Tag Archives: tall

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Tall Autumn Aspen Trees

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Tall Autumn Aspen Trees
Tall aspen trees with long, white trunks on an Eastern Sierra Nevada hillside.

Tall Autumn Aspen Trees. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Tall aspen trees with long, white trunks on an Eastern Sierra Nevada hillside.

The large grove of which these trees are a part is one that I’ve photographed for a long time. For the Sierra, it is a very large expanse of aspens, and they rise from a valley up the lower slopes of rock-strewn mountains. Most of then I have photographed them earlier in the season where the more colorful trees are mixed in with trees that are still green. But this time I visited later in October, and virtually the entire hillside was yellow, gold, and red. Note also the tall and straight aspen trunks — many Sierra aspens are much shorter.

I photographed these trees, as I often do, in soft, shaded light. The sun had not risen above the ridge behind them, so there were still fully in shadow — though the sunny edge of that shadow was rapidly approaching as I worked! Photographing aspens in these conditions reveals the difference between our own visual perception and what the camera “sees.” Looking at the scene you would say you saw colorful aspen leaves and white or gray trunks. But a photograph made in these conditions renders the trunks intensely blue. So the photographer faces a quandary for which there are several possible answers. One is to “go with the blue,” with the risk that viewers will be struck by what seems like unnaturally intense blue tones. Another is to shift the yellow/blue balance in post to produce something that better approximates the experience of looking directly at the trees.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: France, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Two pedestrians, Sidewalk and Buildings

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Two Pedestrians, Sidewalk and Buildings
Two pedestrians stroll past buildings in Le Marais, Paris.

Two Pedestrians, Sidewalk and Buildings. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Two pedestrians stroll past buildings in Le Marais, Paris.

I went back and forth on whether this should be a color or a black and white photograph. (We’re so lucky today that we can make this kind of choice after pressing the shutter release!) In the end, everything about the scene seemed to me to call for monochrome… though I did have to give up the colors of the flowers growing in the row of window boxes.

I think this is one of those “photographs of nothing special” that evokes the feeling of the place. I have nothing at all against specialness in a photograph — it is often something to strive for! — but that can give us a less than true sense of the subject. This photograph is also an example of how being ready to “capture” a fleeting moment is so important in street photography… and, for that matter, in many other sorts of photography too.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

right 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Dune Summit

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Dune Summit
“Dune Summit” — Sand slopes leading to the summit of tall sand dunes.

After sharing a lot of color photographs from Death Valley (along with one or two in monochrome), this one seemed to work best in black and white. It might seem counterintuitive to those who associate black and white with old-school “realism,” but monochrome often allows and even demands greater levels of “manipulation” than color and is even further removed from that illusive concept of realism. (Hint: The world is not monochromatic!)

Working in monochrome allowed me to produce a high key version of the subject, a layering of dune lines and curves leading toward the highest peak. Overall the image is rather light, but I was able to emphasize some of the darker textures, too. (Because the image is light, gray can almost imply black.)

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Dunes and Blowing Sand

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Dunes and Blowing Sand
Streamers of blowing sand from a rising dust storm along the edges of a tall sand dune.

Dunes and Blowing Sand. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Streamers of blowing sand from a rising dust storm along the edges of a tall sand dune.

The desert landscape has a way of reminding us how small we are. Sometimes this happens in unexpected ways, perhaps in a moment when the air is still in a quiet, lonely place and a sense of deep time may become overwhelming. More familiar manifestations are common, including such things as the nearly unbearable power of a desert wind storm, or standing on a peak and overlooking hundreds of square miles of what appears to be “empty” terrain.

I photographed these dunes on a windy afternoon and evening. The winds increased as I worked alone At times streamers of sand blew past me, over the lips of folds in the dunes, and sometimes even uphill. I would pause, hunch my shoulders a bit, steady tripod and camera, and resume photographing a moment later. I made this photograph from near the bottom of a tall dune, angling the camera slightly upwards to include its windward face.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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