Tag Archives: shadow

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Alpine Lake Reflections

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Alpine Lake Reflections
Morning light on an alpine lake, a tree-covered peninsula, and a shaded talus slope in the distance.

Alpine Lake Reflections. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning light on an alpine lake, a tree-covered peninsula, and a shaded talus slope in the distance.

This photograph takes us back to the northern reaches of the Yosemite backcountry, off of a trail that ultimately heads further north and out of the park. We left the main trail in this area and wandered up into a valley with a series of beautiful subalpine and alpine lakes below high ridges and peaks near the Sierra crests. The group set up camp here and photographed for days.

This lovely lake with its far talus-slope shoreline was moments from our campsite; we photographed it often and passed it every time we went off to more distant locations. Perhaps because it was so convenient, but also because it was so beautiful, we often ended up photographing along its shoreline in the morning. I made this photograph shortly after the sun had cleared the ridge on the far side of the lake, sending beautiful backlight down onto the trees on the peninsula.

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, Photographs: Yosemite

Shoreline and Slabs

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Shoreline and Slabs
Glaciated granite slabs rising from shoreline meadows reflected in the still water of a backcountry Yosemite lake.

Shoreline and Slabs. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Glaciated granite slabs rising from shoreline meadows reflected in the still water of a backcountry Yosemite lake.

This photograph comes from the early morning hours, before the sun had risen high enough above the surrounding peaks to directly light the immediate landscape. The light is soft and blue-toned, the water is smooth, and the entire scene at this backcountry lake was serene. My recollection is that I had been up at the first hint of light, and that I spent the next few hours exploring the periphery of this lake. .

The photograph comes from very early autumn back in 2009, when I hiked in solo to join a larger group of my friends who were starting a weeklong photography visit to this area. I had teaching responsibilities back in the “real world,” so I was only able to remain for a few days before heading out to civilization. I later found out that I has missed some, uh, “special” weather… that brought the temperatures at this location down to about 5 degrees Fahrenheit. Ah, autumn in the Sierra! Most of the time it is pleasant and comfortable, but every so often an early bit of winter sneaks in to bite you!

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: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

560 Blue

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560 Blue
“560 Blue” — A man walks past a blue San Francisco building in morning sunlight.

Let me start by pointing out that this is not the first time I have shared this photograph. An earlier interpretation of it exists using a different aspect ratio. I came across it again recently as I scanned through my old raw files, and I decided to take another look at it. This time I altered the aspect ratio, retaining the original 3:2, though I more typically work with 4:3. This allowed me to include the decorative rectangles at the upper right and left. In addition, as I thought more about the role of the blue color in this photograph I decided to simply remove a few elements that were dissonant with that.

The scene is a San Francisco street, and I made the photograph on one of my day trips up to “The City” by train, something that was a regular photographic event for me prior to the pandemic. I was walking up into the main downtown area from the train station, pausing along the way to photograph interesting subjects in the full morning sun across the wide street. I had already made a couple of photograph of this very blue building when I saw the man walking into the scene.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


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Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Southern California

Walkway, Arch, and Stairs

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Walkway, Arch, and Stairs
Architectural details at Balboa Park, San Diego

Walkway, Arch, and Stairs. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Architectural details at Balboa Park, San Diego

One thing that has fascinated me as I’ve spent more time reviewing old files during the pandemic is the variations in how much I recall about the original experience of making the images. In some cases the recollection is so clear that I literally remember almost everything about it. At the other end of the spectrum are photographs that I don’t even recall making — they come as almost complete surprises now. This photograph lies between the extremes. I do specifically recall this day and the places we visited, but I do not remember making this photograph and I’m not exactly sure of the precise location.

Scenes like this intrigue me, and when I slow down and look I find them everywhere. I could easily walk through here and barely register the surroundings at all, but sometimes when I’m attuned to what I see, such places come alive. There are, I think, some fun visual surprises here. First, note how full the scene is of those black railings — parallel to the walkway at the left, steeply angled upwards beyond the column, and dropping into the scene from the right margin. Then spend a moment trying to make sense of the ways all of the various lines relate to one another. Some (all?) are angled due to perspective convergence (both straight ahead and toward the left) and their actual inclines. There’s more, if you are interested…

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