Tag Archives: pile

Autumn Leaf Pile

“Autumn Leaf Pile” — A pile of autumn leaves beneath urban trees.

I walk a lot. Most days I try for 4 or 5 miles, sometimes more. I always carry a camera — most often I don’t take it out of my small pack. But other times I spot something that interests me, and I’m glad I brought it a long. When I came across these intensely colorful autumn leaves on the ground beneath a copse of trees, I stopped and spent a few minutes photographing.

In my part of the San Francisco Bay Area, the autumn color season comes late, likely due to our gentle climate. We don’t see all that many autumn leaves here in October, and then things get started later in November. It seems that this year things are peaking right around the start of December. (I like to point out that I can make my “fall color season” go on for months, from the first hints of Sierra Nevada autumn color in September, to a few trees that still have leaves on New Year’s Day and beyond.)


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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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Master of All I Survey

Master of All I Survey
A man sits on a bench next to a pile of garbage bags, Midtown Manhattan.

Master of All I Survey. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A man sits on a bench next to a pile of garbage bags, Midtown Manhattan.

It seems like there is always someone doing something interesting, unusual, compelling, typical, or in some other way worthy of attention in Manhattan. I’m not sure if that reflects on the character of the place or if it is simply a statistical matter — there are so many people there that you are bound to encounter, for better or worse, pretty much everything on the human spectrum. It is even possible to find isolated people, not part of any of the crowds that we associate with the place.

I saw this fellow while walking near the UN Plaza. It was morning — on a Sunday, if I recall correctly — and the area was relatively quiet. There wasn’t much of anything going on along this street, but there he sat, alone and not engaged in any particular discernible activity. In front of him was one of the characteristic morning piles of plastic trash bags, a common feature of this city.


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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Autumn Leaves, Yosemite

Autumn Leaves, Yosemite
Fallen big leaf maple leaves along a Yosemite Valley trail

Autumn Leaves, Yosemite. Yosemite Valley, California. October 22, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Fallen big leaf maple leaves along a Yosemite Valley trail

I suppose it would not truly be autumn without at least one photograph of fallen leaves littering the forest floor! I made this photograph on a walk along the south side of a quiet section of trail in Yosemite Valley where big leaf maple trees grow. Along with black oaks and dogwoods, these trees produce some of the most interesting fall colors in The Valley. The big leaf maples often grow among conifers and in autumn their brilliant yellow leaves contrast with the darker and more somber tones of the other forest trees.

Just before I made this photograph I had been looking for the actual trees, and trying to find some that were separated enough from their surroundings to stand out in a photograph. In this particular location that turned out to be difficult. There were some lovely big leaf maples, but the lighting was a challenge and they often were too interspersed with dense forest. At about that point I thought to look down, and I saw thick piles of the large leaves alongside the trail.


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

Dock Structure, Three Ships, and Gull

Dock Structure, Three Ships, and Gull
Dock Structure, Three Ships, and Gull. San Francisco, California. May 9, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of a dock structure, three anchored ship, and a gull along the San Francisco Bay waterfront.

keywords: California, San Francisco, Spring, usa, travel, bay, water, reflection, sun, dock, structure, pile, bird, gull, three, ships, anchor, morning, black and white, stock, waterfront, shore, maritime, shipping, seascape, landscape, scenic