Tag Archives: reflection

Christmas in Riquewihr

Christmas in Riquewihr
“Christmas in Riquewihr” — People stroll along an evening street with Christmas decorations in Riquewihr, Alsace, France.

Just about a year ago, in November and December of 2024, we spent six weeks getting into the holiday spirit in Europe, spending time in Germany, France and Spain. The photograph comes from the Alsace village of Riquewihr, where we spent a few days in a part of France that was new to us. Not surprisingly, the place was all tricked out for Christmas.

One reason to visit Alsace on this trip was that we drove down with relatives from Germany — this region and Germany are close geographically and culturally. (As I understand it, the local dialect is deeply influenced by German.) It was a charming region, at least in the less-busy winter season. It is filled with small villages, separated by vineyards in many places, and it has a wonderful local cuisine.


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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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Dormant Wetlands Plants

Dormant Wetlands Plants
“Dormant Wetlands Plants” — Dormant and dried wetlands plants reflected in the still water of a quiet pond.

My first “real” visit of the season to my favorite migratory bird photography location did not go as planned. (Actually, I did stop briefly a month ago and a half earlier, but things were still slow back then.) I was hoping for luminous tule fog and lots of geese and sandhill cranes. Instead I got thick gray elevated overcast and fewer birds than expected. Ah, well, it happens… and when it does I look for something else to photograph.

This is one of the “something else” photographs. This area is full of shallow seasonal ponds, and when they fill the summer’s plants still emerge from the still water and make fascinating reflections. For this subject the very soft light from the overcast worked well and revealed a more of the plants’ details.


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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


All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Bean People

Bean People
“Bean People” — Visitors in front of and reflected in the surface of “Cloud Gate” (aka “The Bean”) in Chicago.

The “Cloud Gate” sculpture is an icon in Chicago. Located in Millennium Park, it attracts hoards of visitors. I’ve been there more than once, and I encountered crowds each time — including on this rather cold November day. It seems that no one can resist interacting with their distorted reflection!

We had wandered through less crowded parts of the park — and those were easy to find in the cold weather. We saw beautiful rows of trees, some shedding autumn leaves, and then walked out to the Lake Michigan shoreline. We headed back into the more popular areas of the park looking for something warm to drink and paused for a few minutes at “Cloud Gate” to see the object and, perhaps even more, watch the people.


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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


All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Forest and Pond (Vertical)

Forest and Pond (Vertical)
“Forest and Pond (Vertical)” — Forest trees reflected in the still water of a subalpine pond, Yosemite.

This is another photograph from my early July (the first day of the month!) camping and photography trip to the High Sierra just outside the eastern boundary of Yosemite National Park. Among other things, this positioned me for quick trips into the park to photograph in the high country. The landscape was still almost deserted — the snow and meltwater had recently diminished, campgrounds were not yet open, and new rules restricted the number of drivers entering the park.

Later in the season this little scene would look quite different, as everything in the high country begins to dry out near the end of a typical summer. But at this point the grasses were still green and growing, and there was some new growth on the trees, too. There are actually two versions f this photograph — I shared a horizontal (“landscape”) version of it a few weeks ago.


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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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.