Tag Archives: montpellier

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

Organic Landscape

Image Leave a comment
Organic Landscape, Death Valley
“Organic Landscape” — Erosion patterns in a desert landscape, Death Valley.

Believe it or not, I am getting to the end of the photographs I made on this year’s winter visit to Death Valley National Park. I go every year during the cool months, sometimes more than once. When I returned at the end ofFebruary I wasn’t sure if I had gotten many keepers, but since then I have managed to find more than a few. This is a typical situation — I often don’t immediately see the potential in image files, and it takes a while to get to know them.

This photograph includes a small section with details of a portion of Death Valley “badlands” terrain. I photographed it in the early morning, before the direct sunlight arrived. The soft light and the curving shapes remind me of forms we see in living things, hence the “organic” title.

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

Join the discussion — you are welcome to leave a comment or question. (Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately.)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

(All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.)

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

St. Pierre Cathedral, Autumn Tree

Image Leave a comment
St. Pierre Cathedral, Autumn Tree, Montpellier
“St. Pierre Cathedral, Autumn Tree” — A nearly bare autumn tree in front of the St. Pierre Cathedral, Montpellier, France.

This is another photograph from our walk past the impressive St. Pierre Cathedral in Montpellier, France when we visited this past December. Our walk first took us the monumental south end of the cathedral, an imposing structure with two gigantic columns supporting an exterior arch. From there we continued around the east side, where it was still mostly quiet. Rounding the north end, we saw much more vegetation, including this tree with the last few autumn leaves.

I decided to go with a monochromatic interpretation of this photo of a detail of the north end of the cathedral. The main challenge was in how to make the leaves more visible, but we do have more leeway in post with black and white. Here I essentially applied a filter (as we used to do at the time of exposure) to brighten the tones of the leaves.

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

Join the discussion — you are welcome to leave a comment or question. (Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately.)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

(All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.)

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

Christmas Vendor, Montpellier

Image Leave a comment
Christmas Vendor, Montpeillier
“Christmas Vendor, Montpeillier” — A street vendor sells Christmas items on a narrow street with hoiday “cloths’ hung overhead.

Our December visit to Montpellier, France obviously took place during the holiday season. Although it was cold and occasionally rainy while we were there, the streets were often filled with shoppers and others out on the town. The colorful cloths tied to lines spanning the narrow streets were everywhere. I later read that these come out for many holidays and special occasions here.

Along this narrow street a nearby shop had expanded its space outside along the walkway, offering holiday cards and similar items to passers-by. It was daytime when I made the photograph, but this street is so narrow and the buildings so tall, that it felt like twilight on the walkway — except here were lights were turned on.

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

Join the discussion — you are welcome to leave a comment or question. (Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately.)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

(All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.)

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

Cobbled Street

Image Leave a comment
Cobbled Street, Montpellier, France
“Cobbled Street” — A man walks up the slope of a steep cobbled street, Montpellier.

After visiting Monpellier’s Arc de Triomphe and nearby Christmas Market, we headed back down the Rue Foch toward the old center of the city, but soon took a detour to the north. It eventually took us to the St. Pierre Cathedral and then the nearby Jardin des Plantes. To get there, we first traveled through some quieter, winding back streets, including this one where I photographed a man ascending a steep section.

The light in this location and others like it reminds me a lot of the light in slot canyons in the American Southwest. Because this “canyon” is also narrow and lined by tall “walls,” direct light rarely makes it to the street level. As a result, the light is often quite “cool,” or blue, since most of it is coming from the sky itself. But in places where the sunlight hits the walls, it reflects back and forth and sends a bit of warmer toned light into the “canyon,” as on the wall at the end of this street.

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

Join the discussion — you are welcome to leave a comment or question. (Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately.)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

(All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.)