Tag Archives: reflect

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sequoia-Kings Canyon, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Lake and Pinnacles, Evening

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Lake and Pinnacles, Evening
Lake and Pinnacles, Evening

Lake and Pinnacles, Evening. Kings Canyon National Park. July 30, 2010. © Copyright 2010 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Evening light reflects surrounding pinnacles in the surface of a subalpine Sierra Nevada lake

This photograph takes me back to a long southern Sierra backpacking trip I took with friends back in 2010 — a trip from which I have recently shared a few other photographs. We entered the backcountry of Kings Canyon National Park from the east over one of the high Sierra crest passes, a few days later crossed another even higher pass to enter the upper Kern River drainage, spent a few days in a very remote portion of this area, and then exited back to the east over the crest by way of one of the more notorious east side passes — not the most notorious one, but definitely on the short list of awful passes… in a wonderful way. ;-)

The lake in this photograph was the site of our first night camp, after we came over that first pass and dropped to this beautiful sub-alpine valley with its lakes, meadows, rocks, and small trees. We settled in to this first camp… and into the familiar and welcome patterns of a long trip into the backcountry. These include camaraderie among friends who have shared many backpacking experiences, purposefully purposeless wandering around the wilderness neighborhood, sitting on rocks and staring, and watching the day transition to evening and then night.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Brick Building, Doorway, Reflected Sky

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Brick Building, Doorway, Reflected Sky
Brick Building, Doorway, Reflected Sky

Brick Building, Doorway, Reflected Sky. Bodie, California. October 13, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The desert sky is reflected in the windows of an abandoned brick building in the ghost town of Bodie, California

I have been to Bodie quite a few times, but I rarely go there anymore unless I think something interesting might happen with the weather. The place is often sun-blasted, with cloudless blue skies, and during the part of the year when it is most often visited it tends to be quite hot and dry. Don’t get me wrong – Bodie is a fascinating place and its story is even more interesting. I’ve visited a number of ghost towns and isolated abandoned structures in the outback of California, and the sheer scope of this ghost town sets it apart, as does that fact that California has worked to sustain it in a state of suspended decay.

We were wandering around the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada and points further east of that on the final day of our five-day “aspen chasing” visit this October. Most often my plans are a bit general and/or flexible, and I like to adapt to changing conditions rather than stick to a preset shooting schedule. On this day we were surprised to find it snowing when we awoke in Mammoth Lakes, and as we left town to explore in an eastward direction we stopped to photograph dawn snow flurries over the Sierra crest. Eventually, after going a good distance out toward the Nevada border, we looped back to the north and ended up in Lee Vining, where we grabbed a (very late!) breakfast at Nicely’s. The possibility of going to Bodie was somewhere on the list of options, but when we continued to see snow falling about the town and clouds to the north and east, we decided to head out there to see what we could find. In the end, there was no snow falling in Bodie – though it had fallen there earlier that day – but it was very cold and very windy and broken clouds provided interesting and changeable light. One of my main subjects as I wandered around the town making photographs turned out to be the doors and windows on the old buildings. Perhaps ironically, given my usual lack of interest in sun-blasted Bodie, I shot this scene in nearly flat front light – but it seemed appropriate for this old and weathered building and the reflection i the old windows of the very blue cloud-filled sky.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Textures, Photographs: Urban/Street

Reflections, Metal Wall, WTC Site

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Reflections, Metal Wall, WTC Site
Reflections, Metal Wall, WTC Site

Reflections, Metal Wall, WTC Site. New York, New York, August 23, 2011. © Copyright 2011 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A metal wall near the World Trade Center site reflects the colors of surrounding buildings and passers-by.

During our recent visit to New York City we spent some time at the World Trade Center site. This is the third time we have been there. The first was right around New Years 2000, when we did the typical tourist thing and went to the top of the WTC at night and looked over the city. It was an innocent time, wasn’t it?

The second visit was not until a year ago after our oldest son moved to Brooklyn and got a job working within a few blocks of the site. After nearly a decade of media coverage of the events of 9/11 and all of the associations connected with that event, walking up to the actual place was a powerful and sobering experience. At that time, there was nothing much to see other than what appeared as a giant empty space occupied by cranes.

This year things were different in many ways but the same in many others. The area is now a hotbed of activity, with impressive new buildings soaring skyward, construction workers and equipment everywhere. From the right vantage points, portions of the site are beginning to show signs of what the place will become when it is finished – we could even see an area where new trees are planted. As we walked a circle around the area though, reminders of what happened there are still to be found, both small and large. The memory of coming upon a nearby fire station with its poster filled with the photographs of scores who lost their lives on that date affects me even now as I write this.

This photograph was made as we walked along what I recall as the north side of the site, past the new tower that is rapidly becoming the tallest structure in lower Manhattan. A busy sidewalk travels through here, squeezed between the construction area and existing buildings. This metal wall was on one of those buildings, and it is colored by reflections of people passing by, buildings, and sky.

G Dan Mitchell Photography
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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Flooded Field and Farm Structures

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Flooded Field and Farm Structures
Flooded Field and Farm Structures

Flooded Field and Farm Structures. Central Valley, California. January 23, 2011. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Agricultural facilities and Central Valley sky reflected in the surface of a flooded field.

This area turned out to be fun place to shoot. It is along a fairly nondescript road that branches off from Interstate 5 midway between Stockton and Sacramento and eventually dead-ends against a levee lining the Cosumnes River. I had been told that it is a good place to look for migratory birds – and, indeed, it is. Although it was hard to see them due to the very thick tule fog when I first arrived shortly after dawn, when I came back in the early afternoon the sky had cleared and the many fields, vineyards, and ponds along the road were filled with waterfowl.

I first saw this set of “structures” (silos? Being a “city boy,” I’m not certain of the right way to describe cylindrical storage facilities like this) as I drove out from Interstate 5 towards the river. They make for quite a striking sight – they are quite large, they are tall and the tower above is even taller, the brick colored roofs stand out against the other colors, and they are reflected in the still water of surrounding ponds. It was on my way back past them that I saw the view over this pond. I had just stopped to make another photograph of the ponds and I thought I was finished for the day – my thoughts were getting back to the highway and heading home. But I decided to walk down to a levee that let me place the structures and their reflections across the water and surround the image of the building and the thin horizon line with sky above and below.

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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.