Tag Archives: recession

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Pacific Northwest

Receding Ridges, Afternoon Rain

October 2, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A passing afternoon rain shower mutes the details of Olympic Mountain ridges, Olympic National Park

I made this photograph on the same afternoon and evening as several of the other Olympic National Park photographs that I have posted recently. We went up to Hurricane Ridge in the late afternoon in hopes of photographing evening light across the valleys and mountains visible from that overlook, and we were partially rewarded. The conditions varied from moment to moment – occasional sun broke through clouds, atmospheric haze thickened and thinned, there were brief rain shows and a rainbow.

When we arrived the conditions were such that we imagined that they could evolve in any of several directions. We hoped for the possibility that the clouds to the west might break and allow light through. We worried that these clouds might thicken and cut off the late light entirely. When rain showers moved across the scene in front of us and dripped a few showers our way we thought that rain might develop. (We did get our light, but only briefly, and not for this photograph.) I made this photograph during that time when rain seemed like a distinct possibility. A semi-transparent curtain of showers gradually appeared over the valleys and range to our south, obscuring the details of the scene.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Tomales Bay Hills, Morning

September 18, 2013 G Dan Mitchell 3 Comments

Early morning light on clearing fog and mist in the hills above Tomales Bay, California

I had headed up towards Point Reyes National Seashore, which is not at all far from Inverness, very early on the cold February morning. I allowed myself to be distracted by other sights on the drive up, and so I did not make my planned arrival on Drakes Bay for sunrise. The sun came up as I drove along the shores of quiet Tomales Bay. Since that’s where I was and the light was interesting, I gave up my early morning plans for shooting along the beach inside the park and instead stopped here to photograph instead. When I got out of my car, I was surprised by how cold it was. It isn’t unusual to have sub-freezing morning temperatures in parts of the Bay Area this time of year, but it is unusual when that happens right along the ocean shoreline.

This photograph might serve as proof of my eligibility for membership in the “Shooting Straight Into the Light” school of photography. (No one who has seen a few of my photographs will be surprised by that, I expect! I’m a big fan of back light and bright light shining through things.) From my shooting position along the shore of the bay I had quite a range of different sorts of light. Looking to my left (north) toward the mouth of the bay, shoreline buildings, piers, and moored boats were well-lit by morning light coming from my right. But looking back up the bay the sun was rising above the Marin hills right in front of me as bits of fog floated in a few valleys and on the tidelands of the bay. It was very, very bright and this light almost completely washed out all of the colors that were so visible when looking in other directions.

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

Fisherman, Ellery Lake, Sierra Crest

August 15, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A lone fisherman casts into Ellery Lake beneath ridges rising through haze toward the Sierra Nevada crest

This photograph includes a subject that I’ve stopped and looked at many time, thinking there must be a photograph in it somewhere – and even trying to photograph it a few times – but never quite figuring out how to see it. Ironically, it was the wildfire haze and smoke that made it work for me this time, as that haze muted some of the over-abundance of fine detail that I think can distract from the larger form in this scene, and which also muted the bright reflections on the water which can otherwise be hard to manage.

I thought of this as monochrome image when I made it. (I don’t always know that at the time of exposure, but with digital we have the luxury of making that decision later if necessary.) My first thought was to make it a “natural” landscape, but I noticed that a fisherman had appeared along the left end of the foreground peninsula. Often my first reaction to the appearance of a person in my landscapes is to wait for the person to move. But I have learned that sometimes a very small figure in the landscape can change the image in ways that seem oddly out of proportion to the size of the figure. Here, especially in a larger print, the little figure against the background of the shining water changes everything, I think. Place the tip of your finger over that person to cover him, and see if you see what I mean. I did also continue to make a few more exposures after he left, but I like this one the best.

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Devils Cornfield, Morning

July 30, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Early morning light on Devils Cornfield and receding ridges, Death Valley National Park

I’m a fan of shooting in the very early morning – what photographer isn’t? – and of shooting directly into the brilliant light of the rising sun, especially when that light shines through an atmosphere containing haze or dust. These conditions appeal to me in a variety of ways. The inclusion of this haze emphasizes the effect of atmospheric recession, and sometimes the most distant elements of the scene can fade to near invisibility as the atmosphere lowers the color saturation and contrast of the scene. Shadows, especially if bit of detail can be retained, can produce dramatic contrasts, and light glancing across the edges of features such as plants can be intensely colorful.

This photograph includes features of a scene that is easily accessible but perhaps one that people don’t often spend much time considering, especially at this time of day. Most photographs of the area that I see are made in fairly normal daytime light or perhaps in the warm and clear light of the evening golden hour. Here I found a slightly elevated camera position and aimed across the tops of clumps of grasses, a small nearby hill, and a succession of higher and more distant ridges leading away toward the mountains along the east side of the valley.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: recession

Receding Ridges, Afternoon Rain

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Tomales Bay Hills, Morning

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Fisherman, Ellery Lake, Sierra Crest

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Devils Cornfield, Morning

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

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