Tag Archives: work

Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Cherry Pickers

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Cherry Pickers
A line of cherry pickers along a San Francisco street.

Cherry Pickers. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A line of cherry pickers along a San Francisco street.

Since the previous photograph I posted featured cranes (of a different sort!) I suppose that you could, from a certain perspective, regard this as part of a series. Well, these are sort of cranes, right? I encountered them along a San Francisco street a couple of years ago, in an area under extensive construction as part of the underground expansion of the City’s transit system. I can’t explain why there would be quite so many cherry pickers lined up in a row, but they certainly caught my attention.

I think this photograph my be an example of how the act of carrying a camera can change how you see. I know it changes how I see. Normally, I might give this sight no more than a moment’s notice before moving on: “Interesting. Cherry pickers parked along the road.” But with a camera in hand I start to ask visual and other questions: Who thought to segregate them by color? Do they always store them this way or did someone carefully extend them so their angles nearly matched? Am I the only person who thought they looked like gigantic anthropomorphic figures marching to the right?

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: Owens Valley, Photographs: People, Photographs: People In Landscape, Photographs: Photographers, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Photographer Patricia Mitchell

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Photographer Patricia Mitchell
Photographer Patricia Mitchell at work in early morning autumn light in the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Photographer Patricia Mitchell. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Photographer Patricia Mitchell at work in early morning autumn light in the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Someone has a birthday this week, so it seems appropriate to feature a photograph of, um, someone here. Photography is often a solitary activity — one person, a subject, a camera, how to see — and most of the time the two of us photograph alone. But every so often we get a chance to head out together on a trip that involves photography. We had such an occasion earlier this fall — and it has been too long! — when we did a weeklong trip that took us to the Eastern Sierra Nevada and then to Utah and a few nearby locations.

We started in the Sierra, where we headed into the eastern part of the range in search of fall color. Perhaps “search” is the wrong word here, as it is easy to locate! Instead of going to the “usual places” we wandered up some less-travelled roads, including the one that took us to this spot right beneath the eastern escarpment, a place with very few other people where the high desert and the beginnings of true mountain terrain intersect. We arrived on a brilliantly lit morning, with fall color everywhere, and a bit of early snow still on the peaks.

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: Nature, Photographs: People, Photographs: Photographers, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Photographer Charles Cramer

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Photographer Charles Cramer
Photographer Charles Cramer at work in the John Muir Wilderness backcountry

Photographer Charles Cramer. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Photographer Charles Cramer at work in the John Muir Wilderness backcountry.

Photographer Charles (“Charlie”) Cramer at work in the High Sierra of the John Muir Wilderness Area. A group of us spent a week base-camped in a particularly scenic portion of this wilderness area, heading out each day to find and photograph the abundant and beautiful subjects present here – ranging from the intimate (wlldflowers) to the monumental (the peaks of the Sierra crest).

The pace and nature of the work in a place like this might surprise those who haven’t experienced it. Many years ago, when my orientation to the backcountry was via long pack trips on which I moved every day, I worried that I would become bored if I stayed in the same place for more than a night. After years of doing just that, I realize how completely wrong I was. We can easily find a week’s worth of things to investigate and photograph in such places, and at the end of each trip I invariably end up wishing I could stay longer!

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.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: People, Photographs: People In Landscape, Photographs: Photographers, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Scott Miller Heads To The Office

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Scott Miller Heads To The Office
Photographer Scot Miller on his way to work in the John Muir Wilderness

Scott Miller Heads To The Office. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Photographer Scot Miller on his way to work in the John Muir Wilderness.

One fun (and useful!) aspect of photographing the backcountry with other photographers is that a) we occasionally find a human figure in our landscapes to provide focus, and b) we make photographs of one another! (Some of the photographs of me on this website were made by folks including Patty Mitchell, Scot Miller, Charles Cramer, Michael Frye, and more.) In this photograph, Scot Miller is traversing the edge of a beautiful, high Sierra Nevada meadow as the golden hour begins.

Photographing in the backcountry is perhaps not quite what folks who don’t do it may imagine. I suspect that they might imagine non-stop ecstasy in such surroundings, and days or weeks of ease and joy. Parts of that are true — it is hard to imagine a more beautiful sort of location, and there are utterly sublime moments. Yet, truth be told, it isn’t like that quite all the time. There are long, difficult climbs to get to locations, the physical toll can occasionally be daunting, hiking with a lot of gear in pack and over the shoulder isn’t always a walk in the park, and the light is not always astoundingly beautiful. In short, it is actual, real work that requires focus, intensity, and dedication. Ah, but I’m fortunate to get to work with some wonderful folks, and when it pays off… :-)

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.

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