Tag Archives: tall

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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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


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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.

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

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

Cottonwoods and Red Rock Canyon

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Cottonwoods and Red Rock Canyon
An old cottonwood and a grove of smaller trees in front of the sandstone walls of Zion Canyon.

Cottonwoods and Red Rock Canyon. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An old cottonwood and a grove of smaller trees in front of the sandstone walls of Zion Canyon.

There are at least two stories behind this photograph — maybe more. The first one involves a situation familiar to many photographers. When we go into these places carrying a backpack of gear, with a big camera on a tripod hanging over our shoulder, we aren’t exactly in stealth mode. And because lots of people in such places are trying to figure out how to make photographs to record their wonder… sometimes our presence draws them in our direction. I had wandered over to the bank of the Virgin River to photograph something and, sure enough, lots of other folks started showing up in what had been a pretty empty spot. I finished photographing there and headed back toward where I came from, looked back, and saw this big old tree towering above and decided it was worth a photograph. But now there were a few dozen people among those trees!

I made a mental note to remember the tree and come back to it later on as I continued up the canyon. When I did return the crowd had departed and I was able to get the scene I wanted. I’m generally not big on shooting with wide angle lenses, often preferring to limit the composition by using longer lenses and their narrower angle-of-view. But in the confines of a red rock canyon, a large tree like this cottonwood often towers above you, even if you have some space to move back. These big, old cottonwood trees fascinate me, and their varieties of form and setting seem almost infinite.

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.