Tag Archives: sky

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

Lake, Trees, Storm

October 26, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Evening at a subalpine lake on a day of late-season storms

This weeklong photography trip into the Yosemite backcountry this September brought some very strange atmospheric conditions. To begin with, the four-year California drought has deeply affected the Sierra, and by the time we got into the mountains there were wildfires up and down the range. One significant fire was burning no far away inside the park, another large fire burned just outside the park to the north, and a small lightning-caused “management fire” was burning very close to our camp. At least once per day we were inundated with thick wildfire smoke, morning or evening. (We counted ourselves lucky to get a good half day of photography conditions each day.)

Closer to the end of the trip we encountered another weather anomaly. Thunderstorms are not unusual this time of year, and it is even possible to get an early Gulf of Alaska Pacific storm. But instead we got the remnants of the hurricane off of Mexico. When all was said and done we had virtually two days of rain — not the terrible rain that keeps you in at the tent, but the general light rain that eventually gets everything wet, but which also produces some very wonderful effects of atmosphere and light. This evening exemplified such conditions. Beyond the forest ringing out lake the sky included dark clouds and lighter areas where a bit more light made it through, and all of this was mirrored in the calm surface of the lake.

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

Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

The Way (To San Jose)

September 5, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

San Francisco freeway entrance

OK. How to explain this photograph, especially to people who think of me as a “landscape” photographer? Let me start with the basic facts. I made the photograph on one of my regular walks in The City, which almost always start at the Caltrain station and the head off in various directions. On this morning I headed straight north towards Market Street. But “straight” doesn’t mean fast, and I mostly walked slowly and looked a lot — at things that I might not otherwise see. The light was beautiful, with the early morning sun beginning to break up the San Francisco fog and cast soft light on the urban landscape. At one point I passed this freeway on-ramp, with its obvious potential for puns based on an old popular song

Yes. I’m putting off trying to explain this photograph. I’ll just drop a few hints. First, think in terms of landscape, but “urban landscape.” There is no clear line between the landscapes of people and the landscapes of what we call the natural world, and this is just a bit closer to one end of the spectrum. Then, there is that beautiful light and the lovely Bay Area summer morning sky — the same sky that might appear in a natural landscape not more than a few miles away. And I think if you look closer you might possibly find a few little surprises in the photograph that demonstrate that perhaps there is more there than you might first think. Isn’t that a beautiful curve from lower right and up toward the sky? And how in the world is it that the street and the freeway are empty of cars on a weekday morning in downtown San Francisco. Beyond that, I’ll leave you to figure the rest of it on your own…

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

Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Service Station, Billboards

August 27, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Billboards tower over a service station in morning light, San Francisco

There are many kinds of landscapes to photograph, and I like most of them. This one happens to be an urban landscape, a subject that I like a lot. I made the photograph on one of my periodic walks through parts of San Francisco. This one, as most of them do, started at the Caltrain station very early in the morning and headed straight up toward Market Street. This gas station is right near a freeway interchange, and probably ideally situated for people arriving in or departing from downtown San Francisco.

I know that a scene like this may simply baffle some viewers, especially those who are more drawn to nature and natural landscape photographs with their depictions of unspoiled beauty. I understand. But even in the city there is beauty, and the light was especially wonderful on this morning — blue sky with scattered fog breaking up created a soft but still directional quality to the muted light. My eyes first went to the billboards, whose backsides here tower above the surrounding buildings — urban mountains or cliffs, perhaps? But alone they did not seem to make a photograph. But then I saw the light on that wall with the “PRINTING” sign, and the contrast between the blues of the sky and wall and the hot reds and yellows of the corporate colors on the gas station.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Imaginary Landscapes, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Monsoonal Clouds, Pacific Ocean

July 29, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Driving along the central California Big Sur coastline in mid-July we experienced a very unusual coastal summer day. Summers in this area typically feature morning and evening fog and relatively cool temperatures, interspersed with clearer days when the temperatures might rise to near 70 degrees. But for a few days this July, California was affected in an unusual way by a dissipating tropical storm and the early phase of El Niño, and we had unusual light and atmosphere. There were thunderstorms, some of them quite heavy. The ocean was smoother than usual and the swell came from the south rather than the north. Layers of monsoon clouds filled the sky.

This photograph belongs to what I categorize as both minimalist and imaginary landscapes. I wrote more about this in my previous post, so I’ll keep it short here. The idea is to work with simple materials and often not with an obvious central subject, to focus on some kind of subjective reality rather than creating the illusion of objective depiction.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: sky

Lake, Trees, Storm

The Way (To San Jose)

Service Station, Billboards

Monsoonal Clouds, Pacific Ocean

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