Tag Archives: landscape

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Europe, Photographs: France, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Paris Reflections

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Paris Reflections — an "invisible" building.
“Paris Reflections” — Reflective walls around a construction produce an imagined urban landscape.

Approaching this structure was an odd experience. At first I think I didn’t even quite notice it. And then when I first did become aware of “it,”I thought I was looking at a street lined with tall buildings. But it quickly became apparent that it was an illusion, produced by a huge cube of mirror panels reflecting the surrounding neighborhood.

It wasn’t quite clear what the structure was about when we saw it. We eventually determined that it isn’t an actual “real” building, but instead was some sort of wall that cuts off the view of construction work happening inside. What in this entire photograph is “real?” The foreground asphalt and roadway, but that’s it. The rest is entirely reflections of other things in the surrounding area.

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.

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

The Manifold, Detail

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The Manifold, Detail, Death Valley
“The Manifold, Detail” — Close photograph of a section of the Manifold formation, Death Valley National Park.

Even though this photograph only shows a very small area of a much larger formation, there’s a good chance that those of you familiar with Death Valley will recognize it. The feature is called “The Manifold,” and it features ribs of soft, light-colored material stretching out from beneath a layer of darker material. For this photograph I narrowed the angle of view to only include a very small part of the larger feature.

The geology of these “badlands” features some very soft material that is easily eroded. The different colors were laid down as layers a very long time ago, and since then they have been tilted and distorted. It is hard to imagine a better place to visualize the effect that flowing water has on this desert landscape.

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.

Photographs: Croatia, Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Travel

Adriatic Coast, Dubrovnik

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Adriatic Coast, Dubrovnik
“Adriatic Coast, Dubrovnik” — dubrovnik, Croatia and its famous wall on the Adriatic coast, see from Fort Lovrijenac.

During the summer of 2023 we went on a very long trip in Europe. Over a 10-week period we were in France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Kosovo, and Croatia — with very brief visits/transits in Germany, Hungary, Serbia, Albania, and Montenegro. Many of the photographs from the trip sat in my raw file archive since then, never being worked up into final versions. (I suspect that in some cases I didn’t quite “see” them at first, and in some I moved on to other projects, intending to return.) This week I’ve been going through photographs from the Balkans.

We drove directly from Kosovo to Dubrovnik. I really liked Kosovo on a number of levels, perhaps more so because we stayed in the home of people who live there and who have a family connection. But there are few contrasts greater than that between Kosovo and the walled city of Dubrovnik, which has become quite the hot travel destination. (Evidence: many prices there are surprisingly close to those in the US.) Dubrovnik is a remarkable city, sitting on the beautiful Adriatic coast. The old city is completely surrounded by impressive walls, and much of the city is constructed of stone.

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.

Photographs: Albania, Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Travel

Afternoon Shower, Albanian Alps

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Afternoon Shower, Albanian Alps
“Afternoon Shower, Albanian Alps” — An afternoon shower in the Albanian Alps of the Valbona Valley.

My experience in Albania is extremely limited — a single day driving from Kosovo up into the Valbona Valley, to what I believe was the end of the road. We started in Kosovo lowlands, gradually ascended, and passed through small towns. Eventually the land became more rural, somewhere we crossed the border, and we saw signs of past military conflicts in the valley. At the end of the road there is a big lodge where we stopped to eat and admire the stunning panorama of alpine peaks looming above us.

The weather was the sort where it is sunny but there’s so much humidity that a shower could develop at any moment. That’s precisely what happened here as we headed back toward Kosovo – a cloud passed by and surprised is with some rain. (“Hey, it is raining! And the sun is out!”) This is some of my favorite light — dappled sunlight moving across the landscape of mountains and trees, with peaks looming overhead as mist swirls and gentle rain falls.

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.