Tag Archives: shadows

4th Street Bridge

4th Street Bridge
Looking across the Fourth Street Bridge toward the lagoon at the outlet of Mission Creek.

4th Street Bridge. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Looking across the Fourth Street Bridge toward the lagoon at the outlet of Mission Creek.

This photograph comes from one of my frequent — or so they used to be — walks around San Francisco. My practice is to head up there on the train, arriving early in the morning, then exit the train station and go wherever seems interesting. On this morning I walked south on Fourth Street, crossing the outlet of Mission Creek (which is now pretty much a small bay) and continuing on into the China Basin area.

These San Francisco visits are among the things I miss during this time of pandemic and sheltering in place. I can literally walk to a train station and then be in the City in one hour in normal times — but right now I’m not about to voluntarily spend a couple hours on a train. Once we get this thing under control (and I’m convinced we will) a trip back up there is high on my agenda.


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 and Amazon.

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Turnstile Structure, Night

Turnstile Structure, Night
An abandoned turnstile structure under security lighting at a closed industrial facility.

Turnstile Structure, Night. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An abandoned turnstile structure under security lighting at a closed industrial facility.

This 2012 day was completely full of photography, starting very early in the morning with coastal redwood forest and ending very late with night photography at this old, abandoned industrial facility along the San Francisco Bay shoreline. That might seem like a rather different pair of subjects, but in my view they all are connected.

Since I have photographed this location for years, I had probably walked past this scene quite a few times without seeing anything in it. But as often happens, on this evening something about it caught my attention. I imagine that this might have once been a busy place, with workers lined up to funnel through the turnstiles — quite a contrast to the scene on this night.


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 and Amazon.

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

Morning Shadows, Panamint Mountains

Morning Shadows, Panamint Mountains
Morning shadows stretch across a wide valley high in the Panamint Mountains.

Morning Shadows, Panamint Mountains. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning shadows stretch across a wide valley high in the Panamint Mountains.

This photograph comes from a wonderful winter week in Death Valley a few years ago. Death Valley has increasingly become another busy national park, especially during the late winter and spring, and even more so during spring break and some of the longer winter holidays. But that had not quite taken off eight years ago when I spent a wonderfully lonely week in the park, having many places completely to myself… and experiencing some of the coldest weather I have encountered there.

I had been up high in the Panamint Mountains at dawn on this morning. After finishing with some photography of a particular subject up there, it was time to move on to the next subject. I headed down a gravel backcountry road, dropping into one high valley, and then continuing into an even larger valley below that. I paused here to look into those two valleys as the rising sun was casting long shadows across the landscape. This place always evokes the silence and immense expanse of this desert landscape.


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 and Amazon.

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

Mustard Canyon

Mustard Canyon
Evening light on the Mustard Canyon area in Death Valley National Park.

Mustard Canyon. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Evening light on the Mustard Canyon area in Death Valley National Park.

This is a place that I photograph from time to time. It isn’t far from spots where I camp, so it isn’t unusual to pass by as I head out or return from some more distant location. A few years ago I stopped and climbed a low hill there late in the day, found it magical, and the hill — which might seem like nothing special to others — is one of my little personal spots in Death Valley. From here the panorama is expansive in all directions, and the slight elevation of the place lets me see even farther.

The view here begins in the foreground with the Mustard Canyon area. The mustard part of the name makes sense — in the ideal light the formations are strikingly yellow. The canyon part seems a bit of a stretch. I’m sure that there is a route followed by water heading out into the valley, but it seems more like a wash than a canyon. The rugged foreground, filled with alternating yellow and reddish material, eventually gives way to giant alluvial fans, and in the far distance the terrain rises to the Amargosa Mountains.


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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | FacebookEmail

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.


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