Tag Archives: yellow

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: New England

New England Woods #7

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New England Woods #7
The autumn color explosion begins in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

New England Woods #7. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

The autumn color explosion begins in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

Every year at about this time I head to the east side of the Sierra Nevada to photograph fall color, which mostly means aspens. This year’s trip to the “east side,” however, was to the east side of the United States. That’ right, Patty and I finally made it to New England for its famous fall color season. (Don’t worry, I’m still hoping to squeeze in a quick visit to Sierra fall color before long.) Friends have told me for years that I had to see east coast fall color, and an August visit to Vermont’s beautiful forests intrigued me even more. Then I did a B&H podcast (“Fall Foliage East and West with Jerry Monkman and G Dan Mitchell“) and listened to my fellow interviewee, Jerry Monkman, talk about photographing there. After all of that, I guess it was pretty much fated that we would go this year!

I’ll have a lot more to say about New England fall color, the specifics of our visit, and how the East and West Coast experiences compare later on — there’s too much to write in a single post! I made this photograph near the start of the visit, perhaps a day or two before this year’s peak color in this area of the White Mountains. The color variations are, as I already understood, much greater in New England than in the Sierra, and the hardwood forests seem to all change nearly simultaneously. This photograph, like many of my favorites from this trip, was made in soft light and cloudy conditions, which provide some of the most beautiful light for this subject.

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, Photographs: New England

New England Woods #6

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New England Woods #6
Lush undergrowth and ferns, with a tinge of late-season color, along a Vermont roadway.

New England Woods #6. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Lush undergrowth and ferns, with a tinge of late-season color, along a Vermont roadway.

Most likely no one noticed, but I have jumped from #4 straight to #6. What happened to #5? It is coming, but I felt like sharing this one first! Like most of the “New England Woods” photographs from our August visit to (mostly) Vermont and (a little bit) Massachusetts, I made this one while walking along the edge of the woods. I recently remarked to an East Coast photographer (while recording for a B&H Explora podcast about photographing fall color) that I was challenged by the density of these woods. Somewhat to my relief, he sympathized and mentioned something that I was starting to discover — it isn’t always easy to find a camera position, and that walking into the forest or along its edge can be a good idea. I made this photograph while walking along a rural Vermont road.

In California it can be hard to find subjects with this much green by the time August arrives. Out here we usually don’t see much rain in the summer months, and our green season is winter. (I often tell people who visit from other places and are surprised by our dry summer landscape, “Come back in winter!”) About the only place here to find such a natural scene full of ferns is in the redwoods, though sometimes I can find small examples near sources of water elsewhere.

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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Fractured Stone

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Fractured Stone
Detail of a section of fractured Sierra Nevada rock, Ansel Adams Wilderness.

Fractured Stone. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Detail of a section of fractured Sierra Nevada rock, Ansel Adams Wilderness.

At some point on almost any Sierra Nevada backcountry trip I get the bug to photograph rocks — just plain rocks. In case you haven’t noticed, there are a lot of them in these mountains, and their variety is astounding. I’m no geologist — I’m one of those folks who refers to too many things as “granite” — but I’m a bit of a connoisseur of fractures, stains, lichen, colors, and junctures between different materials.

Earlier on this backcountry visit I had realized that some outcroppings very close to our camp were full of interesting patterns, and I made a mental note to spend some time among them. A few days later, not having any other pressing subjects to photograph, I spent an evening walking slowly among these formations.

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: 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.

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.