Tag Archives: stock. license

Photographs: Germany, Photographs: Nature

Alpine Valley, Bavaria

6 Comments
Alpine Valley, Bavaria
Alpine Valley, Bavaria

Alpine Valley, Bavaria. Near Königssee, Germany. July 18, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sun dappled alpine scenery in the Bavarian Alps above Königssee, Germany

We have been traveling. After a week in London, we spent two weeks in Germany, one of which was in the Königssee area of Bavaria, Germany, where we stayed in an old farm-house. I’ll have more to say about this trip as I post more photographs over the coming days and weeks, both landscape and distinctly urban photographs. But for now, something from the Bavarian Alps.

As some of you know, I’m a long-time “Sierra Nevada guy,” who is very accustomed to hiking long distances in somewhat undeveloped areas in order to do photography. The landscape here is no less spectacular, but the experience is in many ways quite different. Take this day’s hike for example… It began with a ride on the Jennerbahn (ski lift) up to a point high up in the mountains, with scenery that reminded me in some ways of parts of “my” Sierra, but even more of some places I have visited in the Pacific Northwest. From there we hiked downhill for a kilometers, first across the top of a high ridge and then dropping down into a beautiful alpine Valley – complete with the Mahlerian sound of a chorus of cowbells. Halfway down we stopped for (fellow Sierrans, eat your heart out!) a lunch of bier und käsebrot before continuing on down to where we began at the base of the lift. The light in this part of Bavaria, at least during our visit, was very different from the clarity that I often seen in the Sierra – here the atmosphere was often thick with moisture, creating a soft quality. On this day, this was enhanced to a gradual build-up of thunderclouds that led to a spectacular evening lightning show, which we enjoyed outdoors at a picnic table back at our lodgings.

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.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Wildlife

Sandhill Cranes, Fog and Trees

2 Comments
Sandhill Cranes, Fog and Trees
Sandhill Cranes, Fog and Trees

Sandhill Cranes, Fog and Trees. San Joaquin Valley, California. January 212, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A group of sandhill cranes takes flight in foggy dawn light as others stand in a marsh with blackbird-filled trees beyond.

I almost feel like I know this group of sandhill cranes, as we have found them on several occasions in the same San Joaquin Valley location – and by this I mean in precisely the same spot along a levee and at the same time of day… and often in fog. The first time I “saw” them here I actually heard them more than saw them. It had been an extremely foggy morning, so thick that it was difficult to see any distance into the murk. We could hear lots of birds and certainly recognize the distinct call of the sandhill cranes. Occasionally a small group of them would momentarily emerge from the fog to pass overhead and just as quickly disappear.

On this January morning it was again foggy, but not quite that thick. When we arrived before dawn we were able to make out the large flock of the birds on the ground near the levee, though it was a bit too murky and they were too far away to get clear photographs. But as sunrise arrived, the cranes began to take to the sky in small group, sometimes passing over or near our position before departing. As this group flew across the scene, above other birds still on the ground, the faint light of sunrise managed to pierce the fog and case a bit of warm light on the flock.

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.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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.

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Columbus Tower and Transamerica Pyramid

Leave a comment
Columbus Tower and Transamerica Pyramid - Two downtown San Francisco landmarks juxtaposed, the Columbus Tower and the Transamerica Pyramid.
Two downtown San Francisco landmarks juxtaposed, the Columbus Tower and the Transamerica Pyramid.

Columbus Tower and Transamerica Pyramid. San Francisco, California. August 5, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two downtown San Francisco landmarks juxtaposed, the Columbus Tower and the Transamerica Pyramid.

Who says I can’t photograph icons! The one on the left is probably a bit better known than the one on the right. The taller and more modern building is, probably obviously, the Transamerica pyramid. It has now become a definitive part of the San Francisco skyline, although I understand that it was quite controversial when it was constructed, with lots of people regarding it as an eyesore.

The other building is the Columbus Tower, located on Columbus Street sort of between North Beach and the Financial District, though certainly having more in common with the former than the latter. The finely detailed sections of the exterior are copper and have that well-known copper green color. According to Wikipedia and other sources, the building is also known as the Sentinel Building and dates to the 1906 earthquake era, having been started before the quake and finished shortly after.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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.