Tag Archives: shadow

Wall and Shadows, Interior Detail

Wall and Shadows, Interior Detail

Wall and Shadows, Interior Detail. San Francisco, California. July 20, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Photograph of shadowed wall in a sunlit interior space with diagonal forms in downtown San Francisco.

For better or worse, I almost never discard my RAW files – I have tens of thousands of them on my hard drives. The way I look at it, hard drives storage space is cheap, and I know that I occasionally find an interesting photograph among some of the older stuff. This week I’ve been dealing with “computer issues” – installing a new hard drive, changing my backup strategy, and giving the Lightroom beta a try. Setting up Lightroom involved importing tens of thousands of images into that program’s environment, and along the way I saw some older stuff appear including a series of photographs I made while walking around in San Francisco three years ago. I remember being interested in this one back then, but it simply fell off the “to do” list as I worked on other things.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

keywords: wall, window, board, diagonal, light, shadow, reflection, shape, structure, interior, building, downtown, san francisco, california, usa, architecture, vertical, horizontal, urban, street, city, travel, form, detail, stock

Backlit Forest and Shaded Cliff

Backlit Forest and Shaded Cliff

Backlit Forest and Shaded Cliff. Yosemite Valley, California. November 1, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Backlit forest and shaded cliff face in Yosemite Valley, California.

This is another midday photograph from Yosemite Valley, something that seems to be a bit more possible in the autumn and winter seasons when the sun never gets too high in the sky, and it is possible to find shadowed sections of the surrounding cliffs as background to the interesting lighting on the trees. Here a few trees with autumn colors are framed by backlit and almost perfectly “Christmas tree shaped” trees and backed by a dark and shaded portion of the wall along the south side of the Valley.


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.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


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

Rocks, Spray, and Gulls – Punta de los Lobos Marinos

Rocks, Spray, and Gulls - Punta de los Lobos Marinos

Rocks, Spray, and Gulls – Punta de los Lobos Marinos. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. November 22, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two gulls on offshore rocks, engulfed in ocean spray and illuminated by the light of the setting sun, Punta de los Lobos Marinos, Point Lobos State Reserve. California.

Shooting almost directly into the setting sun, I photographed the wild spray as a weather front departed, leaving waves, wind, and spray it its wake. I was amazed that the two birds remained perched and completely immobile as the wind and surf raged around them.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

keywords: point, lobos, state, park, reserve, carmel, monterey, peninsula, big, sur, california, usa, ocean, sea, pacific, coast, shore, scenic, stock, travel, nature, sea, gull, bird, spray, mist, punta, de, los, lobos, marinos, rocks, island, sunset, light, gold, orange, silhouette, shadow, light, beam, foam, wave, suff, chop, water, stock

Glacier Point Geology Hut, Early Morning Light

Glacier Point Geology Hut, Early Morning Light

Glacier Point Geology Hut, Early Morning Light. Yosemite National Park, California. November 1, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early morning light on the Glacier Point Geology Hut, Yosemite National Park, California.

I love photographing at Glacier Point just before and right around sunrise. Despite the challenge of shooting into the bright sky and rising sun to the east, several subjects here can be compelling in the early morning: the first light striking Mt. Hoffman, light beams coming over the Sierra crest, and especially the very first direct light to strike the trees along the ridge at Glacier Point and open to the light from the east. Not only that, but if you go at the right time you have have the whole place nearly or entirely to yourself. I often go there when I visit in autumn and a quiet November morning there is very special.

I had more or less “worked the scene” of the first light hitting Hoffman, North Dome and surrounding peaks before I made this photograph. I basically turned my camera around to point the opposite direction and repositioned the tripod a bit to frame this stone building and include the light on its eastern face.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

keywords: yosemite, national, park, california, usa, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, ridge, valley, forest, rock, granite, stone, geology, hut, building, fence, railing, roof, wall, morning, light, dawn, early, glacier, point, scenic, travel, nature, landscape, shadow, door, window, arch, tree, bush, black and white, monochrome, stock, sky