Tag Archives: shadows

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Towers and Shadows, Sunrise

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Towers and Shadows, Sunrise
Red rock towers cast shadows on a cliff face in sunrise light, Zion National Park.

Towers and Shadows, Sunrise. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Red rock towers cast shadows on a cliff face in sunrise light, Zion National Park.

We have not visited Utah since before the 2016 election. I love Utah’s diverse and beautiful landscape, but once the state joined in the process of dismantling public lands I felt that the ethical — though painful — choice was to stay away until things were once again set right. Earlier this month we made it back and I can report that the state is as beautiful as it was before… and that I’m very glad to have been able to return. To a Californian, used to the mostly-gray landscapes of my beloved Sierra Nevada, the technicolor landscape of Utah is a revelation.

This photograph is another intuit combines planning and dumb luck. We got up a bit later on this morning. There was no need to catch the first shuttle into the canyon since our plan was to drive to higher country. This particular subject was on my list of sunrise possibilities, but when we arrived at the spot where I thought I could set up I could not find a place to pull over. That turned out to be good luck, as a few minutes later I figured out that a more elevated perspective was possible a bit further up the road. We found a place to pull over just. before the sun/shadow line reached the pinnacles, and I worked quickly to set up as the light continued to descend. I made a series of exposures starting with the first glimmer of direct light on the highest tower, and then I kept photographing as the light moved lower on the face, projecting the shadows of the ledge and towers on the cliff wall.

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: New York City, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Urban/Street

Windows and Shadows

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Windows and Shadows
The shadows of passing figures on a pair of windows and a wall in Manhattan.

Windows and Shadows. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The shadows of passing figures on a pair of windows and a wall in Manhattan.

This somewhat mysterious-looking photograph comes from a few years back on a visit to New York City. It was late in the day, and we found ourselves wandering along the Highline Park, the elevated park along a portion of the west side of Manhattan. The park wanders past all sorts of Manhattan features — apartments, hotels, businesses, parking, streets, and more. In such places unusual and fleeting lighting effects can occur, some of them as magical as the light I look for in the natural world. Among them is the potential for light to reflect back and forth among multiple reflective surfaces. This often softens the light and directs it into places where you might not expect it. That was the case here, as the light worked its way down into this urban canyon in the same way it does in the red rock canyons of the Southwest.

This photograph also exemplifies why I like to work with small and light cameras in urban environments — rather than using the larger, tripod-mounted gear I often use in the natural landscape. Here things happen quickly, often with little warning, and quickly disappear. Being able to respond quickly is critical, and this ability to work quickly and spontaneously often turns out to be far more important than having larger and objectively “better” gear. The ghostly shadows of the passing figures were gone within seconds.

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

Late Afternoon Shadows, Subalpine Lake

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Late Afternoon Shadows, Subalpine Lake
Long late-afternoon shadows stretch across a subalpine Sierra Nevada lake in the Hoover Wilderness.

Late Afternoon Shadows, Subalpine Lake. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Long late-afternoon shadows stretch across a subalpine Sierra Nevada lake in the Hoover Wilderness.

During mid-July I managed to get to the East Side of the Sierra fora few days of photography, hiking, and camping. Given the complexities of access to Yosemite right now I decided to go elsewhere — even though my usual “go to” for an initial summer trip like this tends to be the Tuolumne Meadows high country. I spent a bit of time in the Sonora Pass area and then headed further south to a location in the Bridgeport/Lee Vining region, where I found a campsite near a trailhead leading to high country lakes.

Since my schedule is prejudiced by my preference for early and late day light, I spent the early afternoon in camp. But by mid-afternoon it was time to load up the pack of camera equipment and head out. My trail passed several lakes as it ascended, each a bit more alpine than the last. At my scheduled turn-around time I reached a meadowy area with running water, several small lakes and tarns, and the small trees characteristic of near-timberline Sierra locations — in other words, my favorite terrain! I paused to make a few photographs there before starting back down the trail. As expected, the low-angle afternoon light began to distract me from hiking, and I stopped frequently. The first stop was at this small, shallow lake where the shadows were beginning to extend across the water.

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: Northern California

Coastal Forest and Clouds

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Coastal Forest and Clouds
Rain clouds begin toi build above coastal forest hills near Ferndale, California.

Coastal Forest and Clouds. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Rain clouds begin toi build above coastal forest hills near Ferndale, California.

On the last full day of our early-June foray into redwood country in far Northern California, we did a longish loop drive out to the Lost Coast via an uncrowded route on narrow and winding roads. It took us from a small town in farm country over forested ridges, eventually dropping to the coast, where if following the coastline south for some miles before turning inland, passing through rural country (and the location of California’s, uh, “newest agricultural area) and emerging through redwood groves near US 101.

This was our first time traversing this route, so there were new things to discover all day and at almost every turn. The beginning of the route leaves typical flat farmland and rises into high coastal hills, where it alternately twists through forest, follows high ridges, and drops into deep valleys. We stopped along one of those ridges in a place where meadows opened the view. The photograph looks to the northwest and the barely visible Pacific Ocean, as clouds began to build toward a few light afternoon showers.

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.