Heiliggeistkirche Steeple, Altstadt-Heidelberg

May 5, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The old part of Heidelberg with the steeple of the Heiliggeistkirche.

The Heiliggeistekirche is a main landmark in Heidelberg — not as monumental as the old castle, but a central feature and visible from all around. Most often we approached the old town by walking over the hill on the Philosophenweg, an old footpath that follows the ridge parallel to the river, and then descending to cross the bridge. From this elevated perspective it is possible to see a lot of the town, from the waterfront to the castle to the hills that rise beyond.

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Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: People, Photographs: Photographers

Two Photographers, Zabriskie Point

May 4, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Two photographers sit behind a camera and tripod at Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park

In the midst of sharing many photographs from my most recent Death Valley visit near the end of March and the start of April this year, I happened to be looking at website logs when I saw a link to this photograph from way back in 2007. I hadn’t thought about it for a while, so it was fun to get the reminder — and to have an excuse to rework it just a little bit and share it once again.

I had ended up at Zabriskie on this early April morning, and it turned out to be a morning of lovely light, though nothing far out of the ordinary, as I recall. My recollection is that as I waited to see if something more interesting would happen I thought about switching my focus to the other people who were there, and I ended up photographing quite a few of them — solitary figures silhouetted on the ridge above me, rows of photographers lined up at the edge of the drop-off, and a few individuals and small groups here and there. These two people were part of a slightly larger group, and they also seemed to be awaiting the hoped-for special light. I was intrigued by their patience and by the way they leaned in towards one another, and by the visual contrast between her light-colored jacket and his much darker clothing. In order to let the focus be on them rather than on the landscape, I exposed to let the distant subjects become quite light and then decided to render the image in black and white.

Photographs: Germany

Steingasse, Altstadt-Heidelberg

May 3, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The narrow, cobblestone Steingasse in the old town section of Heidelberg, Germany

As many tourists probably do, we entered the old section of Heidelberg after crossing the bridge to the old gate, passing though it, and walking up this narrow, cobblestone street, lined with restaurants. We probably actually managed to pass a few of the restaurants without stopping… before we finally gave in and sat down to eat.

Photographs: Germany

Old Heidelberg Gate

May 2, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Statue and buildings near the gate to Old Heidelberg

From time to time something triggers a visit to old photographs that I have not looked at for some time — it might be that I had to go find an image for some project, perhaps a question about the subject came up, or it might even be more or less chance. Inevitably this leads to a visual detour away from whatever more current work I’m focusing on, but just as inevitably I enjoy the side-trip — and sometimes I find material that I had passed over originally.

Nearly two years ago we made a trip to London and then to Germany and as far south as Salzburg, Austria. We spent about a week in London, then went to Germany for a couple of weeks. We started in Heidelberg, where we have family, then spent a week in Bavaria, and then returned to Heidelberg for a few more days. We we fortunate to be able to stay essentially across the river from the old section of Heidelberg, allowing us to walk over there. We entered this part of the town for the first time across the old bridge and through this gate.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Heiliggeistkirche Steeple, Altstadt-Heidelberg

Two Photographers, Zabriskie Point

Steingasse, Altstadt-Heidelberg

Old Heidelberg Gate

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