The Louvre

June 21, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Courtyard and people, the Louvre

We spent about a week exploring Paris during the summer of 2016. Mostly we wandered, with a few specific goals in mind, and many opportunities for (sometimes random) discoveries. But there were a few things that we knew we had to visit, and the The Louvre was, of course, on that list. The museum is gigantic, with collections that are so extensive that a single day visit — which is what we had — only affords an opportunity to visit a small portion of the museum. We managed mostly one floor of one wing.

The grounds within and around the Louvre are constructed on a monumental scale. While many parts of Paris feature narrow and twisting streets, here there are vast open courtyards and buildings that extend over great distances. This photograph was made from one of the upper levels of the museum, and it looks back toward the central open area, across which groups of people walk.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Snag and Forest

June 20, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A solitary snag stands among forest trees in the Yosemite backcountry

A group of us, a band of photographers, spent a week in a Yosemite backcountry area back in the summer of 2014. With the plan of spending a week doing extensive photography of one or two areas, our equipment was brought in by pack train — we just had to walk in carrying our photographic equipment. We settled in for a few days at an isolated lake, and then we moved to a more populated area for the final few days of our visit.

The first location was a lovely little lake, set in a broad depression on a ridge above a very large valley. This spot provided us all sorts of photographic subjects — intimate landscapes, big views across the canyon to high peaks, and the forests and meadows and rocks spread around the lake itself. On this morning I had climbed up slanting granite slabs to reach a higher area, and here I found this solitary snag standing among living trees, and backed by forest running on up into the higher peaks.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Germany, Photographs: Urban/Street

Hauptstrasse, Heidelberg Altstadt

June 19, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Pedestrians walking along a street in the Heidelberg Altstadt

During last summer’s stay in Heidelberg we managed to walk over the hill, up the river, and across the bridge quite a few times to get to the Altstadt. Yes, it is a bit touristy, especially on the main street, but it is also a wonderful place with narrow streets and old buildings and lots of people.

I don’t recall the specific context of this photograph, but it was one of a series made along this street and others nearby in which I waited as people walking into and out of the scene, populating this urban landscape. The low afternoon sun produced long shadows as several people walked up the street and further away from me.

Photographs: France, Photographs: Urban/Street

Restaurant Windows, Benches

June 18, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Two benches outside the windows of a San Francisco restaurant

At the end of April I spent a couple of hours shooting through the golden hour and on into the evening in San Francisco, mostly exploring along The Embarcadero on the shoreline of San Francisco Bay. Our group first wandered out on a pedestrian pier, where we hung up through sunset and into early twilight as the light faded from the sky and city lights came on.

Soon I left the group — I had a long drive back home — and wandered along the Embarcadero as I headed back to my car. Photographing into restaurant and club windows intrigues me. There is often a striking contrast between the interior world of people having dinner or drinks and the exterior world of very quite urban landscapes. Here a couple of unoccupied benches sit beneath windows, with more colorful lighting and a number of patrons inside.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

The Louvre

Snag and Forest

Hauptstrasse, Heidelberg Altstadt

Restaurant Windows, Benches

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