Tag Archives: tree

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

Charlie’s Tree

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Charlie's Tree
“Charlie’s Tree” — Trees growing on the side of a granite dome, Yosemite.

This tree (along with a companion hiding behind it) is situated in an especially picturesque location at the base of a granite dome, where it grows out the upper edge of a pile of rocks. At just the right moment the sun moves around from behind and above the dome and illuminates the tree from behind. (You may have seen this tree in another photograph I recently shared, one that takes a wider view of the scene.)

There are many reason s that I like this tree, but one is that it always reminds me how easy it is to overlook something interesting. It is along a road that I have driven for decades. For years I whizzed past this spot without noticing it at all. Then I saw a photograph of this tree by Charles Cramer, and since then I do notice it. I often stop and look, and if the light is decent I’ll make a photograph or two — but in the end it will always remain “Charlie’s Tree.”

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

St. Pierre Cathedral, Autumn Tree

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St. Pierre Cathedral, Autumn Tree, Montpellier
“St. Pierre Cathedral, Autumn Tree” — A nearly bare autumn tree in front of the St. Pierre Cathedral, Montpellier, France.

This is another photograph from our walk past the impressive St. Pierre Cathedral in Montpellier, France when we visited this past December. Our walk first took us the monumental south end of the cathedral, an imposing structure with two gigantic columns supporting an exterior arch. From there we continued around the east side, where it was still mostly quiet. Rounding the north end, we saw much more vegetation, including this tree with the last few autumn leaves.

I decided to go with a monochromatic interpretation of this photo of a detail of the north end of the cathedral. The main challenge was in how to make the leaves more visible, but we do have more leeway in post with black and white. Here I essentially applied a filter (as we used to do at the time of exposure) to brighten the tones of the leaves.

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

Join the discussion — you are welcome to leave a comment or question. (Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately.)

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(All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.)

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Germany, Photographs: Travel

Pfarrkirche St. Anna

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Pfarrkirche St. Anna, Munich
“Pfarrkirche St. Anna” — Pfarrkirche St. Anna (St. Anna parish church), Munich

We would never have come across this fascinating church if we hadn’t gone out for a walk with Patty’s virtual-German brother and his wife during our December visit to Munich. (they are Americans who have lived and worked in Germany for decades.) They took us on a long, looping walk through some neighborhoods that aren’t exactly tourist hotspots. I liked the juxtaposition of the winter-bare tree and the architecture of the church.

I’m all for visiting the important, popular spots in cities like this when traveling. But we also really like to just get out and walk and discover things on our own. That might not be the best approach if your time is extremely limited, but if you have a bit more flexibility it pays dividends. (By the way, as near as I can tell, the term pfarrkirche more or less means a “parish church” in this context.)

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: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Old Tree at Dawn

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And old wetlands tree at dawn
“Old Tree at Dawn” — An old wetlands tree silhouetted against winter dawn sky and dissipating fog.

This may be the last in the string of photographs from my three days in the Central Valley landscape around New Year’s Day. But no promises — there could be more if I dig back into the raw file archives from that trip. Funny story: When I return from shoots like that I often fear that I didn’t come back with much interesting work. But then, after I start digging into the material, I inevitably find quite a bit of work that I like. I have some theories about why this happens, and at some point I’ll expand on them.

This was a really beautiful morning. Pre-dawn tule fog was not too thick – just present enough to soften the atmosphere. High clouds picked up the colors of the coming sunrise. This old tree sits on the edge of a wetlands pond, and I’ve grown to like it as I’ve photographed it over the years. This time I used a wide angle lens so that I could place it more clearly in the context of the larger landscape and skyscape.

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” from Heyday Books, is available directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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