black and white photograph of clouds building in the sky above Upper Young Lake and Ragged Peak, Yosemite National Park.

Young Lakes in general, and the upper lake specifically are among my favorite places in the Yosemite back-country. This little Basin has a lot to offer, especially to photographers. For one thing, it is almost completely open to the west and late day light, and the upper lake is one of my favorite places to be as a summer evening comes to an end. (There is, of course, then the matter of the typical walk back to my campsite at the lower lake in the near darkness, but that just adds a bit of adventure.)

If I recall correctly, this was one of those days when I did not quite predict the weather accurately. I saw these beautiful clouds beginning to build fairly early in the day, but figured that I’d have plenty of time to get to the upper lake and perhaps even investigate some areas beyond before the weather got “interesting,” so I headed off without any real rain gear. (You know where this is leading…) Here at the upper lake, the clouds don’t look bad at all – definitely in the “interesting” category, but not all that threatening. With that in mind, after shooting here a bit I headed on up above the lake to check out some higher ridges and so forth that I’d been thinking about visiting.

Much to my surprise, within a few the wind picked up and giant raindrops began to fall. I heard a few claps of thunder. And there I was at timberline without any rain protection at all. Needless to say, I high-tailed it back down, stopping briefly to get a bit of shelter under a tree near the middle lake. Arriving back at my camp, I had the ever-so-fun opportunity to practice the skills of a somewhat wet me into my bivy sack without totally soaking my sleeping bag…

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Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Fire Escape Ladder, Brick Building

September 22, 2011 G Dan Mitchell 5 Comments

On the final morning of our August (2011) visit to New York City, we took the subway down toward the lower end of the island to meet our son – the plan being to walk though Soho and (I think) the West Village, ending up at a gallery in Chelsea. After taking care of the most pressing bit of initial business – coffee – we wandered on through Soho… and I think this photograph was made there.

New Yorkers undoubtedly know exactly is going on with this light, but for the rest of the world… the morning sun was passing through a relatively narrow gap between buildings to strike this brick wall and partially pick off this green emergency exit zigzagging down the front of this building. In a lot of ways, this isn’t totally different from shooting natural landscapes – go out early, look for interesting subjects, find good light, make photographs. It isn’t totally the same – duh! – either. Not only can you walk here from coffee, but we (my son and I) shot without tripods, and I stuck to a single 50mm prime to keep things simple.

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Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Driveway and Brick Homes

September 20, 2011 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Black and white photograph of a concrete driveway between tightly-spaced brick homes, New York City.

I’m actually not precisely sure where in Manhattan this scene is any more. We were walking somewhere towards Chelsea when we passed through a little neighborhood of brick homes, and I just happened to notice this little scene as we walked past. Aside from plastic trash receptacles with plastic liners and the air conditioners, I don’t think there is much in this scene to date it, which is one of the reasons that I chose to go with a black and white rendition.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Autumn Color, Yosemite Valley

September 19, 2011 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Autumn colors on trees and meadows, Yosemite Valley.

These colors are a feature of late October and perhaps the very beginning of November in Yosemite Valley. In the right conditions, the browns and golds and oranges of these drying meadows and the leaves of these trees can be almost as spectacular as any other fall foliage.

A few years ago I discovered that here in California I can sustain the fall color season for months if I just look in the right places. What it might lack compared to the intensity of east coast hardwood forests, it makes up for in variety and length. I can often find early signs of the approaching fall by the beginning of September or even the end of August in the higher portions of the Sierra, as certain plants complete their growth cycle and start to die back. (Even in the coast ranges, there are a few trees that can get “fall” color during the heat of August.) By late September the pattern is clear at all high elevation locations in the Sierra, and then the tremendous aspen color show begins close to the start of October, extending a good way through the month. After that the lower elevations hills and mountains start to change – and that is what we see in this photograph from Yosemite Valley at 4000′ of elevation. But closer to sea level in the San Francisco Bay Area and elsewhere the show is still to come, and colors can continue all the way through November if you know where to look.

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Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.