Seattle Airport #1 - May 28, 2007

Seattle Airport Terminal #1. Seattle, Washington. May 28, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

The Way You See

Jim Goldstein shares a quote that resonates for me.

This weekend I attended a photography workshop put on by Art Wolfe here in San Francisco dealing with creativity and creative vision... During the workshop a quote by Elliott Erwitt was displayed and it really struck a nerve.

"To me, photography is an art of observation. It's about finding something interesting in an ordinary place... I've found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them." - Elliott Erwitt

JMG-Galleries

Wing #2 - May 28, 2007

Wing #2. May 28, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

Wing #1 - May 28, 2007

Wing #1. May 28, 2007. © "Copyright G Dan Mitchell". ("sales")

Mosaic Canyon Wash. Death Valley National Park. April 4, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

Zabriskie Point, Moonlight

Zabriskie Point, Moonlight. Death Valley National Park, California. April 3, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell

Catching Up...

While this site parallels my real photography site, I got behind on my posting here while traveling over the weekend. Today I will post three photos - today's new photo and the two that I missed.

Pacific Coast Sky, Dusk

Pacific Coast Sky, Dusk. May 25, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell. ("sales")

21 Favorite Photographs and the Stories Behind Them

I see that a story at this site (or, more accurately the version at my main web site) is included in a post at Jim Goldstein's blog today:

21 Favorite Photos And The Stories Behind Them

Since initiating the project on May 14th I’ve been introduced, and in some cases re-introduced, to some great photographers. The subject material, photographic styles and skill levels of those submitting may vary, but the one constant shared by all is a passion to capture and share the world as they see it. [JMG-Galleries]

Follow the title link within the excerpt from Jim's post to see the full list. (Thanks for including my story, Jim.)

Crossing Mono Pass, Sierra Nevada Crest

Crossing Mono Pass, Sierra Crest. Yosemite National Park, California. May 20, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

First Light on the Panamints, Zabriskie Point

First Light on the Panamints, Zabriskie Point. Death Valley National Park. April 2, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell

Mark Twain

"You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus."
[Quotes of the Day]

Mono Pass Trail, Sierra Crest

Mono Pass Trail, Yosemite National Park, California. May 20, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell

Johann Sebastian Bach

"Ceaseless work, analysis, reflection, writing much, endless self-correction, that is my secret." [oboeinsight]

A work ethic that could be applied to photography as well.

Mammoth Peak, Spring - Yosemite National Park

Mammoth Peak, Spring. Yosemite National Park, California. May 20, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

Half Dome and Glacial Erratics, Olmsted Point

Half Dome and Glacial Erratics, Olmsted Point. Yosemite National Park, California. May 20, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell

Dawn, Zabriskie Point - Death Valley

Dawn, Zabriskie Point and Panamint Range. Death Valley National Park, California. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

Oaks, Coastal Fog - Almaden HIlls

Oaks, Coastal Fog. Almaden Hills, California. May 19, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

Photographers at Dawn, Zabriskie Point

Photographers Waiting for Dawn, Zabriskie Point. Death Valley National Park, California. April 4, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

The Source, Racetrack Playa - Death Valley National Park

The Source, Racetrack Playa. Death Valley National Park, California. April 3, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

Collective Memories

Tim Baskerville from "the nocturnes" reports on his upcoming show:

CCI Gallery (Berkeley, CA) is showing some of my Mare Island night work (6 prints), as well as some b/w work (six prints, done in the daylight hours!) of San Francisco's Historic Streetcars, in "Collective Memories," part of their 50th Anniversary Celebration. The work is up thru June 2nd, with a big reception on May 19, 2007 from 6-10pm. Merchants in the "gourmet ghetto" of North Berkeley are participating in the ArtWalk festivities which mark the ACCI anniversary, as well as the 40th anniversary of the Berkeley Art Center, where we are also members.

Click here for more info.

Diagonal Track, Racetrack Playa - Death Valley National Park

Diagonal Track, Racetrack Playa. Death Valley National Park, California. April 3, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

Why Flickr Makes Me Nervous

Recently I have been using Flickr as a repository for new photographs posted at this site and elsewhere, and I've been trying to engage and understand the Flickr community. There is a lot of good stuff there. There are also a few things that strike me as odd or which raise some concerns. Read a post by a person describing one of these issues:

Flickr = Censorship

Rebekka is a single mom and art student living in Iceland. She's an artist and a talented one at that. She does amazing things with her camera. Recently she discovered that a gallery Only-Dreemin had been ripping her off. They'd sold thousands of dollars worth of her images and when she caught them and tried to make them give her the money that they stole from her they refused. So Rebekka did what anyone with a following on the internet might do and she posted about her frustration and plight on her flickrstream. And her story resonated loudly with the flickr community. Her story made the front page of digg and by days end she had 100,000 views on this particular photograph with hundreds of supportive comments...

Please follow the link and read the rest of the post.

Before Flickr deletes it.

Curving Track, Racetrack Playa - Death Valley

Curving Track, Racetrack Playa. Death Valley National Park, California. April 3, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

Rock Tracks, Racetrack Playa

Rock Tracks, Racetrack Playa. Death Valley National Park, California. April 3, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

The Photograph, Zabriskie Point - Background Story

In response to a post at Jim Goldstein's site, here is a background story about the photo I posted earlier today - which is part of a series including two other related photographs shown below in this post.



The Photograph, Zabriskie Point. Death Valley National Park, California. April 4, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

Early this April I spent four days in Death Valley National Park, mostly doing landscape photography. In particular I spent a good chunk of time at the Racetrack, shooting sunset, night photos under a full moon, and sunrise. I headed back to the more civilized areas of the valley around Furnace Creek, camping at Texas Springs and visiting all the usual places.

On this morning I joined a number of other photographers on the hill in front of the official overlook at Zabriskie Point, where we awaited the dawn and then the first light on Manley Beacon. As we watched and waited and photographed, it occurred to me that it could be interesting to photograph the photographers - so I moved my tripod back a bit and went at it.



Photographers, Zabriskie Point. Death Valley National Park, California. April 4, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

This was a almost completely unanticipated idea - like everyone else, I was mainly there to shoot the more typical landscape photographs like this and this. (More here.) While I did end up with some landscape photos that I like - hard to go wrong at dawn at Zabriskie, right? - the people photos ended up being some of my favorites.



Two Photographers, Zabriskie Point. Death Valley National Park, California. April 4, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

By the way, the group in the first photograph included some quite serious photographers, at least one of whom had been photographing the morning scene with a medium format digital camera. One of the things I like about that photo is, having finished their business, these serious photographers took time out for a fairly standard vacation shot. There are other things I like about this photo as well. Although it is difficult to see in this small web version, I love the three fellows' upturned faces illuminated in the early morning light. There is something interesting to me about the three of them crowded together as the female group member takes their photograph. Their are some formal/compositional things about it that I like also. I'll mention one: the arrow shape formed by the light line in the clouds, the striation in the ridge behind them, and the top of the ridge.

The Photograph, Zabriskie Point

The Photograph, Zabriskie Point. Death Valley National Park, California. April 4, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

Flickr, Photographers, and the Law

From Photo Business News & Forum by John Harrington:

Flickr and the Law

Recently, I was having breakfast on a travel project with a colleague of mine. He asked of me "what's the big deal with Flickr? I don't get it. I don't see the benefit of being there, of taking the time to be on it. It's just for people to share their family photos, right? What does it help we professionals?" I reponded, telling him that Flickr is not just that, and that friends, prospective art directors, and so on, can make you a "friend", and then, whenever you post new photos, they turn up on their Flickr page. It's friends and these prospective clients are choosing to want to be alerted when you add photos, and it's all automatic and shows up on their own page straightaway! Further, properly tagged (think Keywords, Check here, for Stan Rowin's insights on this and a link to a report with even more information), people can find the photos, and get in touch with you, or, maybe, mis-use your photo.

Stan has other insights on Flickr here, but how do we, as professionals, not only leverage the value of Flickr, but also encourage fair and just use of our work there?

(Follow the link to the full post.)

I've begun experimenting with Flickr (www.flickr.com/photos/gdanmitchell/) as a repository for my photographs, and I'm trying to get my mind around the whole contacts, friends, etc. business.

Erosion Detail, Zabriskie Point

Erosion Detail, Zabriskie Point. Death Valley National Park, California. April 4, 2007. © "Copyright G Dan Mitchell". ("sales")

Bixby Bridge, Pacific Coast Highway

Bixby Bridge, Pacific Coast Highway. Big Sur, California. May 6, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

Photographers, Zabriskie Point

Photographers, Zabriskie Point. Death Valley National Park, California. April 4, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

Most Valuable Photographic Tool?

Jim Goldstein writes:

The Loss of My Most Valued Photographic Tool

... On this trip I lost something which previously I never gave much of a second thought to and which I've since realized is one of the most critical components of my photographic arsenal. What could possibly be so key and why?

The answer -- my cable release.

Keep in mind I'm not just talking about the impact of losing a piece of equipment. I'm talking about losing something that is an extension of ones mind and body critical to the creative process....

[JMG-Galleries]

(Click his title link to read the full post at his blog.)

I understand. Not only about forgetting something, but about how important this silly little thing called a cable release is to the process of making a photograph. There is something about setting up the shot and then waiting, cable release in hand, as light changes, clouds move across the ridge, people move in and out of position... and you stand back or to the side of the camera watching and waiting... and holding the cable release.

- Dan

This Could Be My New Photography Blog

Having dealt with significant server problems during the past couple of weeks, I'm thinking of moving my photography blog off my home server. One possibility is to put it on this blogger.com site. I'm going to try parallel posting at my existing site (http://www.gdanmitchell.com) and here and see how it goes.