Images

Gazines

Gazines
A store window in Portland, Oregon

Gazines. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A store window in Portland, Oregon

Does anyone remember these things? I believe they were called books. Full of paper pages (not web pages), and sold in places called “bookstores.” There is an entire world inside each of the volumes on the shelves behind this window. (Though not a single gazine in sight, from what I can tell.) I hear recall, though the memory is fading after a year in Pandemia, that we used to go to such places and just sort of browse.

Portland, Oregon residents might recognize the window and the shop it belongs to. The photograph comes from a visit to Portland some years back on which we had plenty of time to just wander around with no particular goals in mind — which tends to leave plenty of time for observing and photographing.


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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Blackbirds in Winter Sky

Blackbirds in Winter Sky
A murmuration of redwing blackbirds above winter wetlands.

Blackbirds in Winter Sky. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A murmuration of redwing blackbirds above winter wetlands.

When I got to these places in the winter to photograph birds — and to experience the wetland winter landscape — I’m usually looking for larger birds. The geese first attracted me, and then I became fascinated with cranes, herons, ibises, pelicans, and more. At first I probably more or less ignored these flocks of small back birds that seemed to be everywhere. More recently, I’ve come to look forward to seeing them.

They are blackbirds, most likely red-winged blackbirds, but also possibly tri-color blackbirds. To my eye the differences are subtle unless I get close enough to see the definite patch on the wings — red in one case, red and white in the other. (And, occasionally, apparently to confound me, I spot odd things such as yellow bands…) These are flocking birds, virtually always seen in groups, and they fly together, sometimes creating murmurations, flocks of closely-spaced birds that shift and reform in flight. Beyond their visual appearance, the sound they make seems utterly joyous, and there are few things quite like being next to a few hundred of them in full song.


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.

Shad Thames

Shad Thames
People walk along Shad Thames, London

Shad Thames. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

People walk along Shad Thames, London.

This week the pandemic “voyage through the raw files archives” arrived in London, with photographs of a weeklong visit back in 2013. (I’m wanting to get to some Sierra Nevada photographs, but I’m sticking to a linear traverse of the archive, so I’m perhaps a month early for those.) As people whose travels have been largely in the US, this was our first visit to London. We had a great time — we were there on our own for a few days and then were joined by some of Patty’s family members. You’ll likely see more photos from the trip over the next week or two.

This fascinating little street, called Shad Thames, is near one end of the Tower Bridge in London, in an area that was historically a receiving area for commodities delivered by ship. (The area is also know as Butler’s Wharf.) Some decades ago, as modern shipping changed the market, the area apparently became somewhat run down but, as happens in big cities, it was revitalized and is now expensive and trendy. The narrow street still has cobbles, but the most striking features are the old bridges between the upper floors of the old warehouses.


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 | FacebookEmail

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.

The Headlands, Evening

The Headlands, Evening
Pacific Coast headlands at sunset on a hazy evening.

The Headlands, Evening. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Pacific Coast headlands at sunset on a hazy evening.

As I post this photograph it is the middle of winter, and here in California we just experienced an atmospheric river storm, the sort that can bring tons of rain in a short period of time. This is my favorite time of the year along the Pacific coast, when these big storms can produce huge surf, when the cloud-filled skies alternate with clear days, and when the landscape is much more dynamic. This photograph does not come from such a time…

It comes from the polar opposite time of year and a very different set of conditions. I made the photograph some years ago on a gentle mid-June evening, a few days before the start of summer. It was just after sunset and the sort of day on which I could stand above the ocean on coastal bluffs and contemplate the quiet and peaceful sunset, looking across the gentle surf toward a distant peninsula muted by hazy atmosphere hinting at fog.


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 | FacebookEmail

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.


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