Tag Archives: yellow

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Zeum, Architectural Detail

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Zeum, Architectural Detail
A San Francisco view from the Zeum on a blue sky day.

Zeum, Architectural Detail. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A San Francisco view from the Zeum on a blue sky day.

Recently I have leaned on a Minor White quote more than once: “One should not only photograph things for what they are but for what else they are.” I’ve always taken this to be about photography’s burden of “capturing the real world,” how limiting that goal may be, and how photographs can be seen in other ways. It is almost always worth asking about a photograph, “Beyond what this is, what is it?”

This is, obviously, a photograph of a bit of architecture in San Francisco, a place called “The Zeum.” I’ve wandered through it many times while on San Francisco photography walks. An incomplete list of the “what else it is” in this photograph could include some of the following. It is about color and light and shadow. It is about perspective and angles and lines. It is about that sky and that single cloud. Perhaps you can think of other things?

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: Nature

Wisteria Leaves

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Wisteria Leaves
Spring wisteria leaves, San Francisco Bay Area.

Special Note: Patty and I are presenting a Silicon Valley Open Studios event on May 21 and 22. Look us up (Dan | Patty) or contact us for information. Visit us and see our prints!

Wisteria Leaves. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Spring wisteria leaves, San Francisco Bay Area.

The process leading me to this photograph was a bit oblique. This is another image from our spring visits to a garden full of seasonal flowers. I had been photographing tulips when I was distracted by wisteria plants that were almost completely covered with dense flowers. I went to photograph the flowers, but up close they didn’t see quite as fascinating as the bush seen as a whole. But as I worked on photographing the flowers the leaves kept getting in my way… until I realized that perhaps they might make the photograph.

Moving from focusing on the flowers to incorporating the leaves, I first simply included a few leaves in a flower photograph to provide a bit of contrast. As I worked I continued to given the leaves a larger and larger portion of the images. Soon I was primarily focused on the leaves, including the flowers only as background. I placed the flowers behind the leaves and narrowed the focus zone to emphasize the leaves. Eventually, as in this photograph, I removed any obvious presence of the flowers at all.

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

Tulip Buds

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Tulip Buds
Two tulip buds against a shaded background.

Tulip Buds. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Two tulip buds against a shaded background.

Although I seem to be presenting them slightly out of order, this is the next in a short series of photographs of tulips as they pass through phases from green bulbs to full blossoms. The previous post included two buds (not the two shown here) still in an almost entirely green state. Before that I jumped the gun a bit with another pair that is a bit more colorful than these.

The two buds in this photograph are just barely starting to show the color of the flower. The bud itself is shifting past the green color of leaves and stems and becoming a bit more yellow, while the red or pink color of the incipient flower is just beginning to appear along the edges of the vertical lines along the sides of the buds.

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.

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Southern California

Badlands and Desert Mountains, Morning

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Badlands and Desert Mountains, Morning
The dark mass of rugged desert mountains stands beyond badlands lit by morning sun, Death Valley National Park.

Badlands and Desert Mountains, Morning. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

The dark mass of rugged desert mountains stands beyond badlands lit by morning sun, Death Valley National Park.

Some landscapes speak to me immediately, but others may not resonate at first or even for a long time. I made this photograph in a location in the latter category. While I find the desert endlessly interesting, especially in Death Valley, there are a few places that I just don’t get. In many situations they are, like this specific area, popular places where “everyone goes.” I have no issue with locations achieving iconic status, but sometimes I don’t see what the fuss is about. Recently an offhand remark by a friend got me thinking about this area again. On two recent trips I spent some time there, trying to see it with new eyes. This photograph is one of the products of that effort.

The photograph is also an example of the importance of the nature of the light, particularly in the subtle desert landscape. The contrast between the foreground badlands hills and the distant slopes of an immense desert mountain range does not always (or even usually) look like this. Here a combination of warm, early morning light coming from the side and thin high clouds that muted the light on the mountains greatly increased the contrast between foreground and background.

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.