Tag Archives: shadow

Photographs: Scotland, Photographs: Travel

Lamp, Window, Morning Light

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Lamp, Window, Morning Light
“Lamp, Window, Morning Light” A lamp on the ledge of a window in a Stirling, Scotland hotel.

This is an opportunistic photograph, made at a moment when photography is not typically my priority. We were staying in Stirling, Scotland for a few days after our Great Glen Way walk, and it turned out that breakfast was included with our room. So instead of heading out to hunt for coffee and breakfast, we just walked down that hallway, took the elevator down a floor, and walked into the dining room. And there on the window sill next to our table was this eye-catching lamp, posing against the window lit by morning light, with the blue sky beyond.

“So,” you may ask,” you say you weren’t thinking about photographing. But you had your camera with you? At breakfast?” Well, not exactly. This is an iPhone photograph. (I’ll bet that you didn’t realize that until now, right?) It turns out that sometimes the iPhone can be used to make things other than selfies. For the photographers out there, I did use the iPhone’s raw mode so that I’d have a bit more latitude in post — as you can imagine, the dynamic range in this scene was pretty large!

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.

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Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Scotland, Photographs: Travel

Portico, University of Glasgow

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Portico, Univeristy of Glasgow
“Portico, University of Glasgow” — Among the stout columns and arches of a portico at the University of Glasgow.

This day started with a vague plan to visit the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and perhaps go look for some of the famous Glasgow Street Art nearby. Some times we have very clear plans and sometimes we just wing it. This was one of the latter times. We walked to the museum from downtown Glasgow, and after our visit there decided to check out the nearby campus of the University of Glasgow, where I made this photograph.

Once we got close enough to the university to see its impressive old buildings and tower — very “Harry Potter-esque” — we knew we had to get closer and take a look. After making a few photographs outside the buildings I noticed a doorway and figured we might as well walk in and see what happened. (Depending on local regulations this may or may not be OK.) We entered and were soon in a large interior square, surrounding by the impressive buildings. These arches and columns supported a central wing separating two portions of the central open areas.

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.

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

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

Mountains and Dunes, Sunset

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Mountains and Dunes, Sunset
“Mountains and Dunes, Sunset” — Evening light on desert mountains with sand dunes in shadow, Death Valley.

Until you spend time there, it is possible to imagine that the terrain of Death Valley corresponds to traditional notions of “desert” — vast open and flat areas largely filled with sand. There are sand dunes, of course, but they cover a very tiny fraction of the entire park. There are open, flat areas that are not dunes, but they also are arguably not the area’s main feature. But everywhere there are mountains, and the arid landscape lays bare their forms.

I was in what are perhaps the best-known Death Valley dunes on this evening. I arrived in the late afternoon when the light was still strong, planning to be in an interesting location when the shadows of the Cottonwood Range would sweep across the flatlands before sunset. I made this photograph just after that happened, and while the dunes are in shadow there is strong and warmly-colored side light on the more distant mountains.

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.

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

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

Desert Mountains and Lake Manly

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Desert Mountains and Lake Manly
“Desert Mountains and Lake Manly — Morning light on desert mountains with flow patterns in the distance.

This photograph might be a bit disorienting. I wonder what you see at first? Some desert mountains with an unusual sky in the background? But what to make of that white area at the far right? And then, what kind of “sky” are we looking at? If I’m right, at some point you might have a bit of difficulty putting all of these elements together into a whole that makes sense. There is an explanation…

I photographed from a ridge-top location in the mountains east of Death Valley. Although my initial goal was to photograph some other distant mountains at sunrise, I stuck around as the sun climbed higher. Eventually it was high enough that it began to illuminate the outcroppings on the slopes below me. Their contours lead down to the eastern edge of Death Valley and, this year, the shoreline of Lake Manly. That “sky” in the photograph is a shallow section of the lake, and the streams are submerged channels.

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 | Post | Email

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

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