Tag Archives: west

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sequoia-Kings Canyon, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Fractured Pinnacles

Image Leave a comment
Fractured Pinnacles
Fractured Sierra Nevada pinnacles near Whitney Trail Crest.

Fractured Pinnacles. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Fractured Sierra Nevada pinnacles near Whitney Trail Crest.

Over years and decades of travel in the Sierra high country I have continued to notice new things — it is impossible to know everything about such a complex and rich subject. The highest points always appealed to me, and I remember the first time that I really noticed the rugged terrain of the highest ridges. It was on my first traverse of Forester Pass, the entrance to the monumental terrain of the Upper Kern drainage. The pass is a land of broken rock, and as I crossed it I took note of the higher ridges stretching away.

This scene is from another busy area of the high country — generally speaking, the Sierra Crest running south from Mount Whitney. The High Sierra Trail rises to this crest and from there a lateral trail follows the ridge out to the summit of Mount Whitney. I recall making this photograph quite a few years ago and, at the time, thinking about what I wanted it to look like. But other images were more pressing, and it sat in the archive until I recently produced this monochromatic rendition.

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 | Twitter | 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. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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

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

Stairway, Upper West Side

Image Leave a comment
Stairway, Upper West Side
A stairway with curving metal railing and gate, Upper West Side, Manhattan.

Stairway, Upper West Side. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A stairway with curving metal railing and gate, Upper West Side, Manhattan.

The story of our “holiday pandemic” visit to New York continues. In our previous episode we heard that after pondering the go-don’t-go question during a week when we carefully watched rising case reports, our decision was to go ahead and do a long-scheduled holiday visit to Manhattan to visit family, including some we had not seen in person in two years. We’re triple-vaccinated, we loaded up with N95 masks, we avoided most of the usual non-family New York attractions, so we were about as safe as we could be — not perfectly safe, since no one is, but generally fine.

Given the unusual circumstances of visiting Manhattan (and The Bronx) during a pandemic, our routines necessarily changed. Every morning began with a quick, masked trip to a downstairs bakery, where we retrieved coffee and pastry that we ate in our hotel room while waiting for the 15-minute rapid tests to complete. When we were not with family, our options for entertainment were somewhat limited, but we eventually worked out a rough walking loop that we followed a few times. It took us through some West Side neighborhoods between Broadway and Central Park, including the street where I photographed this fascinating metal stairway and gate.

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.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Eastern Sierra Stream, Smoky Light

Image Leave a comment
Eastern Sierra Stream, Smoky Light
Smoky haze mutes the outlines of Eastern Sierra foothills above a small stream.

Eastern Sierra Stream, Smoky Light. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Smoky haze mutes the outlines of Eastern Sierra foothills above a small stream.

Recently I spent a few days in the Eastern Sierra, mainly to readapt to altitude before a potential backcountry trip. The plan was to car camp in some Forest Service campgrounds, take a few high-elevation hikes while laden with a full load of camera equipment, and to make some photographs. This photograph comes from a location that I’ve known for years, near the base of one of the trans-Sierra passes along the east side of the range. Late in the day I had noticed the interesting haze and remembered some meadows and stream side country a few miles away. So I headed that way just. before the sun dropped behind the Sierra crest and photographed straight into the late-day light.

Since I haven’t written about any recent Sierra trips lately, I’ll use this post as an excuse to share some observations about conditions. And, of course, this year “conditions” is hard to separate from the effects of heat and drought. On the positive side, some of the high country locations I visited were not (yet) as dry as I had feared. I saw green meadows, wildflowers, corn lily fields in full bloom, and some water. On the other hand, it is only the middle of July — the moisture levels looked more like what I’d expect to see in August. Aside from the early season wildfires and the smoke they spread, one of the most worrisome signs was in the foothills on the west side, where it looks like huge numbers of oak trees are turning brown and dying.

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.

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.

Events, Gallery, News, Photographers, Shows

“Birdscapes” at Stellar Gallery

Image Leave a comment
Birdscapes — David Hoffman and G Dan Mitchell
Birdscapes — David Hoffman and G Dan Mitchell

A Stellar Gallery Special Exhibit

Photographs by David Hoffman and G Dan Mitchell
February 16th to March 14th, 2019
at Stellar Gallery, Yosemite Gateway Gallery Row
40982 Hwy 41, Suite 1, Oakhurst CA 93644

Artists Reception, Saturday Feb 16th – 5 to 8 pm

BIRDSCAPES features works by two photographers best known for landscape photography. Both Dave and G Dan are not only inspired by the beauty of wild lands and natural places, they are inspired by their flora and fauna as well.  Birds are an integral part of most environments. Their nesting habits, migration patterns and survival strategies express volumes about the places they live, and ultimately our own habitat as well.

David Hoffman

Over the many years during which I have been involved in photography, I would have described my field of interest as landscape and nature with the emphasis on landscape. Wildlife of any sort was usually something that fortuitously showed up to be incidentally included in a landscape photograph.

In recent years I began photographing winter wetland landscapes in the Pacific Flyway and migratory birds naturally became a feature of many of the landscape images. As time went on, the birds went from being a mere feature of the landscape to being deliberately featured in their wetland habitat.

The photographs that I have included in the exhibit Birdscapes run the gamut from huge flocks of geese in the Pacific Flyway to a portrait of a hummingbird.

G Dan Mitchell

I have photographed the landscape for years, but more recently the photographs have included birds. I began to photograph birds in the locations I visit — geese and sandhill cranes in California’s Central Valley, brown pelicans along the Pacific coast, tundra swans and golden eagles near Oregon’s Klamath Lakes, trumpeter swans in Washington’s Skagit Valley. Migratory birds connect us to remote landscapes where they breed. Their presence brings landscapes to life. The sound of thousands of geese and cranes in the pre-dawn cold of a winter morning always makes me smile.

The photographs in “Birdscapes” come from several of these locations. They represent multiple ways of “seeing” birds. Some look closely at individuals, often focusing on the beauty of the birds in flight and the moments of take-off and landing. In others thousands of birds fill the sky. Almost all reflect the light and atmosphere of the places where birds are found —morning and evening twilight, colorful light of dawn and sunset, fog and clouds, or crystal-clear winter skies.

The galleries at Gallery Row in Oakhurst offer a wide selection of fine art and fine craft, and host exhibits and special events that support the arts in the Yosemite area. Thank you for supporting the arts!

Help us spread the word! Forward to a Friend!