Tag Archives: smooth

Photographs: Croatia, Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: Travel

Lokrum Island, Adriatic Sea

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Lokrum Island, Adriatic Sea, Croatia
“Lokrum Island, Adriatic Sea” — Lokrum Island and the calm Adriatic Sea at Dubrovnik, evening.

We were in Croatia for a week and a half in the summer of 2023, at the end of a ten weeks of travel in (mostly Southern) Europe. Our visit to this country began with a few days in the remarkable old walled city of Dubrovnik. Late one day I decided it was time to circumnavigate the city on the walkways along the top of the old walls that surround it. The day came to an end as I walked, and I made this photograph right around dusk.

You have probably heard of the “rules of composition.” I’m pretty sure I violated most of them, if not all, in this photograph. “Rules” is the wrong context here — that word implies that there are specific right and wrong ways to approach composition. Instead the goal should be to understand the effects of compositional choices on the mood of a photograph. Here I wanted to express the stillness and lack of dynamism in this scene, its peacefulness and quiet. I think that the almost evenly divided vertical helps with that. And I wanted a bit of a sense of mystery — hence the bit of the island intruding into the frame from the far left.

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: Croatia, Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: Travel

Red and White Boat, Adriatic Sea

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Red and White Boat, Adriatic Sea
“Red and White Boat, Adriatic Sea” — A red and white boat sails on the quiet Adriatic Sea past Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Looking at this scene, you would probably never guess where I was when I photographed it. It seems like a quiet, isolated place along the ocean shore. Truth be told, I was walking along the top of the wall around the historic city of Dubrovnik, Croatia very close to sunset. While it was fairly quiet there, it most certainly was not isolated!

I’m a fan of long views of the empty or nearly-empty ocean. I’m not quite certain why that is, though the ocean represents a sort of infinite unknown frontier for most of us. There’s something “out there” that we are unlikely to experience, a place of mystery. Here it is enhanced by the soft light and haze of the summer Adriatic as this boat passes by.

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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(All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.)

Photographs: Scotland, Photographs: Travel

Oban Harbor, Dusk

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Oban Harbor, Dusk
“Oban Harbor, Dusk” — Dusk sky, smooth waters, and evening lights along the edge of Oban harbor, Scotland.

This might have been the actual moment when we truly entered vacation mode — which is a different thing than travel mode. Travel mode had brought us to Oban, Scotland, where we paused for a couple of days between arriving in the UK and starting our walk on the Great Glen Way. Travel mode meant almost a full day in international transit, a quick overnight a the Glasgow airport, a shuttle ride to the train station, arrival and check-in in Oban, and then a search for dinner. We finished dinner, left the restaurant for our walk back to our accommodations, and were greeted with the lovely, peaceful scene of smooth water and the dusk glow in the sky.

Oban is a fine little town, located right on the water and a center for fishing, water adventures, ferries, and more. We enjoyed out short stay there — and our visit to the Oban distillery and a bit of whisky tasting probably enhanced things — as we devoted a couple of days to just slowing down and starting to overcoming jet lag.

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: Scotland, Photographs: Travel

Oban Waterfront, Dusk

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Oban Waterfront, Dusk
“Oban Waterfront, Dusk” — Waterfront buildings reflected in smooth water at dusk, Oban, Scotland.

Our recent visit to Scotland included jet lag adjustment time before our Great Glen Way walk. It did not seem wise to get off our 11-hour flight, eight time zones away from home and immediately start walking! We spent our first night near the airport in Glasgow, then took a train to Oban for a couple of nights before heading to our trailhead in Fort William. Oban was a wonderful surprise — a lovely, walkable town on the waterfront. And, of course, the Oban Whisky distillery is in town. And, yes, we visited!

We stayed at a B&B about ten minutes from the center of town. As we walked back from dinner we came upon this lovely dusk light over the waterfront. I had not thought much about it before the trip, but Scotland is so far north (the northern tip is about as far north as Juneau, Alaska) that the daylight lasted until nearly 10:00pm.

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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