Leaves after rain, and the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens
Just for fun, nature photography from… Brooklyn, New York! I made the photograph at the Brooklyn Botanic (not “botanical!”) Garden during our visit earlier this month. We have various family members living in Brooklyn, so it is a place we visit somewhat regularly, yet we had only been to the garden one or two times in the past. As we arrived it began to cloud up, so we ducked inside, first for lunch and then to visit the O’Keeffe exhibition at the nearly museum.
Inside the museum we were cut off from the outside, but when we exited it was clear that a big line of thunderstorms had rolled through. There was water everywhere as we walked back across the park in the humidity and warmth. Along the way we passed this bed of plants and these beautifully formed leaves caught my attention. The remaining clouds made the light soft, and the water droplets from the rain still covered the leaves.
Evening dust storm and rain in the evening in Death Valley
During the nearly two decades since my first visit to Death Valley I have seen my share of exceptions conditions there — a wildflower “bloom of the century,” snow on more than one occasion, unreal golden hour color, wild animals of various sorts. Once we even photographed wildflowers in a snow storm… in Death Valley. But this day was one of the wildest I have experienced, and the evening was like nothing I had seen or even imagined before. Much earlier in the day we photographed high in the Panamint Mountains, and by the middle of the day we could tell that a big dust storm was brewing. The atmosphere was opaque and glowing, and before long tendrils of blowing dust were passing high above the mountains. By the time we descended back into Death Valley a full-blown storm was underway. I had never seen as much dust or experienced winds quite so strong. In places this was no mere dust storm — it was a sand storm and even a pebble storm on at least one occasion. We finally gave up and headed to Stovepipe Wells and shut ourselves in our room as huge winds howled around the building and sand came into our room through every crack in the door or windows.
Hours later the wind began to subside and a bit of light appeared, so I decided to head out and see what I could find. I took a little-used gravel road up to a high spot overlooking a section of the Valley and waited to see what would happen. The dust storm was stilling in progress, but occasional breaks in the wind allowed me to make some photographs – only to be interrupted by huge gusts and more blowing dust. As the dust storm began to thin a bit it became apparent that there were storm clouds above the Valley, too, and — I’m not making this up! — as golden hour light began to arrive I watched thunder showers begin to drop sheets of rain onto the mountains above the still-raging dust clouds blowing along the Valley floor. “Apocalyptic” was the word that came to mind when I tried to describe what I was seeing. We respond to landscapes in many ways — they can be pretty, beautiful (not the same thing!), quiet, peaceful, static, dynamic, and more. But this landscape and these conditions provoked a powerful mixture of wonder and amazement and a kind of fear in the face of a landscape full of forces that made me feel very small.
A pedestrian walks across a reflecting, leaf-covered sidewalk in rain near the Tate Museum, London
I made this photograph close to the river side entrance to the Tate Modern in London. I like the museum itself, but I also like the surrounding area for photography of people and of “stuff.” Nearby the Millennium Bridge arrives on the shore of the River Thames and intersects with the popular walkway along the river, so there is no shortage of activity or of people, plus there is a variety of architectural and other subjects, ranging from the river and the bridge to downtown London across the water.
This section of sidewalk in front of the museum was wet from the drizzle, and tiny fallen leaves littered its surface. Seen from my elevated position there were reflections from the buildings. I began by photographing a small group of nearby trees, but soon this solitary figure crossed the open area headed toward the building.
A man with an umbrella walks down a rainy London street
Our travel too London was a bit “complicated” this time. We started in New York City, where we had been for nearly a week, and then left for Washington DC, from which our international flight was to depart. (Don’t ask…) Our connecting flight from NYC to Washington was delayed by thunderstorms along the eastern seaboard, and by the time we arrived in DC late that night, our overnight London flight had already departed. We ended up in a (rather nice) nearby hotel, so that we could return to the airport very early for an alternative flight. This flight was on time and we arrived at Heathrow just after sunset and made our way to our hotel in downtown London. We emerged from a tube station… in the dark… in the rain… with cell phones the didn’t work… and not quite sure where our hotel was. Finally we found it, grabbed something to eat and, exhausted, simply went to sleep.
The next morning we started to actually feel like we were in London again, and we went out for a random walk in light rain, ending up on this very narrow street heading toward the Thames. The photography gods must have wanted to reward me for the difficult previous day, and they sent this man in a dark suit and carrying an umbrella down the glistening cobblestone street ahead of us.
Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.
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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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
