Tag Archives: shadow

Photographs: Structures and Objects

Nested Orange Bowls

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Nested Orange Bowls
Two nested orange ceramic bowls.

Nested Orange Bowls. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Two nested orange ceramic bowls.

This is actually a “spring” season photograph — I’ll explain. Recently we took advantage of a break in the California storms to visit a large garden. It comes alive this time of year, and right about now various colorful bulbs are blooming. I’ll share some of those photographs soon, too. The bowls are actually large garden pots for plants that I spotted as we walked though a small shop on the way into the garden.

When Im visually “on” I start to see things like this everywhere. This subject appeals to my natural interest in forms, colors, and textures — something that I think underlies a lot of my photography, even when the apparent subject is the landscape, wildlife, or city subjects.

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: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Dune Patterns, Evening

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Dune Patterns, Evening
Evening side-light highlights the textures of san dunes, Death Valley National Park.

Dune Patterns, Evening. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Evening side-light highlights the textures of san dunes, Death Valley National Park.

What photographic visit to Death Valley would be complete without at least one photograph of sand dunes? I did not devote much time to that subject on this visit, but I did spend an evening among the dunes, arriving before sunset and continuing to photograph into the early dusk, when I could work with softer light.

In this location the direct light ends a bit before the actual sunset time, since a range of tall mountains stands to the west, casting long shadows across the dunes. After photographing there for years, I’m still surprised when these shadows arrive and suddenly the light is gone. I made this photograph during the brief window of golden hour light just before that happened.

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.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Urban/Street

Green Door, Evening

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Green Door, Evening
A weathered green door, a green wall, a sidewalk — evening light.

Green Door, Evening. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A weathered green door, a green wall, a sidewalk — evening light.

First, a brief description of the photography, and then another reason that I am posting it today. I made the photograph on one of my daily walks — I try to get out and cover various routes in a radius of a couple of miles or so that add up to between 3 and 5 miles on a typical day. I always carry a camera, even though I don’t take it out on most of the walks. I’ve been past this old building quite a few times, but today I saw this door for the first time, so I stopped to photograph its worn and tilting form.

The other reason this photograph is here is that it comes from what is for me a photography tradition: the process of getting up to speed on a new camera. I usually avoid upgrading cameras too frequently. There are many reasons, but one is that I depend upon knowing a camera’s interface to the point where operation is intuitive. But eventually I do get new cameras. This was the first walk with the new Fujifilm XT5, which is going to replace the (fine) XPro2 that I’ve been using since that camera was introduced. I won’t go into the technical details at this point, but so far I’m liking the camera a lot.

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 | Twitter | 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: New York City, Photographs: People, Photographs: Urban/Street

On Patrol

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On Patrol
A serious-looking New York policeman standing against a sunlit wall on Fifth Avenue.

On Patrol. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A serious-looking New York policeman* standing against a sunlit wall on Fifth Avenue.

By now, I almost feel like I know this officer — since I have shared two previous photographs of the guy. The fact that I have so many is indicative of his, uh, relatively low level of active patrol efforts. To be fair, it was a nice sunny spot, and if I were him I probably would have lingered there, too. Plus it was a great spot from which to watch the Columbus Day parade passing by.

Although he didn’t move more than a couple of feet while I watched him, he did engage with his surroundings. I watched a back-slapping exchange with a passerby that he seemed to know. He was observing, and at one point he was aware that I was photographing. His demeanor has changed a bit in this photograph. In the earlier version his legs are crossed and he’s actually leaning on the wall. Perhaps I made this after he saw me? Now he stands erect, looking intently into the street scene.

*Update: I originally referred to the subject as a “NYPD” officer. Several people who are more familiar with that subject than I suggest that he may actually be a private security guard. I’ve altered the description here to account for that.

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 | Twitter | 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.