Tag Archives: pedestrians

East Church of Inverness

East Church of Inverness
“East Church of Inverness” — Two pedestrians pass the facade of the East Church of Inverness with its striking purple doors.

We spent only a single night in Inverness on this trip, a decision I think we regret a bit. (One challenge with travel, of course, is there is never enough time to do everything.) The main focus of the first part of this trip was hiking the Great Glen Walk between Fort William and Inverness, so in our minds Inverness had become simply “the place where the walk ends” and not necessarily a place of interest on its own. In any case, we did get an afternoon and a morning to wander the town before we headed south, and this beautiful stone church with its striking doors was one “discovery.”

One other Inverness story: The Great Glen Way is pretty easy to follow and, on balance, relatively easy walking. There are hills and a few steep sections , but nothing like what we’ve experienced in the Sierra. The trail is well-marked. But on the final day we managed to get off-route at the very end. Rather than coming into Inverness on the Great Glen Way, we sort of ended up taking the… Great Wrong Way. It rained for the final few hours, and I think we were so focused on getting to our destination and out of the weather that we overlooked a critical trail sign at one point. We soon found ourselves wandering along a canal and through boat yards thinking, “This can’t be the trail!” it wasn’t, but we finally found a round-about route to central Inverness to finish the walk. Our reward? A pub was right across the street from the trail’s terminus!


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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | PostEmail

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)


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

Strolling in Bologna

Strolling in Bologna
“Strolling in Bologna” — Pedestrains stroll along a narrow, curving street in Bologna, italy.

Sometimes my ideas about whether a photograph should be monochromatic or color turn out to be wrong. This street is quite colorful, with paint on the buildings that suggests the sandstone colors of Southwest American canyons. The soft light accentuated this effect and warmed those colors. But the more I worked on the photograph, the more that it seemed a case of “too much.”

In fact, the two central figure also disappear into the detail in the color rendition, and those colors, found throughout the rest of the frame, simply overwhelmed everything else. So gradually, step by step, my idea about how to interpret this scene shifted to thinking of it as monochromatic.


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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | PostEmail

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)


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

Long Shadows

Long Shadows
Pedestrians at the High Line Park cast long shadows.

Long Shadows. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Pedestrians at the High Line Park cast long shadows.

In my experience, interesting things happen to the light during late-fall and winter in Manhattan. Many are familiar with the “Manhattanhenge” phenomenon where the sun lines up with streets, but I’m thinking more of the combination of low sunlight angles and midday and afternoon light casting long shadows to the north and northeast of subjects, who appear against a bright, sometimes-glowing background.

Interesting things happen in this light. The shadows fascinate me — they are long and often anngle across the scene. (In some places the shadows themselves criss-cross when the light is reflected from building windows.) To photograph this light I have to walk towards it, and if I’m including human subjects they are often walking the other way — so things happen quickly and I have to react with little time for careful thought. As a result, there are surprises… such as the arm position of the man at the left, who walks almost as if he is trying to balance on a tight rope.


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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | PostEmail

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.

Siena Backstreet

Siena Backstreet
Pedestrians round a corner on a narrow Siena street lined with tall buildings.

Siena Backstreet. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Pedestrians round a corner on a narrow Siena street lined with tall buildings.

During our 2023 European travels we finally returned to Siena after missing earlier opportunities to go there during the pandemic. Seven years earlier we were there for literally only hours, spending an afternoon on a day trip from where we were staying in Chianti. We were entranced by the city, with its remarkable maze of narrow streets and large central plaza, Il Campo.

We made a point of scheduling a longer say on this return visit, with time to wander the streets, sit in cafes and restaurants, visit important sites, and make photographs. This scene is along a non-busy (remarkable, yes?) back street that roughly parallels two much busier thoroughfares. The narrow width of the route, the tall buildings, and the varied colors and textures are typical of this 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” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Twitter | Flickr | FacebookEmail

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.