Tag Archives: cooks

Cucina Torcicoda

Cucina Torcicoda
Looking through the doors into the nighttime kitchen action at Cucina Torcicoda, Florence, Italy

Cucina Torcicoda. Florence/Firenze, Italy. August 28, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Looking through the doors into the nighttime kitchen action at Cucina Torcicoda, Florence, Italy

This is another photograph from the end of our five weeks of travel during the summer of 2016. We began in New York, then went to London, Paris, Heidelberg, and Italy, staying for roughly a week in each place before moving on. This gave me plenty of time for all of the things I like to do in such places: walking, eating, visiting museums, hanging out, and photographing. The trip ended with a short stay in Florence. We had been more or less midway between Florence and Siena for about a week and we planned to fly out of Florence to start our homeward journey, so we went ahead and arranged to stay there a few days before departing.

I’ve written before that if I have one regret from this trip it is that we had so little time in Florence! On this final night we went out wandering and photographing. Passing the doors to the kitchen of this restaurant I was struck by the contrast between the quiet, dark, and symmetrical appearance of the entrance and the energy and action inside the kitchen.


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

Winter Meadow, Forest

Winter Meadow, Forest
Winter Meadow, Forest

Winter Meadow, Forest. Yosemite National Park, California. March 2, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Forest and snow-topped cliffs above a winter meadow, Yosemite Valley

During this distressingly dry season in California, our three-day visit to Yosemite Valley in early March was a welcome relief. It was raining when we arrived, and it remained cloudy and wet for the entire period, with breaks in the rain but not the clouds. We were there for the opening of the Yosemite Renaissance XXIX exhibit, which continues in the Visitor Center Gallery through early March. (Stop in and take a look if you make it to the Valley. This is a wonderful annual juried show of art related to Yosemite and the Sierra. And, yes, one of my prints is there.)

The scene here is a popular and well-known Cook’s Meadow. As is normal in the winter, the grasses that are so green in spring and early summer have gone dormant, as have most of the other plants in the meadow itself. This is such a familiar scene—though always a beautiful one—that I most often would not stop to photograph. However, among the brown tones the one spots of bright red among the foreground brush caught my attention, and the light had a warm and glowing quality that was special. The light falling on the forest was very soft, filtered though thin clouds above and to the east, and snow from the passing storm covered the upper reaches of the cliff walls around the Valley.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Dormant Oaks, Winter Mists

Dormant Oaks, Winter Mists
Dormant Oaks, Winter Mists

Dormant Oaks, Winter Mists. Yosemite Valley, California. February 23, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dormant oak trees silhouetted against winter morning mists and cliffs, Yosemite Valley, California

This is an alternate version of a photograph that I shared earlier. Back in February I was in Yosemite Valley briefly for the opening of the annual Yosemite Renaissance exhibition, and this gave me one day to photograph there in interesting conditions. While the most familiar images of the Valley for most people probably involve waterfalls and spring or summer sunshine on granite (with a few well-known exceptions!), my favorite conditions involve snow, clouds, mist, and perhaps even a bit of rain. All of those were present on this day!

I was up quite early, and since we stayed in the Valley it was only a matter of taking a short walk and I could begin shooting. For a place that can be impressively or even depressingly crowded at certain times of the year, it is possible to find near-solitude on a cold and wet winter morning just before dawn, even in places that would typically be quite crowded during popular times of the year. In fact, this photograph was made from a shuttle bus stop not far from Yosemite Falls! I had been photographing nearby meadows and trees when the mist turned to sprinkles and then to rain, and I went to the shuttle stop to find temporary cover under its roof – only to realize that some interesting shots might well be possible from under this shelter!

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | FacebookGoogle+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.