Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Portugal, Photographs: Travel

La Ribeira at Dusk, Porto

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La Ribeira at Dusk, Porto
“La Ribeira at Dusk, Porto” — The Douro River winds past the La Ribeira district of Porto at dusk, Portugal.

On this evening we had crossed the Douro River via the famous Dom Luis I bridge to join the throngs watching the sunset from its south side. People staked out viewing locations almost everywhere, though the Garden of the Moors area seemed to be the most popular — with musicians and food carts ad more. We took a different approach and climbed up to the Mosteiro da Serra do Pilar.

After sunset we started our walk back to the north side of the bridge and our lodgings along the edge of the Ribeira district. Dusk was arriving as we re-crossed the bridge, so I paused to photograph the scene — the lively waterfront area, the buildings rising up from the river, the water’s winding path toward the sea, and some evening clouds overhead.

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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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Trees, Evening Light

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Trees, Evening Light
“Trees, Evening Light” — A row of pine trees at the edge of a subalpine meadow catches the last evening light.

Yosemite’s Tuolumne Meadows, in the park’s high country, gets special and quite changeable evening light. The meadow runs roughly east-west, so the setting sun sends its light along the meadow’s length. As the sunset develops, long shadows play across the landscape, interrupted by bits of warm light here and there.

I suspect that most people looking at this photograph may get a sense of calm and stillness. That’s not inaccurate, but photographing this ephemeral light is quite different from photographing more static subjects. In fact, I was working madly to grab this frame before the last bit of warm light on the trees was consumed by the encroaching shadows.

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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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Portugal, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

House with Blue Trim

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House with Blue Trim
“House with Blue Trim” — A white hour with blue doors, Casals de Loivos, Portugal.

This past May we spent a week on a walk through the hills, villages, and vineyards of Portugal’s Douro Valley, completing a large loop that began and ended in the town of Pinhão. We walked every day, and stayed each evening in various local accommodations. The last of those was in the remarkable little village of Casals de Loivos, perched high above the Douro Valley.

On the final morning we were scheduled to do the short, pleasant (and entirely downhill!) walk from there to Pinhão, where we were scheduled to catch a train back to Porto. Before setting out from Casals de Loivos we wandered around the small village for a while. I found this striking little building on one of its streets.

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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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Portugal, Photographs: Travel

Forest and Fog

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Forest and Fog
“Forest and Fog” — Fog envelops the forest near Pena Palace, Portugal.

Back in May, during our Portugal travels, we took the train from Lisbon to Sintra so we could visit the historic Pena Palace. This structure sits on a high point in the mountains above Sintra, and it is a remarkable visual presence. I suppose that on a typical day this could be a warm and sunny place — but we arrived to light rain, fog, and clouds, a bit to our surprise.

This was not necessarily a bad thing. The temperatures were cool but comfortable, the crowds were likely suppressed a bit, and the fog and clouds produced some dramatic effects. I stopped along the walk to the palace and made a series of photographs of this fog-covered forest.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

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