Tag Archives: san mateo county

Photographs: Agriculture, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Looking In

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Looking In
Looking into an old mansion through a screen left ajar.

Looking In. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Looking into an old mansion through a screen left ajar.

We were at this location to photograph flowers, but I almost always keep an eye out for other subjects besides the one I came for. This large public garden is centered around a historic mansion, and at times I found the old building to be as interesting as the flowers that were my object. I noticed that the outer screen didn’t quite close all the way, and then I noticed that a warm lamp was barely visible inside the building. Looking in at the warmly lit interior scene, as vague as it is, evokes memories of such places in the winter.

This is one of those photographs that —once again! — proves the point that we often do not expose for some compromise, straight-out-of-camera shot. instead, I like to think about what exposure will give me the image data that I can use to in post to produce an image that is true to what I saw. Here I had to control the brightness of the exterior — which was fortunately muted a bit as the sun passed behind some clouds —while getting enough of an image in the dark and subtle interior that I could work with it in post.

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

Pink Dogwood Blossom

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Pink Dogwood Blossom
A pink spring dogwood blossom.

Pink Dogwood Blossom. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A pink spring dogwood blossom.

After posting a long string of recent photographs from rugged and arid desert landscapes along with a series of monochrome flower images, here’s something, well, pretty. This pink dogwood flower is not exactly a native plant here, and we photographed the subject at a large garden in the San Francisco Bay Area. (Most of the dogwood photographs in my archive are the nearly-pure white flowers found in the lower elevations of the Sierra Nevada.)

These beautiful flowers were not easy to photograph during our visit. Because the garden is a public place with ticketed access, it was mid- or late-morning by the time we got to these trees. The light was challenging — many flowers were in full sun, and even in the shady areas bright bits of sunlight fell on the scene. So I spent some time looking for flowers in the softer shadow light and then looked for angles that would place them in front of darker and neutral backgrounds.

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

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Photographs: Nature

Succulent Leaves, Detail

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Succulent Leaves, Detail
Black and white close-up photograph of succulent leaves.

Succulent Leaves, Detail. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Black and white close-up photograph of succulent leaves.

There is a tension in photographs between viewing them as “captures” of reality and their ability to show subjects as something other than or in addition to their appearance. One of my favorite observations about photographs comes from Minor White: “One does not photograph something simply for ‘what it is’, but for ‘what else it is’.” To observers who want to “get” photography, I suggest keeping this idea front and center.

You may have seen a plant just like the one that was in front of my lens when I made this photograph. We know that the thing in this picture is very small plant, perhaps of a sort we are familiar with. But the idea here is not to show you “what the plant looks like,” much less “what the plant is.” It is — perhaps obviously! — to suggest that you look at the familiar plant for what else it might be.

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.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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: Nature

White Flower

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White Flower
The center of a white flower.

White Flower. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

The center of a white flower.

This photograph comes from one of our spring visits to a large formal garden in the San Francisco Bay Area. We timed our visit to coincide with the tulip bloom, but there was a lot more to see. While macro photography isn’t my main thing (which is not to say that I don’t enjoy and appreciate it), photographing flowers gives me a good excuse to break out the macro lens and get close.

To be clear, this is not remotely intended to be viewed as a “realistic” depiction of this flower. If anything, it might be about “flower-ness” — the patterns, shapes, and forms of blossoms. You are looking at the center of a larger flower, and one that was actually subtly colorful. My intention was to begin with what the “capture” gave me to work with, and then use that as a departure point for what I wanted this photograph to be.

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.

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. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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