The 1 World Trade Center (1 WTC) building under construction on August 23, 2011, New York City.
“When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.” – Ansel Adams
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.
The sky over Northern California, stretching from coastal hills and fog across the tule-fog-filled Central Valley to the Sierra Nevada, New Years Morning.
On New Years Day 2008 I flew to Seattle for a family visit. As we flew out of San Jose and over the hills along the eastern edge of the Bay Area, the winter tule fog was filling the Central Valley and spilling up against the hills, while above and beyond it was a nearly perfectly clear sky. For those who might be unfamiliar with the landscape here, beyond the fog-filled Central Valley, and very far away, the faint dark line of the Sierra Nevada crest is visible, and if you look very closely you may be able to see that the highest peaks are snow-capped.
This photograph has sat in the archive for over three years. I liked the scene but I wasn’t quite sure of what to do with the somewhat odd colors that resulted from shooting though an airplane window and into very bright light. I had considered a straightforward black and white interpretation and, if fact, that is what I was working on when I decided to instead desaturate the image about three-quarters of the way to being monochrome – and for me this seemed like just the right thing and more in line with how I think of the scene now. Another question was whether to clone out the contrail of another plane near the upper left corner. In the end I decided to leave it, for several reasons that I’ll leave to your imagination for now.
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.
First sunrise light on the Minarets, Mount Ritter, and Banner Peak above Ediza Lake, Sierra Nevada, California.
I made this photograph during a long and leisurely pack trip into the Minarets area of the Sierra Nevada near Mammoth Lakes. It was leisurely because I accompanied my brother and his family – and the fact that some kids were on the trip contributed to the slower hiking pace… as did the fact that both he and I wanted to make photographs.
This is a popular and accessible area of the Sierra, and also one that is a bit unusual. Typically the highest peaks of the range are found on the actual crest, but here the Sierra crest is further to the east and rather low, being right about where the Mammoth Ski Area is located. Across an intervening valley – a valley that holds Devils Postpile National Monument – loom the high and jagged peaks of the Minarets, a series of impressive spires, and the summits of Mount Ritter and Banner Peak. While in most of the Sierra the areas to the east of the highest peaks descend rapidly to the high desert, here the areas below these peaks remain very high and provide a different view of the eastern faces of the peaks.
The photograph was made very early in the morning along the shoreline of Ediza Lake on a day when clouds were already starting to build even at this early hour. Yes, there was rain later on!
A man rides an ascending escalator in San Francisco, California.
There is a lot I could write about this photograph, but I think I’ll keep it short and simply describe. I made the photograph in 2007 while on one of my walks around San Francisco – walks that usually start at the CalTrain station and then head off in a variety of directions, almost all of which provide opportunities to photograph the urban “landscape and wildlife.”
