Tag Archives: dusk

Mosteiro da Serra do Pilar, Night

Mosteiro da Serra do Pilar, Night
“Mosteiro da Serra do Pilar, Night” — Dusk photograph of the tower of the Mosteiro da Serra do Pilar, Porto.

On this May evening in Porto we decided to cross to the south side of the Douro River to watch the sunset over the city. There are lots of locations from which the view of Porto is available, but we had our eyes on the high point near the end of the Dom Luis I bridge, the square around the Mosteiro da Serra do Pilar. After sunset I turned my camera to this round building, the old church.

I was surprised that this site doesn’t seem to be better known, giving its striking appearance and its prominent location. (Perhaps people don’t like the uphill walk?) It is hard to imagine a better location for viewing the Porto waterfront, and the facility itself is historic.


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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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La Ribeira at Dusk, Porto

La Ribeira at Dusk, Porto
“La Ribeira at Dusk, Porto” — The Douro River winds past the La Ribeira district of Porto at dusk, Portugal.

On this evening we had crossed the Douro River via the famous Dom Luis I bridge to join the throngs watching the sunset from its south side. People staked out viewing locations almost everywhere, though the Garden of the Moors area seemed to be the most popular — with musicians and food carts ad more. We took a different approach and climbed up to the Mosteiro da Serra do Pilar.

After sunset we started our walk back to the north side of the bridge and our lodgings along the edge of the Ribeira district. Dusk was arriving as we re-crossed the bridge, so I paused to photograph the scene — the lively waterfront area, the buildings rising up from the river, the water’s winding path toward the sea, and some evening clouds overhead.


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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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Winter Trees, Dusk

Winter Trees, Dusk
“Winter Trees, Dusk” — A row of bare winter trees silhouetted against the a colorful dusk sky.

This photograph lets me recall how we greeted the New Year. It was the same way we’ve done it for the past decade or so — joining a group of photographer friends to photograph migratory birds in the winter landscape. A few of us arrived the day before, but everyone showed up before dawn on New Year’s Day to greet the first sunrise of the new year together.

This photograph comes from New Year’s Eve. We arrived in the middle of the afternoon, in time for the late-day light. It was a quiet evening, with a few clouds forming when I made this photograph of a row of winter-dormant trees in the post-sunset dusk light.


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.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


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

Wetlands, Winter Sunset

Wetlands, Winter Sunset, California's Central Valley
“Wetlands, Winter Sunset” — Sunset beyond Central Valley wetlands on a winter evening.

This was just about the final photograph I made on this past New Year’s Day. We had actually started the previous afternoon, come back before dawn, and worked the subject all day long. We photographed the landscape and thousands of migratory birds. As the day drew to a close I found a location with a view of the sunset sky reflected in the surface of nearby pond.

While this is mainly a landscape photograph, if you look very closely you may be able to to spot a group of (most likely) snow geese on the water. Many of their partners had already flow away for the evening, but this final group stuck around bit longer.


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” from Heyday Books, is available directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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