Tag Archives: texture

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Germany, Photographs: Travel

Parken Verboten

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Parken Verboten
A textured wall, a window, and a Parken verboten sign in Turnau

Parken Verboten. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A textured wall, a window, and a “Parken verboten!” sign in Turnau

Last summer we stayed in the small German town of Thurnau for a few nights. We were in the neighborhood for the Bayreuther Festspiele (“Bayreauth Festival”) — the famous location for performances of the operas of Richard Wagner. We have a “connection” (a relative of Patty’s) who lives in Germany and, perhaps to his surprise, he managed to get tickets. This was an opportunity that was too good to pass up, and we ended up seeing three performances.

Thurnau is not Bayreuth, but when everything else in Bayreuth is booked, Thurnau is close enough! Even better, we ended up staying at Schloss Thurnau which is (as you may have figured out if you know a few German words) a castle in this town. Attending one of these operas is a bit different than going to a “regular” opera back home — they are hours long and each intermission is an hour long, so you use up most of the afternoon and all of an evening attending a performance. However, we did have some time to go out and wander though nearly areas of the neat little town of Thurnau, and I made this photograph of a window, a practical sign, and an unusual wall in the neighborhood.

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 and Amazon.

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Photographs: Structures and Objects

Broom Handle

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Broom Handle
The handle of a broom rests against walls

Broom Handle. Laguna Beach, California. November 25, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The handle of a broom rests against walls

What can I say? It is a broom handle! OK, maybe it isn’t just a broom handle. We briefly dropped in at the Sawdust Festival in Laguna Beach while visiting Southern California over the Thanksgiving Holiday. This is a long-standing crafts fair that, as I understand it, is sort of a “big thing” in the area.

This photograph is a reminder that there is always something to see, especially if I happen to have a camera in my hands. It would have been easy to simply walk past this little vignette, except that carrying the camera gives me an incentive to look more closely at my surroundings. This little alcove was at the back of a booth — I think it may have been one where live ceramics demonstrations were taking place — and something about the colors, the alternating panels with their remnants of paint and clay dust, and the off-kilter broom handle caused me to stop and make a few exposures.

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 and Amazon.
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Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Dunes and Mountains, Twilight

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Dunes and Mountains, Twilight
Sand dunes and desert mountains in twilight, Death Valley National Park

Dunes and Mountains, Twilight. Death Valley National Park, California. April 27, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sand dunes and desert mountains in twilight, Death Valley National Park

Arriving in Death Valley earlier in the day, we had visited some canyon country that is a bit off the beaten path and then headed back to our home base in the park for the next few days. We got settled in, had some dinner, and headed out to make some photographs, deciding that it would be best on this first evening to photograph nearby.

We made it to an area along the periphery of the dunes before sunset and then continued to photograph during the evening light transition from warm pre-sunset color to the post-sunset blue hour light. Here there was still a bit of a glow from the west, but the sun had already dropped below the Cottonwood mountains, and the light was soft as we finished photographing in the evening stillness.

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

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Desert Wash and Mountains

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Desert Wash and Mountains
A golden desert wash descends toward distant mountains and a valley.

Desert Wash and Mountains. Death Valley National Park, California. March 29, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A golden desert wash descends toward distant mountains and a valley.

This beautiful wash is very (very!) close to one of the iconic Death Valley stopping places. I’ve never been able to warm up to that particular spot as a photographic subject. Fortunately, even time I go there I look in a slightly different direction — and I often seem to be the only person looking that way — and find this lovely view.

We visited near the end of the day, as afternoon sunlight begins to take on the warm tones of early evening and shadows start to stretch across the valley. Once again, I stopped at this well-known place. Once again I thought it was interesting, but not quite what I wanted to photograph. And, once again, I looked downhill and away to see this wash. The light highlighted the different colors of the geological deposits here, with yellow material lining the path of the wash and the middle distance hills darker and holding tones that are more reddish. The path of the wash winds sinuously back and forth as it descends between the lowering walls, with shadow on one side and sun on the other.

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