Tag Archives: hazy

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Pacific Coast Highway, Headlands

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Pacific Coast Highway, Headlands
“Pacific Coast Highway, Headlands” — The Pacific Coast Highway traverses steep headlands above the Pacific Ocean on a hazy winter morning, Big Sur coast.

This landscape that reminds me that change is the rule. It invites all sorts of questions. How long ago were those sea stacks part of the mainland? How long until the cliff-edge trail I’m slips into the ocean? Where will the next route-closing landslide occur? The dynamism of the landscape is clearly present here.

This time I visited for a few hours on a late-winter morning. The skies were mostly clear along the coast, as is common here between storms, but there was scattered fog and everywhere there was mist, from both the clearing fog and from ocean spray. Early in the morning the sun is blocked by coastal mountains, but as it rises its light angles down among these headlands.

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

Hazy Sunset, Florence

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Hazy Sunset, Florence
A hazy summer sunset over the Arno River, Florence, Italy.

Hazy Sunset, Florence. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A hazy summer sunset over the Arno River, Florence, Italy.

How about a quick return to Italy for today’s photograph? Perhaps on a warm summer evening, joining hundreds of others ascending the hills to the Piazzale Michelangelo to join the public party and watch the sun set over Florence and the Arno River. That’s what we did during our five days in Florence this summer. Despite our initial skepticism about heading to a touristy spot and seeing the crowd heading the same direction, this was one of the highlights of our visit.

This was not an easy subject to photograph. By the time we got there the most obvious camera positions were taken, besides which we really wanted to wander around a bit and take in the festivities… and purchase something from one of the several food and drink carts. The light was not initially promising, with haze obscuring the view. But as happens so often in such conditions, the haze began to glow as the evening went on, and the moments before and during sunset were filled with luminous light… and the music of nearby buskers.

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

Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Travel

Hazy Sunset, Florence and the Arno River

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Hazy Sunset, Florence and the Arno River
Hazy sunset over Florence, Italy and the Arno River.

Hazy Sunset, Florence and the Arno River. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Hazy sunset over Florence, Italy and the Arno River.

A few weeks ago I shared a black and white photograph of this same subject, with almost the very same framing. We had gone to the famous PIazzale Michelangelo for sunset… and the giant party that seemed to happen spontaneously that evening as perhaps thousands of people gathered to watch the day come to an end above Florence, Italy.

While the previous photograph was made a bit earlier in the evening — I made this one just as the setting sun disappeared behind the distant hills, with the sunset sky light reflecting on the Arno River as it flows past the old center of Florence and under a series of famous bridges.

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

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

Arno River, Florence

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Arno River, Florence
The Arno River flowing through Florence, Italy on a hazy summer evening.

Arno River, Florence. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

The Arno River flowing through Florence, Italy on a hazy summer evening.

This will not be the only photograph from this memorable evening in Florence. We had heard about an elevated viewpoint overlooking the Arno River and central Florence, so we started walking in that direction. We were surprised — but really should not have been — that there were lots of other people heading the same way, crossing the Arno, entering the narrow streets, and climbing toward the Piazzale Michelangelo.

I had many impressions when we arrived. The first was, “What huge crowds!” It seemed like everyone in Florence was there, and it was a giant waiting-for-sunset party — there was music, people singing, and vendors sold food and drink. Another impression was, “What a remarkable view!” But along with that, “What a lot of haze!” At first that was a bit disappointing, but as the evening developed it started to make the light more interesting, the distances clearer, and the light softer.

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.