Tag Archives: twilight

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

Dome, Last Light

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Dome, Last Light
The last light of the day glows on a granite dome in the Yosemite backcountry wilderness.

Dome, Last Light. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The last light of the day glows on a granite dome in the Yosemite backcountry wilderness.

If your experience with the natural world comes largely from watching media about the experiences of those who travel there… it is possible that your perception is skewed in ways that do not quite correspond to reality. Based on what you’ll sometimes see, you could end up thinking that the wilderness is a wild, thrill-a-minute place full of dangerous animals, daring hikes along edges of cliffs and more — all with exciting, bigger-than-life narration and dramatic musical accompaniment. I admit to occasionally falling (happily) for such illusions, but the reality is a lot different. Most of the time little happens. It is quiet. You are alone with your thoughts. There is time and space to just ponder.

The end of a backcountry day is often such a time, and when it comes — The end of a backcountry day is often such a time, and when it comes — as this scene does — from the end of a backcountry season, it can be even quieter and meditative. As a photographer, the last few hours of the day are often busy times as we “work the light” before it is gone. But inevitably, the light eventually fades, and I’m often left standing quietly and just… looking.

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: Architecture, Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Urban/Street

Skylights, Manhattan

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Skylights, Manhattan
Skylights glow in the gathering darkness on a Manhattan rooftop.

Skylights, Manhattan. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Skylights glow in the gathering darkness on a Manhattan rooftop.

Given the right camera position and the right light, small and easily overlooked bits and pieces of the urban architectural environment turn out to be interesting. I’ve long noted that in dense, urban environments the exteriors of living spaces are often far from attractive — at best they are utilitarian and at worst they can be downright ugly. My theory is that people, for the most part, do not regard the exteriors of their spaces the way we might in space-filled suburban environments. They don’t use these exteriors to present themselves to the world —no gardens, no fancy paint, no cute signs… just the functional and often well-worn necessities.

I don’t know for sure what is beneath these skylights, but I suspect that it could be someone’s living or work space. I’d also bet that whoever occupies the space has little or no idea of what these skylight look like from the outside, and they may not even think about the potential that people like me walk by every day and may look at them. From inside, the skylights are a way to let light in. But at night, to the passer-by, they become a source of light themselves as they radiate outwards.

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: Birds, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Goose Bedlam

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Goose Bedlam
A large flock of geese in twilight flight above California’s Central Valley.

Goose Bedlam. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A large flock of geese in twilight flight above California’s Central Valley.

Today I’m back from what will likely be my last opportunity of the season to photograph seasonal migratory geese here in California. I know that I photographed them on about this date last year… and that about a week later (on March 13, 2020) when I went to look for them they had left. I remember that date well, as it was the last such trip I took for a long time, as California was in the process of entering a fairly hard lockdown as the trajectory of the pandemic became clearer. In any case, these geese should be heading back to the arctic for the warm month any day now.

Near the end of their California visit they seem to become increasingly active, and that was the case this week. Although they did spend time on the ground feeding or settled on ponds, they were frequently in the air. As darkness approached a huge group of them — snow, Ross’s, white-fronted, and probably other geese — was in constant motion in an area of recently cleared fields. I like to photograph them at slower shutter speeds in the twilight since it seems to me that the motion blurring effect may suggest this wild activity better than pure stop-motion.

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.

Photographs: England, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Summer Twilight, River Thames

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Summer Twilight, River Thames
“Summer Twilight, River Thames” — The twilight sky above the River Thames on a summer evening in London.

This photograph comes from the end of a memorable day in London back in 2013. Believe it or not, this was our first visit to that city. We made the best of it, staying there for about a week before departing for other destinations. Various relatives from the US and Europe also showed up while we were there, and it was on this day, if my memory is correct, that the whole gang had finally arrived and met up. We had just had dinner together and were now along the Thames watching the day come to an end.

This photograph brings up the subject of how to interpret scenes photographed in very low light. It was the beginning of summer twilight on this July evening — there was still light and color in the sky, but artificial light was becoming more visible as in became darker. My tendency is to interpret light in ways that bring more of it to the subject, but with night and near-night photography it is easy to go so far that you lose the sense of a dark environment. In this photograph I decided to keep things relatively dark, at least compared to what I could have done, in the hope that the effect would be close to how we would perceive the scene in person.

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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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