Tag Archives: usa

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Dry Panamint Flowers

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Dry Panamint Flowers
Dry flowers photographed high in the Panamint Mountains of Death Valley during winter.

Dry Panamint Flowers. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dry flowers photographed high in the Panamint Mountains of Death Valley during winter.

The title “Panamint Flowers” refers not to the identification of the flowers, but to the place where I photographed them, high in the mountains of Death Valley National Park. I was there back in January for a four-day visit. The photography was challenging — conditions were less than ideal — so on several occasions I simply went off exploring. On this day I was way out along a lonely gravel road in the Panamint Range when I spotted an old mining site off to one side. I stopped to take a look, and soon my attention shifted from the historical site to the thousands of dry flowers on the surrounding vegetation.

In retrospect, it was very fortunate that I made this trip in the January. Every year I head to Death Valley around the end of March and beginning of April for that brief interval between winter and the arrival of extremely hot and dry weather. That visit isn’t going to happen this year as national parks are shutting down and we are all sheltering in place to slow the spread of corona virus.

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 and Amazon.

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Commentary

Late-Winter Fiddlenecks

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Late-Winter Fiddlenecks
Fiddleneck blossoms near the end of winter.

Late-Winter Fiddlenecks. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Fiddleneck blossoms near the end of winter.

Two weeks ago — it seems like years now — I made my last pre-lockdown visit to a favorite natural area on Friday the 13th of this month. We had attended our last public event a week before and were already in the process of adopting social-distancing measures — a bit ahead of the curve and a bit before such things were no longer optional around here. On this visit I minimized my contacts, traveling self-contained back and forth so that the only stop I had to make was at a local gas station when I got back home.

The experience was both rewarding and somewhat strange. The main flocks I go to see had apparently departed just a few days earlier. There was almost no one else there — normally a good thing, but strange now. Against that backdrop it was clear that even on this late-winter day spring was arriving. I paused from photographing birds to make some photographs of an exuberant patch of fiddle neck blossoms.

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 and Amazon.

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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.

Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Redwing Blackbird

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Redwing Blackbird
A male redwing blackbird perches on winter vegetation.

Redwing Blackbird. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A male redwing blackbird perches on winter vegetation.

Redwing blackbirds, especially when they flock together, seem like some of the most exuberant birds in my part of the world. On the ideal morning, hundreds (or more!) of them may assemble on a tree or among reeds, chirping and singing enthusiastically… only to suddenly and unexpectedly take to the air in tightly spaced groups whose flight patterns are amazing.

I didn’t have quite that experience on this occasion, but it was still a worthwhile moment. This bird was perched by itself on this winter wetland vegetation. As the male birds do, he was showing off his bright red wing patches as he faced m , with the wetland landscape barely visible in the distant background

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 and Amazon.

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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.

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

Meat Centre

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Meat Centre
Interior of the Meat Centre after closing time, Manhattan

Meat Centre. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Interior of the Meat Centre after closing time, Manhattan.

Businesses like this one, located along the edge (as I understand it) of Manhattan’s Chinatown district, fascinate me. There is often a sort of rough edge about them, but it implies that they are places where real work is done, and not that they are unkempt or that the owners and workers do not care. Quite to the contrary, as I look around this scene I see that essentially everything in it has a distinct place and a real-world purpose.

Technically this is a kind of “night photograph,” since I made the image while walking along a dark street and looking into this and similar businesses. Aside from restaurants and drinking establishments and the ubiquitous convenience stores, most of the businesses like this one were closed or closing. Here, the appearance suggests that the place has been cleaned up and organized at the end of the work day.

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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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