Images

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Meadow, Forest, and Mountains

Image Leave a comment
Meadow, Forest, and Mountains
High Sierra meadow, forest, and mountains, John Muir Wilderness

Meadow, Forest, and Mountains. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

High Sierra meadow, forest, and mountains, John Muir Wilderness.

By the time I made this photograph I had likely been up and at work for an hour or more. This meadow was a relatively short uphill walk from our base camp, and we visited here often during our one-week photographic stay, photographing it early and late in the day, and using it as a route to higher terrain. Although it was relatively late in the season, the fact that this summer followed a wet winter meant that the meadows were still green and wildflowers were everywhere.

The terrain here offered some special opportunities. We arrived at our base camp after hiking over a high pass, descending into a deep river canyon, and then climbing out the other side and rising to a bench where we set up camp above a small, meadow-ringed lake. That spot was one of several similarly situated lake/meadow areas, positioned progressively higher up a broad valley leading to very high peaks. From any of these meadows the views opened back across that deep canyon toward a very high and impressive ridge on the other side of the valley, so we had a wealth of opportunities to juxtapose lovely foreground meadows and forest with distant rugged 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 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.

Photographs: England, Photographs: Travel

Greenwich Market

Image Leave a comment
Greenwich Market
An entrance hallway to the Greenwich Market

Greenwich Market. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An entrance hallway to the Greenwich Market.

Back in 2016 we made a lengthy summer trip that included a brief stop in New York City, roughly a week in London, then visits to Paris, Heidelberg (our European “home base”), and finally to Tuscany. We initially stayed for a couple nights in central London but then moved to a more distant location beyond Greenwich — a quieter and less expensive place! Because Greenwich was only a few train stops away and between our hotel and downtown, we stopped there several times to wander and, of course, find fool.

The area near the train stop is largely commercial, with plenty of shops and restaurants that seem intended to attract the tourist trade. In the center of this area, hidden away behind the many businesses, is a market — not the largest we’ve seen but plenty interesting. One interesting and notable fact: at one point one of the booths was stopping passers-by and offering samples of liquor! That’s something that I’ve never seen at home in the US.

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.

Photographs: Macro, Photographs: Nature

The Center

Image Leave a comment
The Center
The center of a white flower surrounded by darker petals

The Center. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The center of a white flower surrounded by darker petals.

Previously I’ve pointed out that I’m not the primary flower and foliage photographer in our household — that honor belongs to Patty Emerson Mitchell. Sometimes I accompany her on excursions to photograph this subject, and I made this photograph on one of those occasions when we spend the morning at a beautiful formal garden not too far from where we live.

I usually photograph flowers in color — in many cases color is the point! But every so often monochrome seems like the way to go, either because the particular flower’s color is not striking or because of the way that black and white may allow us to push and pull the image in ways that would not likely work in color. I’m often a bit surprised that some people seem to regard black and white as more “real” or true to the original subject. in truth, perhaps because we give up the possibility of an “accurate” rendition of a color subject when we work in black and white, we actually have far more room to modify and tweak the image to produce the result we have in mind — and often these modifications are far from subtle.

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.

Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Pizzicheria

Image Leave a comment
Pizzicheria
A man emerges from a shop in Siena, Italy

Pizzicheria. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A man emerges from a shop in Siena, Italy.

Perhaps the first question is, “What is a Pizzicheria?” I don’t speak Italian (at least not beyond a few words of “opera Italian” picked up from my music background), so I went looking for a definition. They seem to be somewhat varied, ranging from a “grocery” (though perhaps a small one and not a modern big store?) through more or less a delicatessen to a place that sells meats of various sorts.

I did not go into this place, but judging by some of the things appearing on the store front, I’m going with the meat-oriented business. There is that actual pig’s head hanging from the wall, for starters, and a few other clues. It did appear to be a place with a bit of local character, or perhaps just plain “character.” For example, they are apparently not very interested in visits by photographers. A hand-written sign hung inside that curtain proclaim “NO FOTO NOFILM!”

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.