Images

2023: Favorite Photos

Image January 18, 2024 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

It is that time again — time to share favorite photographs from the past year. I am sharing “2023: Favorite Photos,” including a dozen representative images. I think it is a diverse set, and I hope you’ll enjoy it!

Below is a single image of the full set of twelve. Subjects include the Sierra Nevada (of course!), Death Valley (also of course!), the California coast, birds in California’s Central Valley, a macro photograph, an urban landscape from Manhattan, and several photographs from our 10-week visit to (mostly) Southern Europe.

It is a group of 12 images chosen from among my 2023 favorites — not necessarily my “12 Best Photographs” of the year. (See the difference?) The process of winnowing the set down to a dozen left out other favorites. I like all of those photographs, but I chose these because they represent a variety of work and cover some of the main experiences, places, and subjects of 2023.

I’ll post each photo separately below, too, adding a bit of narration to each image. I hope you enjoy them!

The individual photographs follow, in no particular order, accompanied by brief descriptions. Click the photographs to display them larger. Click their titles to see and read the original posts, which include more descriptive text. You may leave comments and questions at the end of this article.

Our long visit (ten weeks!) to Europe last summer was wonderful, but I missed almost the whole summer in “my Sierra Nevada.” (I haven’t yet figured out how to be in two places at once.) But once we returned to the USA I turned my attention to the mountains and made my first visit of the (tail end of) summer in mid-September. I was on the East Side on this stormy evening when the sky and clouds above Mono Lake lit up, providing a dramatic and spectacular light show.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sky

Autumn Moon

Image January 18, 2024 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

When I arrived at a Central Valley location where I photograph migratory birds on this late-November morning I was a bit disappointed to not have thick tule fog. I love to photograph in those conditions, partly because of the atmosphere they provide and partly because they often extend useful photography hours later into the day. But on this morning there was only the tiniest hint of incipient fog, and the view to the sky was rather clear.

I began by photograph ing birds before sunrise. As the sky begins to lighten the birds (mostly geese and cranes) become restless and eventually take off, often in large groups. During a pause in the passage of the birds I noticed the thinning clouds passing in front of the full moon as pink dawn light struck the edges of the clouds.

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.

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Breaker

Image January 17, 2024 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

It is quite an experience to get up close and personal with huge storm surf like this — though having a very long lens and finding the right shooting location helps makes it safe. We headed to the coast south of San Francisco during California’s bout of giant waves between Christmas and New Year’s Day. At this location a peninsula juts out into the ocean between a beach and a bay. At the tip of this peninsula one is very close to the waves as they break and roll into that bay.

In a way, photographing these waves is more or less like photographing moving landscapes. They have slopes, peaks, and cliffs, and the effects of wind and light are part of the scene. The main difference is that everything is ephemeral. The landscape stands still, but when photographing waves the landscape photographer has to think more like someone photographing active wildlife or sports, making instantaneous, intuitive decisions about timing and composition.

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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Photographs: Agriculture, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Winter Corn

Image January 16, 2024 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

We don’t usually see corn on the stalk this late — by now it usually has been harvested, either for human food or animal feed. The stalks are left to decay for a while or sometimes salvaged for seasonal autumn decorations. Eventually they are knocked down — and it parts of California they get burned. It is quite unusual to find stalks with fully mature ears of corn on New Year’s Day, which is when I made this photograph.

So, why are the ears still there in this field? Not everyone understands the multiple factors driving support for wildlife refuges. Many of us are simply grateful they are there, providing safer places for migratory and other birds. But hunting and agriculture have played a big part. Here, attracting birds to places that are not someone’s field is one of the goals, and this crop provides feed for migratory birds.

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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G Dan Mitchell Photography

Images

2023: Favorite Photos

Autumn Moon

Breaker

Winter Corn

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.