Tag Archives: afternoon

Taberna Santo Antonio

Taberna Santo Antonio
Late-afternoon patrons gather at Taberna Santo Antonio, Porto.

Taberna Santo Antonio. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Late-afternoon patrons gather at Taberna Santo Antonio, Porto.

Given the recent string of Sierra Nevada Fall Color photographs, you might think that I have finished with the photographs from our long 2023 summer travel through Southern Europe. You would be wrong. ;-) I have mentioned before that I returned with about 5000 photographs. While I won’t share ALL of them here (you can thank me later!), there are more that are worth sharing. They will continue to appear from time to time over the next few months.

This one comes from Porto, Portugal, where we spend several days exploring the narrow and winding streets of the Ribeira district and surrounding areas. If I recall correctly, on this afternoon we had taken a long walk that looped through the busy downtown area, the wound down to the water and back up toward where we were staying… and, we hoped, to dinner! We ate nearby, but first we passed this colorful scene at a “taverna” with outdoor seating.


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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Arno River, Florence

Arno River, Florence
The Arno River flowing through Florence, Italy on a hazy summer evening.

Arno River, Florence. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

The Arno River flowing through Florence, Italy on a hazy summer evening.

This will not be the only photograph from this memorable evening in Florence. We had heard about an elevated viewpoint overlooking the Arno River and central Florence, so we started walking in that direction. We were surprised — but really should not have been — that there were lots of other people heading the same way, crossing the Arno, entering the narrow streets, and climbing toward the Piazzale Michelangelo.

I had many impressions when we arrived. The first was, “What huge crowds!” It seemed like everyone in Florence was there, and it was a giant waiting-for-sunset party — there was music, people singing, and vendors sold food and drink. Another impression was, “What a remarkable view!” But along with that, “What a lot of haze!” At first that was a bit disappointing, but as the evening developed it started to make the light more interesting, the distances clearer, and the light softer.


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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Yosemite Forest and Cliffs

Forest trees in afternoon sun with Yosemite Valley cliffs in the background.

Yosemite Forest and Cliffs. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Forest trees in afternoon sun with Yosemite Valley cliffs in the background.

Another recently-shared photograph included three trees, the base of El Capitan, and the lower reaches of the creek that produces Horsetail Fall. In that post I mentioned that the camera position was a fruitful one, and that I had made several photographs from nearly the same spot on this visit to Yosemite. You would need guess from the very different subject, but this photograph comes from the same spot. I’m sure that I did not move the camera more than a few yards between the two photographs, though I did swing it around by about 180 degrees.

This row of trees, conifers mixed with deciduous trees at this elevation, stood at the edge of a partially flooded meadow along the Merced River. Places like this allow longer view that what we typically see within the forest, and from here the view included some of the monumental cliffs of surrounding the valley. In this rendition I cropped tightly around the trees to bring the focus on them.


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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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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Trees and Haze, El Capitan

Trees and Haze, El Capitan
Late-afternoon spring haze mutes the contours of El Capitan, standing beyond groups of Yosemite Valley trees.

Trees and Haze, El Capitan. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Late-afternoon spring haze mutes the contours of El Capitan, standing beyond groups of Yosemite Valley trees.

Near the end of my one-day (one very long day!) visit to Yosemite Valley the week before the Memorial Day crowds arrive, I visited a few spots in the lower Valley that are familiar to me. I went to this location mainly to photograph a flooded meadow that is surrounded by trees and from which granite cliffs are visible. These trees were silhouetted against the base of El Capitan, whose form and textures were muted by afternoon haze.

Haze can be the photographer’s enemy or friend. It certainly interferes if you are looking for clear, detailed photographs of distant subjects. On the other hand, it can accentuate the distance between objects, mute distant details to bring attention to closer subjects, and lend a moody emotion to a scene.


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.

Blog | About | Twitter | Flickr | FacebookEmail

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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