Tag Archives: wood

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Wood and Stones

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Wood and Stones
“Wood and Stones” — Cast-up driftwood, stones, and seashore detritus on coastal rocks at Point Lobos.

The conditions on this mid-April visit to Point Lobos were a sort that coastal Californians recognize as summer-like: cold, windy, damp, and foggy. Ironic, no? But during the time of year when it is hot in most of California, it is frequently foggy and cool at the coast — which is part of what Californians like about the coast. As the clouds began to thin a bit on this morning at Point Lobos, the light changed from gray to the soft, slightly directional sort that is ideal for subjects like this.

I have photographed this spot — not just Point Lobos itself, but this specific place in the park — literally for decades. I’m pretty sure that the first time I photographed here I was a kid and using 120 film in a cheap Brownie camera. But I still find something here on every visit. Wandering this cove is almost a visual meditation. There’s so much to see, especially when winter’s debris is still plentiful, that I have to give up any pretense of working quickly. Instead I wander slowly, letting my mind slow down enough that I can start to pick out subjects among the rocks, sand, driftwood, and sea wrack.

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: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

High Desert Autumn Color

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High Desert Autumn Color
A colorful grove of mixed trees in the high desert below the eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada.

High Desert Autumn Color. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A colorful grove of mixed trees in the high desert below the eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada.

As the Eastern Sierra aspen color season progressed during October, the colors (to speak generally) work their way down from the highest groves to trees in the high desert, where they may appear alongside cottonwood trees, which themselves produce color even later in the season. On this morning I had finished photographing my sunrise location, but I didn’t want to stop just yet. So I decided to stretch the photography time as far into the later morning hours as possible and to do a bit of exploring at the same time. And this brought me back to this familiar grove in the high desert.

A week earlier these trees were all still almost uniformly green. But now, only days later, the grove was quickly transitioning to bright autumn colors. One of the characteristic parts of experiencing this part of the Eastern Sierra is the meeting of high desert and alpine mountains. So here I decided to juxtapose the two — the foreground trees and sagebrush country, and beyond that high peaks bearing snow, some from last year and some from this year’s early season storms.

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: Croatia, Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Perpendicular

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Perpendicular
Blue wooden doors with former windows filled by painted wood panels.

Perpendicular. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Blue wooden doors with former windows filled by painted wood panels.

Many photographers are intrigued — obsessed, even — with the abstract qualities of shapes, form, color, and texture. Many of you already understand that these things are often as important as, if not more so, than the objective content of photographs. A photograph does record things, but it isn’t just recording “what we see” — it is also about recording, arranging, and presenting “how we see.” And many of use — almost all, really — see this other things when we use our cameras.

I made this photograph while walking through Trogir, Croatia one morning — I am pretty sure this was the morning when Franka Mlikota Gabler and I met there to photograph. This town can be very crowded later in the day, but in the early morning hours we had it almost to ourselves, and there was plenty of time to photograph things like this without distractions. What is the photograph “about?” Hard to say precisely, and you have a voice in this, too. But I was obviously fascinated by the perpendicular arrangement of lines and rectangles, the subtle difference in the blue tones, and the weathering and other imperfections in the surfaces.

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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Photographs: Still Life, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Lattice Fence

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Lattice Fence
Detail view of lattice fence.

Lattice Fence. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Detail view of lattice fence.

Believe it or not, I have been trying to photograph this bit of fence of several years. It isn’t that it has been a major goal for me, but every time we visit this place I end up trying to make a picture of it. It is one of those subjects that seems like it should be simple to photograph, but then it turns out to be anything but. Part of the issue is that the symmetry that attracts me to its form creates some compositional issues.

I’m more pleased with the version I came up with on this visit. I bypassed some color challenges (the colors aren’t exactly striking) by going with a monochromatic rendition. Some thin clouds softened the light — although the subject is under trees, often there is either a bit of direct light on it or, worse, on the stuff in the background. And this time that background was in soft, deep shade.

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.

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