You might never guess by looking at this photograph, but I made this on a beautiful day with blue sky and dramatic clouds, in an area along a trail in the Cotswolds that was very green. I was surrounded by gentle hills, green wheat fields, and many spring-green trees. But there was this one dead snag, devoid of leaves, standing starkly against that sky.
Continue reading Snag and Sky
For a hiker like me, with a lifetime of wilderness hiking and backpacking behind him, a “Cotswolds walk” is a new and different experience. I am used to single-person-width trails, usually rocky, and sometimes ascending to quite high elevations. On multi-day trips I have carried everything on my back. But here the trails are gentle, often passing between and through fields and pastures. And you carry only a few supplies for the day’s walk — you simply stop at a grocery or a pub in a small town at lunch time and buy something to eat.
Continue reading Cotswold Trail, Clouds
Colchester Baptist Church. Colchester, England. August 4, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Baptist Church, Colchester, England
This is another photograph from our brief summer 2016 one-day visit to the town of Colchester, England — a short train trip from London, where we were staying for about a week. We weren’t really sure what we would find in this town, so when we arrived on the train we simply got off and started wandering. Of course, breakfast was near the top of our agenda. After that we walked through the large park near and in back of the town castle.
Eventually we left the park and spent a few hours slowly wandering the narrow streets of the town. Much of it was, frankly, somewhat nondescript. But every so often something interesting would turn up: the ruins of an old church, and outdoor restaurant along a narrow street, and this very business-like and foursquare Baptist church with its striking blue 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 and Amazon.
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Barber and His Shop. London, England, UK. August 5, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
A barber takes a break on the steps of his shop, London
We spent a few late afternoon and early evening hours wandering around this area of narrow streets and small shops, killing time before a scheduled evening event. It was a warm evening, and this fellow was sitting on the steps in the doorway of his shop, probably getting a bit of fresh air, when we walked past.
From time to time I’ve read about people with some strict “rules” about what street photography is and is not. They often involve the equipment used, a preference for black and white, a challenge to get in the faces of subjects, and the desire to produce a certain “raw” look. There is nothing wrong with any of that, but I have my own notions about street photography — what it can look like, how it can be done, and even the boundaries around the subjects that qualify as street. It can be and up close, black and white image of a person doing more or less nothing special. But it can also be an urban landscape in which the wildlife is human. It can be in color. People do not necessarily have to be included. It can be produced in a slow and methodical manner or spontaneously while in motion. To make this photograph – notice the very low camera position — I held the camera down at my side and “shot blind” as we walked past.
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 and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email
All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.