Tag Archives: weathered

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

Sandstone Columns

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Sandstone Columns
Columns on eroded sandstone, Zion National Park.

Sandstone Columns. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Columns on eroded sandstone, Zion National Park.

While the entirely of the Utah landscape (and similar landscapes in the American Southwest) is compelling, for me the main defining feature always seems to be the red sandstone formations. Yes, I know there are other geological wonders, but in so many cases I see those relative to the massive layers of sandstone. Those lovely white strata? Much more powerful juxtaposed with the red sandstone? The beautiful forests? That red is a powerful complement to their color. And on it goes.

So it shouldn’t be surprising that my photographs of the regions from time to time distill down to photographs of that rock itself. It is a remarkable material. Sometimes it is fractured and broken, but it can also appear to be as smooth and unbroken as butter. We say it is “red,” but the truth is much more complicated, and the light affects our perception of its color a great deal. I photographed this small section of a Zion Canyon wall from below using a long focal length that allowed me to constrain the view to a few columns in the diffused and reflected light.

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: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Suburban Fence

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Suburban Fence
A weathered fence along an urban trail, San Jose, CA.

Suburban Fence. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A weathered fence along an urban trail, San Jose, CA.

This is another in the occasional series of photographs from the neighborhood, make while on one of my (almost) daily walks. The walks are not primarily about photography, though I always have a camera with me. They are mostly about “stretching my legs” (for perhaps three to eight or more miles) and clearing my mind. Few things allow the mind to wander productively more than walking.

Years ago I discovered that having a camera in hand can alter the way we (or at least I!) see the world around me. Often when I walk I don’t regard the urban landscape with any great focus, but as soon as I think of myself as a photographer and visual opportunist I start to see things that I had not noticed. I distinctly recall a winter walk years ago when I first realized this. I headed out through the same areas that I see every day… and suddenly I saw all kinds of things that I simply had not paid attention to before: the second story of downtown buildings, shadows on walls, old tiles, patterns in the sidewalk, and more. This more recent photograph features a section of fence that I probably pass once or more per week.

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: Germany, Photographs: Travel

Bavarian Door

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Bavarian Door
Inscriptions and hardware on the of a small building in a Bavarian forest.

Bavarian Door. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Inscriptions and hardware on the of a small building in a Bavarian forest.

Some years back when we visited Europe we managed to meet up with a big group of extended family members near Berchtesgaden, Bavaria, where we rented a big farm house (or so it seemed to us) for a week. In addition to doing all the usual family stuff, we visited a number of nearby sights, from some in Bavaria to the not-too-distance city of Salzburg, Austria.

Königsee, part of the Berchtesgaden National Park was very close by, so we took that famous electric boats up the lake to the landing at Kirsche St. Bartholoma. It was a nice day so we decided to take a hike to the Eiskapelle, a place at the base of a gigantic ice chute coming from the upper reaches of Watzmann, the highest peak in the neighborhood. Along the way we passed this small building, which I think may be a chapel of some sort, and I was intrigued by the rustic metal fittings, the many carvings, and the color.

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.

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: People In Landscape

Abandoned

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Abandoned
Abandoned vehicles at a desert mining site.

Abandoned. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Abandoned vehicles at a desert mining site.

When you travel even a bit in the desert landscape (at least the California version that I know) you will come across evidence that you are not the first visitor. The original residents left behind fragile, compelling, and sometimes beautiful evidence in the form of rock art. (Treat them with respect, leave them as you found them, and don’t share their locations.) Later immigrants left traces that seem less attuned to the nature of the place. But over time, as they weather and degrade, they start to almost seem to be part of the landscape, and they make us pause and imagine coming to such a place to live and work. (Surprisingly, perhaps, some of these sites are only decades old.)

A bit of exploration in Death Valley National Park reveals many examples. Some, like this one, are not hard to find, and they may feel like intrusions in the landscape. Others are more remote and sometimes not immediately obvious. One of the most powerful experiences I had in this landscape came on my first visit years ago, when I wandered up a large fan and sat on a rock to rest. I happened to look down and notice one stone among the others — one that had been shaped for a purpose many years ago. I picked it up, turned it over in my hands, and tried to imagine the life of the person whose hands had shaped it. I put it back where I found it and returned to camp.

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.