Tag Archives: spires

Basilica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar

Basilica de Nuestra Senora del Pilar
Basilica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar” — Dusk view of the Basilica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar and the Ebro River, Zaragoza, Spain.

As the new year begins we are still thinking about our travels at the end of the old year. In late 2024 we spent six weeks visiting in Germany, France, Spain, and New York City — and we’ve only been back a few days. This photograph comes from Zaragoza, Spain, one of the pleasant surprises of this trip. We spent several days there and we loved the place. Seen here is the Basilica de Nuestra Senora del Pilar, a remarkable cathedral on the banks of the Ebro River.

Something about this church feels different from many other European cathedrals. Perhaps it is the numerous domes and tall, thin spires. From some angles these structures almost remind me of mosques. The setting alongside the river is beautiful, and especially so in the evening when the place is lit up.


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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Trona Pinnacles

Trona Pinnacles
“Trona Pinnacles” — Trona Pinnacles in early morning light.

Every time I visit Death Valley I pass close enough to these formations to see them standing in the distance, a striking sight in this otherwise flat valley where there was once a large lake. (They are tufa towers, formed when the area was submerged.) From time to time I detour to photograph them, but they have been a tough subject. I made this photograph on another of those detours, stopping between Ridgecrest and Death Valley before sunrise. The light proved to be challenging, but I had a few moments of lovely side-light shortly after sunrise.

The photograph is a liberal interpretation of the scene. Obviously, the subject is not really monochromatic, but I chose that route because it seems more dramatic. By the use of filters (here in software, but the effect is the same as we got in the old days with glass filters) I have accentuated the contrast in the sky to produce the effect that I had in mind when I photographed here.


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

Storm Clouds, Pinnacles

Storm Clouds, Pinnacles
Storm Clouds, Pinnacles

Storm Clouds, Pinnacles. February 28, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Winter storm clouds swirl around pinnacles above Yosemite Valley

We were in Yosemite Valley during the late-February season so that we could attend the opening reception for the 30th Yosemite Renaissance exhibit reception. For three decades this juried exhibition has been presenting work by a wide range of wonderful artists who focus on Yosemite and the Sierra. I am grateful that one of my photographs was included in the show again this year. It was wonderful to see so many Yosemite artists of all sorts, their beautiful work, and the large group of art lovers who came to view the opening.

Since we were in the Valley for the exhibit, we figured we might as well make some photographs! The weekend brought the promise of some much-needed snow in the Valley and the higher country. In the end the amount of precipitation was woefully small, yet colder temperatures, and small amounts of snow, and the swirling clouds reminded us of what Sierra winters are supposed to look like. As I stood at a famous overlook, in the company of many other people, I aimed my camera away from the main scene before us, angled it up toward the upper rim of the many, and captured this little scene.


G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.