Tag Archives: figure

Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Woman, Empty Venice Street

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Woman, Empty Venice Street
A woman walks along a narrow and deserted Venice street in the early morning.

Woman, Empty Venice Street. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A woman walks along a narrow and deserted Venice street in the early morning.

The whole concept of “travel” is complex and, I think, fraught with trade-offs and contradictions. The world is a huge place, far too big to fully experience and see all of it in a lifetime. Do we go to many places and experience each of them less fully? Or do we got to fewer places and try for a deeper experience with those? I don’t have the answer — just the question. Our visit to Venice on this trip relates to that question as, even though we had been to Italy before, we had not ever been to this remarkable — and now tourist-filled and other wise endangered — city. Part of us did not want to go there, given the issues with modern Venice, but another part of us thought, “Venice! How could you NOT go there at least once!” So we went.

The place is just as crowded as you have heard and possibly seen for yourself. But it is also just as remarkable as you have heard. Arriving there for the first time (a story I’ll share in more detail later) was one of the most remarkable moments of our trip. But those crowds! Fortunately, we stayed in a place that was outside the main tourist zone — yet close enough to get to places we wanted to visit quickly. On this morning I went out early, when almost no other tourists were out. It was possible to photograph empty streets or, as in this case, individuals passing through this remarkable place.

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: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

The Overlook

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The Overlook
A person stands on a high point overlooking Death Valley and distant mountains.

The Overlook. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A person stands on a high point overlooking Death Valley and distant mountains.

As I write this text, a few days before the photograph will post, it seems likely that this will be the final photograph in the series from my January visit to Death Valley National Park. I like to spend the better part of a week photographing there in the winter — the most pleasant and arguably the most beautiful time of the year there. (All bets are off if it is a good wildflower year!)

I shared a different photograph of this scene a few days ago. This one features a singe individual instead of a pair. Such a difference might seem small, but I think that the image of two people in such a place can evoke a different response than the image of a lone person in the immense landscape. I made this one in portrait (vertical) mode — partly because I think it works this way and partly because sometimes people are interested in a scene framed that 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.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: People In Landscape

Evening Overlook

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Evening Overlook
Two people watching the early evening view of immense desert mountains from a high overlook.

Evening Overlook. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Two people watching the early evening view of immense desert mountains from a high overlook.

Late in the day during my recent Death Valley visit I went to this overlook. It is more typically a place to photograph the sunrise, which comes from camera-left and illuminates the big ridges in the distance. But I had a free evening, not a morning, so I figured it was worth a shot. I arrived before sunset, and I made this photograph before the sun had dropped behind the western ridge, though the haze and high clouds softened the light a bit.

I’ve never been able to quite describe in words the experience of standing on a very high point in such a vast landscape. From here one can look 5000′ down into Death Valley or look 6000′ up toward the highest peak in the Panamint Range and simultaneously feel “on top of the world” and very, very small in the presence of such immensity.

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 to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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Photographs: New York City, Photographs: People, Photographs: Urban/Street

Woman in Central Park

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Woman in Central Park
A women stands on a brick square in Central Park.

Woman in Central Park. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A women stands on a brick square in Central Park.

As we walked through a busy section of Central Park on an October morning, I saw this woman walk through this square alone, pause as if taking stock of the surroundings, then eventually move on. Originally, the bright pink color of her outfit caught my attention, along with something about her demeanor, but I sacrificed that color for this monochrome rendering of the scene — since I like the way that a black and white image translates that color to almost white.

This is one of those photographs that asks more questions than it answers. I cannot tell you “what it means,” or even quite explain why it works for me. I think that there is something a bit noble about her, something about her standing apart from the rest of the crown in the park, but also something more than a bit uncomfortable about the image. and her place in it.

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 | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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