Tag Archives: sky

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: New York City

World Trade Center and Oculus

July 17, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

One World Trade Center flanked by building and part of the Oculus structure

Any commentary on a photograph from this location could easily expand to a chapter or more of text, but I’ll attempt to keep it to my usual two paragraphs. If you take the MTA E line spur to the WTC you emerge to more or less this view, one that has changed continuously for the past decade and a half — beginning with the events of September 2001, continuing in the aftermath of clean-up, followed by a long period of monumental construction work, and now beginning to look relatively complete. We did not visit the site for some time after the towers were destroyed, but I recall that our first visit was still a powerful experience — most of all I recall turning a corner and seeing a wall of photographs of FDNY victims.

Today the site, while still carrying the memories of the 2001 incident, begins to feel more and more like it is becoming a finished place and less like it is a perpetual construction zone. The huge Oculus structure now houses the PATH terminal and plenty of businesses. In this photograph its striking, skeletal form intrudes into the frame from the left, and dramatic clouds from another New York summer day are behind the new Trade Center building.

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

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

Southwest Sky

June 29, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Morning clouds above the landscape of Capitol Reef National Park

On this October morning we were up early, but not quite early enough — though it turned out fine in the end. We awoke before sunrise, with a plan to head down along the east side of Capitol Reef National Park along the Waterpocket Fold. We hoped to be a good distance down this route when the sun rose, but we got up later than expected. We were far from our goal when the dawn arrived.

Our location was, in some ways, not the spectacular sort of place that we had envisioned for sunrise. However, there were absolutely beautiful clouds to our north, and the dawn light’s color could probably make any subject look good. So our immediate goal became quickly finding any place that looked like it might have photographic potential — and to find it NOW! Within a few minutes we found a short side road, drove a short distance to a hilltop, parked, and piled out of the vehicle, more or less already in the act of setting up tripods and cameras. We had only a few moments on special light on the clouds before it began to fade to daytime light.

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

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: France, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Eiffel Tower, Clouds

June 12, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Thin clouds in bright summer sky above the Eiffel Tower

It was Paris, so I had to photograph the Eiffel Tower. It is expected of me. It is an iconic site and it is impressive in person. But I found it to be a difficult photographic subject. It is easy to photograph it, but I found it tricky to find a way to not just make a picture of the Eiffel Tower. (On the other hand, I did almost exactly that on one evening late in our visit when we had a view from an upper story towards to tower as it got dark and the lights on the tower were illuminated.)

In any case, I decided to try some relatively tightly cropped photographs of the structure, some of which were much tighter than this one. But I got lucky, and some thin, fluffy clouds floated over in the midday light, producing a soft and glowing quality in the sky, and this seemed to contrast nicely with the start, strong, and dark form of the tower.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Moonrise, Sierra Wave Cloud

June 7, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A Sierra wave cloud stretches south along the Sierra Nevada crest as the moon rises.

Spend a bit of time — or a few decades — in and around the Sierra and you begin to be able to anticipate certain events. Nothing is a sure bet when it comes to predicting spectacular visual conditions, but some signs make it very likely that your efforts may be rewarded. The “Sierra Wave” cloud phenomenon is one such condition — common, easy to spot once you recognize the signs, and having the potential to produce very special photographic opportunities.

As on this evening, it often begins subtly. The line of clouds is produced over the crest or on its leeward side as moisture-laden air passes above the crest. The clouds can extend many miles north and south and sometimes stack up in layers. During the day they are impressive, but it is at dusk (or, rarely, at dawn) that they excel. After the last direct sunlight has risen above the highest peaks and the sun has set, brilliant red light may illuminate the clouds from the west, producing an almost unbelievable intensity of color. On this evening I saw the potential as I came over Tioga Pass from the east, and I quickly found a place to stop and watch the show develop. The moon above Kuna Crest was an added bonus!

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: sky

World Trade Center and Oculus

Southwest Sky

Eiffel Tower, Clouds

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.