Tag Archives: wood

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Winter Ferns and Log

3 Comments
Winter Ferns and Log
Winter Ferns and Log

Winter Ferns and Log. Yosemite Valley, California. February 14. 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dormant winter ferns against a decaying log, Yosemite Valley, California.

The story behind finding this little bit of landscape is perhaps best not fully told – but I’ll share little background. I had driven west along Northside Drive in Yosemite Valley in the morning looking for bits of interesting light that can crop up even in the middle of the day during winter in that deep canyon. I had just made some photographs of the Cathedral Rocks area and decided it was time to move on. As I wandered back to the car I decided to, uh, “take a short walk into the woods” on the other side of the road. While there I noticed that some interesting dry ferns were peeking up from under the melting snow, so I decide to look around a bit more in this rather nondescript bit of forest. I finally found one little cluster of ferns that were arranged against the backdrop of an old decaying log and decided to make a few photographs of it before heading back to the car and moving on.

I like several things about this photograph, but among them is the fact that it isn’t an obvious “Yosemite photo” at all. In fact, you could find a similar sort of subject in any number of places if you just look carefully enough – which in Yosemite often means looking away from those iconic and quite obvious subjects from time to time.

(And, yes, it was intentional that I posted this photographic “homage” on February 20, the birthday of Ansel Adams. :-)

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

keywords: yosemite, national, park, valley, california, usa, north america, nature, winter, fern, plant, foliage, leaf, branch, log, wood, decay, texture, black and white, monochrome, forest, stock, curve, pattern

Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Wall, Stairway, and Late Afternoon Shadows

Leave a comment
Wall, Stairway, and Late Afternoon Shadows
Wall, Stairway, and Late Afternoon Shadows

Wall, Stairway, and Late Afternoon Shadows. San Jose, California. December 24, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Late afternoon shadows cast by a stairway cross a beige stucco and wooden wall.

This is another in the wandering about with only a 50mm prime series shot on Christmas eve afternoon. I have photographed this wall and stairway before, but here the strong diagonal lines of the shadows from the stairs cut across the horizontals and verticals in the image and almost seem disorienting to me. I swore that the lines in the photo were tilted until I checked them against an on-screen grid – and they still look out of kilter to me even though I know they are not.

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.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


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

Photographs: Urban/Street

Donut Shop, Christmas Eve

Leave a comment

Donut Shop, Christmas Eve
Donut Shop, Christmas Eve

Donut Shop, Christmas Eve. San Jose, California. December 24. 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of the interior of a donut shop late in the afternoon on Christmas Eve.

As in many photographs like this, I hope that there may be more to it than meets the eye. I won’t tell the whole story, but here is a bit of background. I had been involved in an online discussion of the merits of shooting “old school” street photography using primes, and specifically limiting oneself to a 50mm prime on a 35mm film camera. Though it isn’t the point of my post here, I’ll just say that I’m skeptical about the value of that sort of limitation given a whole bunch of boring photographic philosophy. In any case, as an outgrowth of that discussion I thought it would be fun to head out on foot armed only with my full-frame camera (sorry, no film camera at all these days!) and a 50mm prime and just see what I could come up with. So, I walked out my front door and did some photography.

It was late in the afternoon on Christmas Eve, so few businesses were still open, and it was late enough in the day that the last-minute shopping traffic was diminishing and things were becoming rather quiet. Few people were even out walking. I mostly walked but I also photographed some shop windows and buildings and so forth, and when I passed this tiny donut shop I first did an exterior shot of the closed business that included a weathered wooden and brick wall and some sad-looking holiday lights. Then as I passed the front of the shop I decided to put my nose against the window and peer inside. The low light from the late-afternoon sun was directly behind me and casting some very harsh and flat light into the interior, but I was intrigued by the arrangement and shapes of the tables and chairs, the shadow cast by the Christmas ornaments hanging in the window, and by the odd juxtaposition of a poster of the work of a certain photographer that is barely visible on the wall.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

keywords: donut, doughnut, shop, manley, christmas, eve, day, afternoon, light, closed, interior, shop, door, window, wall, outlet, no smoking, sign ansel, adams, mural, project, shadow, ornaments, table, chair, wood, panel, obscure, glass, handle, lock, reflection, street, urban, stock, black and white, monochrome

Photographs: Night, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Windows and Shadows, Building 101

2 Comments
Windows and Shadows, Building 101

Windows and Shadows, Building 101. Mare Island Naval Ship Yard, Vallejo, California. August 30, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Night black and white photograph of windows, corrugated metal, and shadows on the front of Building 101, Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California.

This photograph shows details of the facade of Building 101 at the historic Mare Island Naval Ship Yard near Vallejo, California – mainly the large window at the lower left of the front of the building, but also including some shadows cast by various items attached to the building an nearby that caught the light from nearby security lights.

After looking at the gaudy coloration from the artificial lighting on this building I thought it might be interesting – or a relief! – to try a black and white version of the close-up view.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Web: G Dan Mitchell Photography
Twitter: http://twitter.com/gdanmitchell
Friendfeed: http://friendfeed.com/gdanmitchell
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gdanmitchell

keywords: mare, island, naval, ship, yard, minsy, vallejo, california, night, nocturnal, photography, historic, window, panes, frame, wood, corrugated, metal, wall, wire, broken, glass, pipe, conduit, shadow, fence, lamp, sign, front, artificial, light, illumination, asphalt, weeds, industrial, urban, black and white, usa, stock