Tag Archives: photographer

Photographs: People, Photographs: Photographers

Photographer Charles Cramer

Image Leave a comment
Photographer Charles Cramer
Photographer Charles Cramer setting up a display for a reception to follow an August 16, 2015 concert

Photographer Charles Cramer. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Photographer Charles Cramer setting up a display for a reception to follow an August 16, 2015 concert.

This photograph of Charles Cramer is perhaps a bit unusual in several ways. I made it while Charlie was setting up (or taking down?) a display of a number of his photographs at a concert he gave in the South Bay Area. (Many of you reading this are likely to be aware of his photography, but perhaps not everyone knows that he is also an accomplished pianist and organist… and even a choir director!) The pose is perhaps not typical for a photograph of a “landscape photographer,” either as he is a) indoors and b) setting up a light stand! (The purpose of the stand is to illuminate prints for display in this case.)

We count ourselves lucky to know Charlie and to have known him for some time. (He played at our wedding, believe it or not.) He has also graciously shared his photographic knowledge with us in a number of ways. I often tell the story of how I finally got up to speed on my conversion to digital photography. I had been using digital cameras for a while, and I had purchased an early digital printer, but the results were just not what I hoped for and I was getting frustrated. I contacted Charlie to ask for some advice — should I take a class? sign up for a workshop? read a book? something else? He replied and basically said, “Come over and bring a few files.” I did, and in the several hours he spent with me on these files I learned (as I often say) “90% of what I needed to know about digital post-processing and printing” — and for that I am forever grateful!

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 | Facebook | Email

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

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: People, Photographs: Photographers, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Photographer Charles Cramer

Image 2 Comments
Photographer Charles Cramer
Photographer Charles Cramer at work in the John Muir Wilderness backcountry

Photographer Charles Cramer. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Photographer Charles Cramer at work in the John Muir Wilderness backcountry.

Photographer Charles (“Charlie”) Cramer at work in the High Sierra of the John Muir Wilderness Area. A group of us spent a week base-camped in a particularly scenic portion of this wilderness area, heading out each day to find and photograph the abundant and beautiful subjects present here – ranging from the intimate (wlldflowers) to the monumental (the peaks of the Sierra crest).

The pace and nature of the work in a place like this might surprise those who haven’t experienced it. Many years ago, when my orientation to the backcountry was via long pack trips on which I moved every day, I worried that I would become bored if I stayed in the same place for more than a night. After years of doing just that, I realize how completely wrong I was. We can easily find a week’s worth of things to investigate and photograph in such places, and at the end of each trip I invariably end up wishing I could stay longer!

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 | Facebook | Email

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

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: People, Photographs: People In Landscape, Photographs: Photographers, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Scott Miller Heads To The Office

Image Leave a comment
Scott Miller Heads To The Office
Photographer Scot Miller on his way to work in the John Muir Wilderness

Scott Miller Heads To The Office. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Photographer Scot Miller on his way to work in the John Muir Wilderness.

One fun (and useful!) aspect of photographing the backcountry with other photographers is that a) we occasionally find a human figure in our landscapes to provide focus, and b) we make photographs of one another! (Some of the photographs of me on this website were made by folks including Patty Mitchell, Scot Miller, Charles Cramer, Michael Frye, and more.) In this photograph, Scot Miller is traversing the edge of a beautiful, high Sierra Nevada meadow as the golden hour begins.

Photographing in the backcountry is perhaps not quite what folks who don’t do it may imagine. I suspect that they might imagine non-stop ecstasy in such surroundings, and days or weeks of ease and joy. Parts of that are true — it is hard to imagine a more beautiful sort of location, and there are utterly sublime moments. Yet, truth be told, it isn’t like that quite all the time. There are long, difficult climbs to get to locations, the physical toll can occasionally be daunting, hiking with a lot of gear in pack and over the shoulder isn’t always a walk in the park, and the light is not always astoundingly beautiful. In short, it is actual, real work that requires focus, intensity, and dedication. Ah, but I’m fortunate to get to work with some wonderful folks, and when it pays off… :-)

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 | Facebook | Email

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

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Photographers, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Keith Walklet, Yosemite Backcountry

Image Leave a comment
Keith Walklet, Yosemite Backcountry
Photographer Keith Walklet hikes past subalpine lakes in the Yosemite National Park backcountry.

Keith Walklet, Yosemite Backcountry. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Photographer Keith Walklet hikes past subalpine lakes in the Yosemite National Park backcountry.

This is an extra fun post for me to share because it ties a whole bunch of strings together — and it somehow manages to memorialize literally the first instant of my friendship with Keith Walklet. Back n 2008 I had heard from Charles Cramer that he and a group of fellow photographers would be spending a week or so in a Yosemite backcountry location that was very familiar to me, as part of a long term project that took them into the backcountry to make photographs every year. I mentioned that I might just backpack in on my own and look them up. I arrived in the neighborhood, but couldn’t find them, so I went ahead and set up my own solo camp and got to work exploring and photographing. A day or two later I was descending cross-country from a high, rocky lake when I spotted a heavily-laden figure coming up the valley, skirting a lake and heading my direction. Judging from the absurdly large load he was carrying I knew it was either an overburdened backpacker… or a photographer. I suspected the latter.

I quickly made a couple of exposures as he approached — mostly thinking that the figure in this landscape might be interesting. I made this photograph less than a minute before our first meeting. I had never met him, but I guessed he might be part of Charlie’s group and he confirmed. We spoke a bit — I don’t recall many details of the conversation aside from finding out where they were camped and that he was probably heading to the lake I had just left — and then I continued down canyon as he continued up. A day later I caught up with the group at their camp as I began my walk back out to the trailhead. This was the end of my trip, but it was the beginning of a longer, fulfilling journey with this band of friends: Keith, Scot, Mike, Karl, Charlie, and occasionally others. The next summer I hiked in to meet them for a couple days at their next location. The summer after that I still went in on my own, but walked with them and camped with the group for several days. And the next summer I began to participate in these wonderful expeditions every summer, spending a week or more in the glorious Sierra backcountry with a wonderful group of photographers and friends. (And, yes, we’ll be doing it again later this summer. I’ll perhaps have more to say about that later this season.)

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 | Facebook | Email

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

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