Tag Archives: red

Photographs: Pandemia, Photographs: Urban/Street

Bench and Wall

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Bench and Wall
Postcard from Pandemia: bench and wall.

Bench and Wall. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Postcard from Pandemia: bench and wall.

From the “Postcards from Pandemia” series, another photograph made on one of my neighborhood walk circuits. This route takes me past a location that I knew very well when I was much younger, and when I visit now it evokes thoughts about time — how some things have changed a lot while others have changed not at all.

In normal times I probably have not been able to approach this bench at this time of day without raising suspicions and concerns, especially when carrying a camera and making photographs. But the entire area was empty since the shelter-in-place orders had closed it down.

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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Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Perching Finches

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Perching Finches
A flock of house finches perches on utility lines in winter morning sun.

Perching Finches. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A flock of house finches perches on utility lines in winter morning sun.

Looking at this little group of colorful birds hanging out on utility lines against a backdrop of perfect blue sky, you might image that this is a summer scene, photographed on a warm June day. You would be wrong. I made this photograph on a very cold January morning out in California’s Central Valley.

The reason I was there, of course, was to photograph much bigger and more impressive birds — the annual winter migration of geese and cranes and lots of other birds that over-winter here. I had been photographing those subjects since before dawn, and as the morning wore on the migratory bird action was slowing down. I had stopped to look at some cranes, but I looked up to find these wonderful little birds.

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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Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Sunrise, Panamint Mountains

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Sunrise, Panamint Mountains
Sunrise light on teh summit of the Panamint Mountains, Death Valley National Park

Sunrise, Panamint Mountains. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunrise light on the summit of the Panamint Mountains, Death Valley National Park.

This photograph comes from the same spectacular early morning that produced another one that I shared a few days ago. I made this photograph a few minutes later as the first direct dawn sunlight began to strike the peaks and ridges of the Panamint Mountains in Death Valley National Park. This morning was a prime example of the rapid and often surprising transitions that occur at the beginning and ending of the day. When I arrived here well before dawn I could tell it was cloudy, but I could imagine a sunrise ranging from gray and dim to what actually happened. And once the process began and the good light appeared, it was a matter of working quickly over a short period before the light again became more mundane.

The experience of making this photograph (and others in the set from that morning) is also a reminder that in order to experience exceptional conditions you really need to be out there a lot. I’ve been to this location many times, including others when the conditions ranged between “blah” and “lovely, but I’ve seen this before.” If you just go once, you have no idea what you’ll encounter. But if you keep going back, even when you aren’t sure how it will turn out, the odds are that eventually you will encounter one of the outlier spectacular moments.

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

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

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Panamint Sky

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Panamint Sky
Sunrise sky above the Panamint Mountains.

Panamint Sky. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunrise sky above the Panamint Mountains.

This morning, about eight years ago, was one of those that reminds me why it is worth getting up in the darkened driving long distances to arrive at a location before the sun rises. I arrived along the summit of the Panamint Mountains very early, and shortly it became clear that the sky might do something very special. A layer of broken clouds was spread across the sky, perfectly positioned to be illuminated by the first sunlight, and to my north the lines of clouds converged above the horizon.

Several years ago I shared another photograph from this morning — if I recall correctly it was a panoramic format image of the same clouds, separated from this on in time by perhaps a minute. That is, of course, enough to change things considerably in this evolving light.

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.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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