Photographs: Europe, Photographs: France, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Christmas Vendor, Montpellier

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Christmas Vendor, Montpeillier
“Christmas Vendor, Montpeillier” — A street vendor sells Christmas items on a narrow street with hoiday “cloths’ hung overhead.

Our December visit to Montpellier, France obviously took place during the holiday season. Although it was cold and occasionally rainy while we were there, the streets were often filled with shoppers and others out on the town. The colorful cloths tied to lines spanning the narrow streets were everywhere. I later read that these come out for many holidays and special occasions here.

Along this narrow street a nearby shop had expanded its space outside along the walkway, offering holiday cards and similar items to passers-by. It was daytime when I made the photograph, but this street is so narrow and the buildings so tall, that it felt like twilight on the walkway — except here were lights were turned on.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Desert Holly, Dry Wash

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Desert Holly, Dry Wash, Death Valley
“Desert Holly, Dry Wash” — A desert holly plant, either dead or dormant, in the middle of a dry wash, Death Valley.

Desert Holly must be one of the must adapted and tenacious plans in Death Valley National Park. It grows in some of the least likely spots — places where there is barely any soil, where the sun bakes the land, and where water is rare. Desert Holly plants can occasionally put out a beautiful cover of pale green leaves, but more often the plant looks dormant or dead, with many dead leaves and very dry branches.

This specimen grew in a desert wash, where water occasionally passes through this very dry area. It has to rely on fairly rare flows of water. Plants grow in much of Death Valley, but few do in this location. While a few further up the wash had green foliage, I saw only dry, desiccated leaves on this one.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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Photographs: Europe, Photographs: France, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Cobbled Street

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Cobbled Street, Montpellier, France
“Cobbled Street” — A man walks up the slope of a steep cobbled street, Montpellier.

After visiting Monpellier’s Arc de Triomphe and nearby Christmas Market, we headed back down the Rue Foch toward the old center of the city, but soon took a detour to the north. It eventually took us to the St. Pierre Cathedral and then the nearby Jardin des Plantes. To get there, we first traveled through some quieter, winding back streets, including this one where I photographed a man ascending a steep section.

The light in this location and others like it reminds me a lot of the light in slot canyons in the American Southwest. Because this “canyon” is also narrow and lined by tall “walls,” direct light rarely makes it to the street level. As a result, the light is often quite “cool,” or blue, since most of it is coming from the sky itself. But in places where the sunlight hits the walls, it reflects back and forth and sends a bit of warmer toned light into the “canyon,” as on the wall at the end of this street.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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Photographs: Nature

Tulip Bud and Leaves

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Tulip Bud and Leaves
“Tulip Bud and Leaves” — A spring tulip bud, just before blossoming.

This photograph is the result of something I rarely do — post the same photograph in monochrome and color versions. I shared a color version recently, but while I was working on the image in post I took a little detours and experiment with a black and white interpretation. I like both of them, though they do create different effects.

Black and white almost always has a more abstract quality to me. We know that the world is not monochromatic, so we begin to accept a wider range of interpretations as soon as we move to black and white. There’s less of the “it isn’t real!” concern with monochrome. (Not everyone realizes it, but monochrome images have historically often been the subject of extensive post-processing.) Here I think that the monochromatic version lets us focus more on the shapes and tones themselves, with less need to relate the image to something real.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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