Tag Archives: sky

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Clearing Storm, Lake, and Fog

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Clearing Storm, Lake, and Fog
“Clearing Storm, Lake, and Fog” — Evening fog drifts over moutains around a Sierra Nevada mountain lake as storm clouds clear.

I made this photograph on a rather remarkable Sierra evening. Late the previous day it had started to rain. Contrary to my expectations and experience, this turned out to not be just another afternoon shower — it absolutely poured, confining us to tents for hours and restricting our photography well into the next day. Finally the rain began to let up and we got out, though everything remained gray and wet. It wasn’t until the second evening, right around sunset, that the clouds finally broke enough to let in some light. But what light it was — perhaps a reward for our forbearance during the storm!

This photograph has been sitting in the archives for quite some time. I have looked at it in periodically and puzzled over how to handle it. The challenge was that the sky color was bright and extremely intense, so my exposure had to leave the foreground in deep shadow. This week I came back to the photo and figured out how to process it. Part of the challenge was technical, but it was also aesthetic — a question of how bright to make things and still retain the sense of oncoming twilight.

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: England, Photographs: Travel

River Thames at Blackfriars Bridge

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River Thames at Blackfriars Bridge
“River Thames at Blackfriars Bridge” — A boat on the River Thames cruises toward Blackfriars Bridge near central London.

You couldn’t ask for a lovelier London day in June, with blue skies dotted with fluffy clouds and pleasant temperatures. (The first time we visited London we were surprised by downright uncomfortably hot weather.) This photograph looks across the River Thames near Blackfriars Bridge toward a section of downtown London featuring large, modern towers. If you look closely, you might spot a few people wandering along the banks of the river at lower right.

London wasn’t our primary destination on this visit, though we were happy to be there again. The first part of this trip featured three weeks in Scotland. We started with a few jet lag adjustment days in Oban and Fort William before spending the next week walking from Fort William to Inverness on the Great Glen Way. From there we returned to civilization, with stays in Inverness, Stirling, Glasgow, and Edinburgh before taking the train south to York and London.

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: England, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

London Eye

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London Eye
“London Eye” — Looking upwards at the London Eye on a cloudy day.

I usually have a good sense of direction, and I can often navigate without maps. But I also have an occasional directional problem. When arriving in a new place I sometimes make an incorrect assumption about the compass directions. Once I do, it is darned near impossible for me to fix it. London is one of the places. For some reason, the first time I visited I reversed north and south, and I’ve struggled since then to get it right. I’ve gotten a lot better — when I look north across the River Thames these days it looks like it is north. But this photograph came about due to the residue of my prior confusion.

When we set out from our lodgings to walk to the nearby Borough Market, I went with my gut instead of logic and headed out confidently in the wrong direction. (To her credit, Patty suspected that I was going the wrong way, but went along.) We walked and walked and instead of finding the Market we were (or I was) surprised to walk up to the London Eye, which is in exactly the opposite direction!

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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Photographs: Scotland, Photographs: Travel

Bay at Oban

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Bay at Oban
“Bay at Oban” — Looking across the bay at the Scottish town of Oban toward distant highland mountains.

They tell me the weather in Scotland is supposed to be gray, wet, and cold. It was anything but that on the first days of our May visit. (OK, it lived up to expectations a few days later.) For most of our first five days in the country it was pleasantly warm and brightly sunny. Some of the natives seemed grateful that we had brought our California weather along with us. Here in Oban the skies were blue with only a few occasional clouds, and views stretched to distant highland mountains.

Following our first night at a Glasgow Airport hotel after a very late arrival, we took the train to Oban for two days of relaxation and jet lag adjustment. The town was just about perfect for this low key part of the trip. It is a lovely place that sits right on the waterfront — fishermen, tour boats, pleasure craft, and ferries come and go constantly. The whole place was walkable. We visited the Oban Distillery and did a little whisky tasting. And we enjoyed the beautiful panorama of mountains and water.

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.