Tag Archives: reflecting

Photographs: Urban/Street

Dog, Pot, and Shoe

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Dog, Pot, and Shoe
A small scene at a reflecting pool.

Dog, Pot, and Shoe. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A small scene at a reflecting pool.

Yes, you can check for yourself. There is a dog. And a shoe. And in the distance a large pot. Image the photograph in San Diego a few years ago. Oddly, I don’t remember making it now.

Recently I was pondering various odd ideas that people hold about photography. Among them is the idea that Real Photographers™ always know before they activate the shutter exactly what the final photograph is look like, that they are utterly certain that is will work perfectly, and that every photograph is made this way. That is, of course, utter nonsense. The truth is that for every decent photograph there are many less successful attempts and often quite a few failures. It is also true that in most arts creativity involves a certain amount of “play” — of trying things to see how they work. Creativity is (and this seems so obvious that I’m almost embarrassed to write it) also an iterative process, where the first attempt is almost never the best one, and good ideas often start out rather weakly. (I make no promises, however, about the future of photographs of dogs, pots, and shoes.)

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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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Talus And Reflecting Water

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Talus And Reflecting Water
Giant talus boulders above reflecting waters of an alpine lake

Talus And Reflecting Water. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Giant talus boulders above reflecting waters of an alpine lake

This is another in a series of photographs I made this past summer that feature raw talus fields (possibly with a lake at the base) in blue early morning or evening shade. For some reason this subject seemed to catch my attention this summer on our almost-annual week in the Sierra backcountry — perhaps because this time our base camp was at a high lake situated at the base of a gigantic field of talus descending from the ridge right above us, and because one of the higher lakes I visited several times also featured impressive talus fields.

This photograph comes from that upper lake, which I had hiked to late in the day in order to photograph a different subject before the last light left the shoreline. Having completed that work — and having lost the direct sun — I turned by attention to the far side of this lake, and inhospitable looking landscape of shattered and tumbled rocks and boulders at the base of a cliff at the edge of the lake. At this time of day, in this light, the colors shift strongly toward blue, since the scene is mostly illuminated by the open blue sky plus a bit of light reflected from nearby peaks. The scene evokes for me a whole series of associations and memories based on decades of travel in the high country — the hollow, clattering sound of foot travel on the loose rocks, the sensation of the rocks shifting beneath my feet, the cold air, and the near complete lack of vegetation other than a bit of lichen.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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: Architecture, Photographs: France, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Reflecting Pool, Structural Components, Skyline

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Reflecting Pool, Structural Components, Skyline
A pool and exterior components of Le Centre Pompidou, Paris

Reflecting Pool, Structural Components, Skyline. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A pool and exterior components of Le Centre Pompidou, Paris

The Centre Pompidou in Paris is a fascinating place in many ways. To start with, there’s a lot going on in the surrounding neighborhoods, the large courtyard in “front” of the building, and inside. The art collection is quite wonderful. And, of course, the building itself is unusual and something of a marvel. It also provides plenty of opportunities for photography.

Many of the components of the building are on the exterior instead of being hidden behind a shell. Architectural structures, stairways, ventilation systems and more are right there for the observer to see. This photograph incorporates some of those structural elements, which form the main criss-crossing form in the image. It may not be immediately obvious, but the photograph was made outdoors and many floors above the ground level. Here a shallow pond reflects the structural elements and a bit of Paris sky, with the upper floors of surrounding buildings filling in the middle of the scene in the distance.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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: United Kingdom, Photographs: Urban/Street

Pedestrians, London

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Pedestrians, London
People walk across a large expanse of concrete reflecting blue sky

Pedestrians, London. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

People walk across a large expanse of concrete reflecting blue sky

It has been a couple of years since I made this photograph, so I may have forgotten portions of the story about its creation. We had been in London for several days (perhaps a week?) and were, as I recall, on our last day before heading on to our next destination. We had some free time, so we headed to the Tate Modern, not really knowing specifically what was showing. We arrived to find that there was a gigantic exhibit of Georgia O’Keeffe’s paintings. We are O’Keeffe fans and we’ve seen a lot of her work, so we were surprised to find such an extensive showing of this American artist… in London. Unfortunately, we had not left enough time to fully appreciate the show, not realizing how big it was, and we ended up hurrying through.

At some point – perhaps while waiting to enter the O’Keeffe show? — we had some free time so we headed to a snack bar, and nearby there was an overlook of the area in front of the museum. Most people probably enjoy the view across the River Thames here (and we did, too) but I was interested in what was happening in the large open area directly below. It was in shade, so the illumination was from the giant blue light panel of the sky. Some very small leaves had fallen and they produced a fine galaxy-like pattern on the surface. People stood about or walked past. I waited for them to arrive in interesting conjunctions and made a few photographs.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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.