Tag Archives: reflection

Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Germany, Photographs: Travel

Henkersteg, Pegnitz River

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Henkersteg, Pegnitz River, Nürnberg
“Henkersteg, Pegnitz River” — A covered bridge spans the Pegnitz River, Nürnberg, Germany

Walking around in Nürnberg on a day that began with slowly dissipating fog, I saw this scene as we crossed a bridge over the Pegnitz River. There is still a bit of the fog in the sky above the buildings, an old covered bridge crosses the water, and the buildings, bridge, and a few trees are reflected in the smooth surface of the river.

Often when photographing in a location like this I sometimes cannot determine the name of the subject or I photograph quickly and move on without checking. That was the case here, and it was only later that I used maps to locate the bridge and found out that it is called the “Henkersteg.” I understand that this roughy translates to “hangman’s bridge.” Additional reading suggests that it got the name because long ago the town hangman lived in a tower near one end of the bridge.

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: Birds, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

The Fly-In

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The Fly-In — geese arrive over a wetlands pond at sunset.
“The Fly-In” — Thousands of migratory geese arrive in the wetlands at sunset.

A day spent photographing migratory geese and other birds often includes a lot of “slow time” when little is happening. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing — sometimes the quiet and stillness is enough by itself. But around sunrise and sunset there is often a of activity as large flocks of birds take to the air and head to nighttime locations. If you are where they arrive, it is the “fly-in.” When they depart, we refer to the “fly-out.”

This huge flock of geese (almost certainly snow geese for the most part) arrived just after I went to this spot to photograph a colorful winter sunset and its reflection in the waters of a wetland pond. The flock arrived, circled, and eventually settled down on the water… and quiet returned.

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: Unclassified

A Narrow Passage.

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A narrow walkway at night, Zaragoza, Spain.
“A Narrow Passage.” — A narrow walkway at night, Zaragoza, Spain

One of our pleasures when we travel is just plain wandering. While we do hit some of the “must see” sites, we also just go out and walk, sometimes without any specific goal. We think this is one of the best ways to get a feel for a city — to plunge in and go where the locals are, even if lack of language skills and cultural familiarity may us feel a bit awkward. That is more or less how I ended up in this spot.

This is an interesting street (walkway? passage?) in Zaragoza. It is very narrow, rivaling some of the remarkably narrow passageways in Venice. It was almost deserted — a few people passed by before I made the photograph. But that wasn’t because it was late — it was because it was too early! In Zaragoza the restaurant and bars that line this walkway open late, well after our familiar American dinner hour. A bit later these shuttered businesses would open and people would populate the scene.

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” from Heyday Books, is available directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: New York City

Winter Reflections, Central Park

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Lake edge with ice and reflections.
“Winter Reflections, Central Park” — Trees reflected in a strip of water at the edge of a frozen lake, Central Park.

I photographed this little scene on a cold morning walk through New York’s Central Park this past December. We were fortunate to have light snow one morning, and that changed the appearance of the city and the park. It had already been cold enough to freeze most of The Lake’s surface, but the light snowfall covered imperfections. In this spot fallen leaves rested on new ice and the reflected the silhouettes of nearby trees.

The concepts of “nature” (and even of “wilderness”) are complex and, I think, not entirely fixed. Sometimes we accept the notion that these things mean “devoid of evidence of humans.” But there’s a problem with that idea — it suggests that humans are independent of the natural world. Finding the natural world in places like this — even if you can perhaps hear car horns in the distance — is a reminder that nature is everywhere and we are a part of it.

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” from Heyday Books, is available directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email
Articles | Sales | Sierra Nevada Fall Color | Contact Info

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