Tag Archives: buildings

Photographs: England, Photographs: Travel

River Thames at Blackfriars Bridge

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River Thames at Blackfriars Bridge
“River Thames at Blackfriars Bridge” — A boat on the River Thames cruises toward Blackfriars Bridge near central London.

You couldn’t ask for a lovelier London day in June, with blue skies dotted with fluffy clouds and pleasant temperatures. (The first time we visited London we were surprised by downright uncomfortably hot weather.) This photograph looks across the River Thames near Blackfriars Bridge toward a section of downtown London featuring large, modern towers. If you look closely, you might spot a few people wandering along the banks of the river at lower right.

London wasn’t our primary destination on this visit, though we were happy to be there again. The first part of this trip featured three weeks in Scotland. We started with a few jet lag adjustment days in Oban and Fort William before spending the next week walking from Fort William to Inverness on the Great Glen Way. From there we returned to civilization, with stays in Inverness, Stirling, Glasgow, and Edinburgh before taking the train south to York and London.

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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Photographs: Scotland, Photographs: Travel

Oban, Scotland

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Oban, Scotland
“Oban, Scotland” — An elevated view of central Oban, Scotland, from near McCaig’s Tower.

Judging from our brief 2-night stay in this Scottish town, Oban is a charming place. It sits right on the waterfront and, from what I could see, mostly lines the shoreline and nearby hills. My impression is that the town is largely connected to three things: tourism, water-related industry (ferries, tours, and fishing), and whisky. (The well-known and highly-regarded Oban Distillery is right in town). Because we were there before the prime summer season the impact of tourists was perhaps less than it might be late.

We had two nights in Oban, and we walked around a lot on our full day in town. We had seen McCaig’s Tower, the old circular structure on top of the nearby hill, so we decided to do the steep but short walk up there. This photograph comes from that walk, and it looks out over the town from that hillside, with a view towards more distant hills and islands.

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: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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Photographs: Scotland, Photographs: Travel

New Town, Edinburgh

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New Town, Edinburgh
“New Town, Edinburgh” — The New Town area of Edinburgh, viewed from the Edinburgh Castle.

This photograph overlooks the section of Edinburgh, Scotland known as “New Town.” To an American visitor, who might think a town is “old” if it has been around for a couple of centuries, it might be surprising to find out that New Town arose (next to the much older Old Town) roughly 250 years ago. In places with such deep history, 250 years is not that long! New Town features a lot of fascinating Neo-Classical and Georgian architecture and, in fact, it does seem a lot newer than the “Old Town” near Edinburgh Castle.

Speaking of the Castle, that is my camera position for this photograph — the foreground structures are part of it. The castle is on the top of an imposing ridge and its summit provides expansive views. Here we look across New Town to the shores of the Firth of Forth and then to more distant areas of Scotland across the water.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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Photographs: England, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

River Thames, London

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River Thames, London
“River Thames, London” — Barges pass on the River Thames near Blackfriars Bridge, London.

The photograph shows a fairly familiar view of the Thames and central London. There is a little story behind it though. We travel a fair amount — not extreme, perhaps, but we do get around. But when I get to a new city I often “set” my mental compass incorrectly, and it is very hard to break this “setting.” (After decades of visiting Yosemite’s Tuolumne Meadows, I’m STILL ninety degrees off!) The first time we visited London I more or less reversed north and south, believe it or not — and consequently I still have to perform mental gymnastics to account for this. And, yes, this is all leading to how I came to make this photograph.

On our first day in London this June we decided that we would walk from our lodgings to Borough Market, which was roughly a half mile away. Without really paying attention to maps we headed out and started walking confidently… and apparently in the wrong direction. (Patty will tell you that she knew, but she went along.) Anyway, some time later we were surprised to come upon “The Eye,” which anyone who has been to London knows is no where near Borough Market. Actually, it is in the opposite direction from where we stayed near Blackfriars Bridge. We reset and walked back along the River Thames toward where we had started… and I made this photograph along the way.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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