Tag Archives: person

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

Passing Cyclist, Le Marais

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Passing Cyclist, Le Marais
“Passing Cyclist, Le Marais” — A bicycle rider quickly passes at a cross street in Le Marais, Paris.

I often ponder the similarities and differences among the various genres of photography I pursue. (If you follow me you have seen everything from landscapes to night photography to street photography to travel and more.) The connection between landscape and street photography especially interests me, partly because many people think of them as being utterly different. I think that there are some similarities. For example, I often think about the street landscape first, and then wait and watch for someone to animate it.

That was the case here. I was interested in the wall at the end of this narrow street, and the way that its view is bounded by the darker walls on either side. I knew that I could photograph people as they passed by. One tricky part of this is that I had no idea who was about to enter the scene or from which direction. So I had to be ready to react quickly. (This necessarily results in some less than remarkable photographs, too. I won’t share those!) The time was even shorter as this woman sped past on her bicycle.

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

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Purple Larkspur

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Purple Larkspur
“Purple Larkspur” — Purple larkspur flowers, blooming in Northern California.

Recently I wrote — again! — about returning to unremarkable “special places” that probably don’t have any meaning to anyone but me. This photograph comes from one that I mentioned, a trail through a small ravine at a nearby country park. Every spring I go there to visit spots where I can photograph a few favorite wildflowers, including a particular little area where these Larkspur flowers bloom.

They are odd flowers, not like so many of the other popular spring wildflowers. Their color is dark, sometimes so dark that is is quite difficult to photograph them. (I try to find them when they are still in the shadows, and the soft light helps reveal details.) Because of the way they grow from a central stem, it can be challenging to make a composition out of them, much less get a plane of focus that lines up ideally with their dense details.

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

Rainy Evening, Montpellier

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Rainy Evening, Montpellier
“Rainy Evening, Montpellier” — A rainy night street scene in Montpellier, France.

After we left Germany during our late-autumn and early-winter visit to Europe last year we headed to France, eventually ending up in Montpellier, a city in the South of France. While we like returning to places we have previously visited — we always see things we missed the first time — we make a point of going to new places, often those we had not thought of visiting before. Montpellier fit the bill, as it had not been on our radar at all, and we knew little about it.

We were there for just three nights, so I can’t claim that we fully “know” the place, but we liked what we saw a lot. We were in the older central part of town, staying in a small hotel a block from the central square, the Place de la Comédie. It was raining when we arrived, but that didn’t stop us (or thousands of locals!) from heading out for the evening.

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: Europe, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Spain, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Rounding the Corner

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Photo of a women walking on a darkened street in Madrid
“Rounding the Corner” — A woman walks around a corner on a quiet Madrid street at night.

Madrid is quite active at night — you’ve perhaps heard about the very late dinner hour there? We visited during the December holiday season, when the sun sets early, so there were even more hours of nighttime activity. I love to photograph urban areas at night, and these factors gave me lots of opportunities. Here a woman walks through a beam of light as she rounds a corner on a quiet street.

While it was possible to find quiet moments like this, many places in Madrid were packed with people during the holiday season, especially in the late afternoons and evenings. Major streets were filled with pedestrians and restaurants and bars were packed.

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 G Dan Mitchell.

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.