Tag Archives: southern

Photographs: Southern California, Photographs: Urban/Street

Woman on Sunny Bench

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Woman on Sunny Bench
A woman sits on a sunny bench in winter light, Pasadena

Woman on Sunny Bench. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A woman sits on a sunny bench in winter light, Pasadena

We were in Southern California for a family event, staying in Pasadena and filling the open time with various activities — visiting other family members, looking for good places to eat, driving around, hitting a few sights, and walking around in several local communities including Pasadena.

To this Northern California native, there is something a bit strange about Southern California winter, or at least the experiences I have had with it. In my part of the state a typical winter day might be sunny or possibly rainy, with cool to cold nighttime temperatures and cool to moderate daytime temperatures. A truly warm day is a rarity, though there may be some warm hours on a day that is overall cool. But when we travel to Southern California at this time of year we often encounter weather that is actually hot. We did so on this trip, and as we walked along a Pasadena street I made this photograph of a woman in warm weather attire sitting on a bench and soaking up the sunshine… on January 6th.

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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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Photographs: Southern California, Photographs: Urban/Street

It Doesn’t Help And No One Cares

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It Doesn't Help And No One Cares
A scene at a Southern California art fair

It Doesn’t Help And No One Cares. Laguna Beach, California. November 25, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A scene at a Southern California art fair

This is, obviously, not “the usual” around here, but it seemed worth sharing. We were visiting a sort of art fair during a Thanksgiving visit to Southern California. At first I just looked at the arts and crafts, but having a camera in my hand I, of course, started to look at other things and to look at the event in different ways than most people who attend holiday fairs.

I could probably write an essay about this little photograph, but I’ll keep it short. At this mostly happy event, there was, once I looked more closely, a surprising undercurrent of lonely looking people. The man sitting on the bench in the spot of sunlight, hands in front between his legs and head falling to the side, was certainly not the only one. However, the juxtaposition of this person with another man wearing a shirt with the cynical slogan, ostensibly during a “holiday” event, was jarring.

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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Photographs: Structures and Objects

Broom Handle

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Broom Handle
The handle of a broom rests against walls

Broom Handle. Laguna Beach, California. November 25, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The handle of a broom rests against walls

What can I say? It is a broom handle! OK, maybe it isn’t just a broom handle. We briefly dropped in at the Sawdust Festival in Laguna Beach while visiting Southern California over the Thanksgiving Holiday. This is a long-standing crafts fair that, as I understand it, is sort of a “big thing” in the area.

This photograph is a reminder that there is always something to see, especially if I happen to have a camera in my hands. It would have been easy to simply walk past this little vignette, except that carrying the camera gives me an incentive to look more closely at my surroundings. This little alcove was at the back of a booth — I think it may have been one where live ceramics demonstrations were taking place — and something about the colors, the alternating panels with their remnants of paint and clay dust, and the off-kilter broom handle caused me to stop and make a few exposures.

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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Commentary

Sunset Watchers, Griffith Observatory

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Sunset Watchers, Griffith Observatory
Visitors to the Griffith Observatory watch the autumn sunset.

Sunset Watchers, Griffith Observatory. Los Angeles, California. November 28, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Visitors to the Griffith Observatory watch the autumn sunset.

Before this trip to the Los Angeles area, where I’ve been many times over the years, I had never actually been to the iconic Griffith Observatory overlooking the LA basin. That should probably embarrass me at least a little bit as a near-native Californian — but, heck, I’ve been to Disneyland! ;-)

We were actually staying much further south, in the Mission Viejo area, but we decided to spend a day farther north in Los Angeles. We (well, OK, I) wanted to visit a particular photography museum, and we had a restaurant in mind for dinner. In the end, we found ourselves with a bit of extra time and someone picked the Observatory as a good place to spend it. I had not idea it was so popular, and when we got there we found huge crowds — perhaps because it was just about sunset, and there is hardly a better place to be at sunset than here. I made this photograph, shooting handheld in the evening light, and was fascinated by the dense crowd of people packed onto the terraces surrounding the building.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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