La Despensa de Palacio

Image May 31, 2024 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

This subject came from another Sevilla “random walk” that took us out of the historic center near the huge cathedral, through narrow and curving streets, and eventually to areas where the locals seem to hang out and there were far fewer tourists like us. (We ended up in the area with the large installation that I understand some refer to as the mushroom — an immense overhead wooden structure.)

Finishing our walk at this point, it seemed like time to head back towards where we started… and, of course, to look for dinner. As we walked again through these narrow streets, the lower angle of the sun cast the streets and facing businesses into shadow. Many were closed by now, including this shop with its hand painted roll-up door.

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

Half Submerged

Image May 30, 2024 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Part of what I love about this subject is how hard it is initially to understand exactly what we are looking at. (I wonder what you thought it was at first?) My first impression, at least when looking at small versions, is of sky and clouds. It is only when I look more closely that I realize that it is not that at all — it is the playa of Death Valley, where salt flats are partially submerged beneath the water of Lake Manly.

We usually direct our eyes parallel to the ground or perhaps upwards when we view the landscape. But on those occasions when we can look down at it from a distance we see it in a very different light. Features that are barely, if at all, visible from down below become the major points of interest. (There’s a lot more to see in this scene than first meets the eye.) And all of this is enhanced by the subjective feelings that come with looking out from any very high vantage point.

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

Wall And Barred Window

Image May 29, 2024 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

This photograph of a small section of an otherwise nondescript wall along a Siena, Italy street was triggered, I suppose, by my fascination with patterns, textures, and forms — and by how they come together. You might not know it from the photograph, but the sun was very bright a the time. When I looked at the result later on, I first realized that color played virtually no role in the photograph and that I had more control over that light with a monochrome rendition.

As is often typical of me, I did not even note what the building was. (I might be able to figure it out from some other photographs, but it may not be important.) Part of what I like about the subject is the the perfect symmetry and form of the lines on the wall and the square window is dissonant with the weathered and peeling wall surface and the slightly bent grate over the mysterious window.

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Photographs: Nature

Cherry Blossom, Hakone Garden

Image May 28, 2024 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

This is another “spring” photograph from our afternoon and evening at the Hakone Estate and Gardens earlier this season. The gardens are open — and worth visiting — all year, but there are special events during cherry blossom season, including the evening hours when we visited. The visit began in late afternoon sunlight, but continued on into the evening when colorful lighting is turned on in the garden.

I have known about the Hakone Garden sfor a long time. Back in my cycling days I rode past many times on my way into the mountains. I went there for some workshops and off-site meetings many years ago. But somehow I had never really known the history of the place. It was created as a retreat in the early 1900s under the direction of a woman who was entranced by Asian gardens she saw at the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco. It passed through several private owners before the last one decided to donate it to the town of Saratoga to protect it from being turned into a housing development.

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G Dan Mitchell Photography

La Despensa de Palacio

Half Submerged

Wall And Barred Window

Cherry Blossom, Hakone Garden

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