Tag Archives: shadows

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Mammoth Peak and Ice-Covered Tioga Lake

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Mammoth Peak and Ice on Tioga Lake
Mammoth Peak and Ice on Tioga Lake

Mammoth Peak and Ice on Tioga Lake. Yosemite National Park boundary, California. June 5, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A late winter scene with ice-covered Tioga Lake and snow-capped Mammoth Peak at Tioga Pass, Yosemite National Park, California.

The view of Mammoth Peak from the Tioga Pass area is a favorite of mine, and I rarely cross the pass without stopping to at least take a look. My favorite light on Mammoth Peak comes late in the afternoon when it strikes the peak from the side, bringing the textures into relief, especially when there are still snow patches.

The conditions in this photograph are fleeting, in that the photograph was made during the brief interval between full high-country winter and the “summer” season, during which the lakes quickly become free of ice. On this early June day the late afternoon shadows of clouds and nearby peaks fall across the mostly frozen surface of Tioga Lake which is marked by a few areas that are beginning to melt out.

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.

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Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM at 149mm
ISO 200, f/16, 1/200 second

keywords: yosemite, national, park, sierra, nevada, mountain, spring, nature, california, usa, north america, tioga, tuolumne, lake, kuna, crest, mammoth, peak, snow capped, ice, covered, frozen, pass, road, trans-sierra, highway, 120, sky, clouds, shadows, forest, trees, ice, pond, melt, shadow, reflection, nature, winter, spring, season, thaw, stock, landscape, nature

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Textures, Photographs: Urban/Street

Wall, Door, Handrail, and Shadows

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Wall, Door, Handrail, and Shadows
Wall, Door, Handrail, and Shadows

Wall, Door, Handrail, and Shadows. San Francisco, California. March 6, 2010. © Copyright – all rights reserved.

Photograph of architectural elements and shadows at Union Square, San Francisco, California.

This is a photograph of an interesting (to me, anyway!) juxtaposition of the texture and lines of the concrete wall, the smooth surface and slight coloration of the metal door, the angled shadows from a trellis structure above, and the countering angle of the shiny hand rail. I just happened to notice this as we briefly walked across busy Union Square on this weekend afternoon.

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

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
ISO 200, f/8, 1/800 second

keywords: San Francisco, California, USA, north america, union, square, downtown, urban, abstract, street, cement, concrete, metal, wall, texture, line, diagonal, shadows, hinge, door, handrail, pattern, shape, structure, street, light, stock

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Textures, Photographs: Urban/Street

Worn Windows and Shadows

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Worn Windows and Shadows
Worn Windows and Shadows

Worn Windows and Shadows. San Francisco, California. March 6, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Afternoon shadows fall across worn street-side windows in San Francisco, California.

This sort of window along the sidewalk is common in urban areas like San Francisco, where the occupants of the building want some sunlit but don’t want people walking by on the sidewalk a few feet away staring in at them. (The light glowing behind the glass in the upper left suggests that someone is inside.) I was interested in how worn and grungy the glass has become – it begins with several types of obscured glass, in some of the panes the reinforcing wire is very apparent. They it looks like layers of paint may have been added and partially removed at various times – perhaps the windows were painted out? Perhaps grafitti was partially removed? And more recently someone has added various small paper stickers.

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

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
ISO 200, f/11, 1/60 second

keywords: worn, streetside, street, urban, city, building, structure, pattern, texture, light, afternoon, shadows, panes, frame, brown, paint, cement, obscured, screen, dirty, old, inside, glow, wall, sticker, grafitti, san francisco, california, usa, north america, decay, downtown, stock

Commentary

What Does “Purist” Mean?

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So, let’s say you happen to be spending some time in a popular place doing photography and other things. In the course of your day you wander down to a spot that is very popular with tourists, and you discover an interesting and impressive-looking gallery of photographs. You go inside and read about the photographer – a self-described “purist” who says the photographs show the scenes as they were at the time of the exposures and don’t use fancy and artificial post-processing.

But all but a few of the photographs look like the saturation slider in Photoshop was pushed up to about 100. (OK, I exaggerate… a bit! :-) Highlights in clouds and such are blown out. Shadows are blocked. And colors are pushed in odd and impossible directions.

You understand why such an approach is appealing to folks unfamiliar with fine photographic work, especially when the presentation and pricing of the prints screams “This is Great Photography!” But you’ve seen really, really fine photographs that did not depend on heavy-handed post-processing. In fact, among the photographs in this collection you see a few that take the high road and don’t go over the top, and which remind you of some of those other fine and subtle and sophisticated prints – and which even inspire you a bit.

The artist’s statement keeps coming back to you – the business about being a “purist” and about not post-processing and about presenting in the photographs an unadulterated and real vision of the original subjects.

What do you do? Do you get mad? Do you laugh? Do you try not to think about it? Something else?

Just wondering…

BTW: A few things for the record:

  • I am not criticizing any specific photographer, but rather thinking about an issue that we might all have to deal with.
  • You do not know what photographer (or “popular place!”) I might be writing about – and since the specifics don’t matter I won’t confirm or deny anyone’s guesses.
  • Consider the possibility that I might have just made up the whole story as a literary device for this post… :-)