Tag Archives: architecture

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.

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Photographs: England, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Bridges, Narrow Street

April 27, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

This is another photograph from nearly two years ago when we spent a week in London. We stayed a ways from the center of the city and each day traveled back and forth by way of the Underground, and then doing almost all of our wandering about on foot. We prefer this for the most part, and being on foot we can easily wander off into interesting areas or linger if we see something that deserves more time. (I often do something very similar when I head to nearby San Francisco to do street and urban photography.)

We had taken the tube in, gotten off, and walked across a bridge. Arriving on the far side of the River Thames we saw a narrow old side street and couldn’t resist wandering off that direction. The general landscape seemed to be a slightly dissonant one of what looked to be a narrow old cobblestone street, but with a number of more modern looking businesses and other structures. The street itself was quite interesting — and somewhere I have some photographs of it — but the most interesting thing to me was the dense, crisscrossing pattern of multiple levels of bridges high above the street.

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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

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Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Southern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Courtyard Window Reflections

April 19, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Curving window reflects the courtyard of the Getty Center

This curving wall of tinted windows is a favorite subject of mine at the Getty — I have photographed it several times, in fog and rain, with people in front of it, with people behind, and the structure alone. People often move across the courtyard area in front of it on their way to other places, so I can catch people in motion against this background. In fact, one other series from this visit includes a child jumping and hopping his way across. Frequently people will appear momentarily between the columns leading into the distance at the right, too.

This was a very clear day, so the light is crisp and the reflections are very visible in the curving glass. The color of the glass almost reminds me of the water of a swimming pool, and I wonder if the architects thought about this when they designed this aquarium-like rounded building with its many windows.

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Southern California

Man at Railing

April 13, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A man looks over a railing at the Getty Center

This photograph includes a section of the structures facing the central courtyard at the Los Angeles Getty Center, high on a hill above the Los Angeles area. We visited on a sunny day, that the stark light illuminated the geometrical architecture forms — at upper right are curved surfaces lit by direct sun, and to the left are shadowed areas that are lit by the reflections.

The architecture here seems quite complex to me, with the smaller details of square window panes and stone and metal creating the outside surfaces, and the larger forms angling together in all kinds of interesting ways. The lone figure, a Getty security guard taking a break, was the first thing to catch my attention here, but in the end I think that the buildings themselves are the central subject.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: architecture

Old Heidelberg Gate

Bridges, Narrow Street

Courtyard Window Reflections

Man at Railing

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