Tag Archives: town

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: England, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Oxford Pedestrians

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Oxford Pedestrians
“Oxford Pedestrians” — Pedestrians pass by an old buliding in Oxford, England.

We ended up taking a day trip by train to Oxford during our June visit to London. (This was the tail end of a longer trip that was mostly in Scotland.) We were in London long enough to feel like taking day trip was worthwhile, and our oldest son had just returned from a week of work in Oxford, so it was on our minds. We got up early, made our way to the train station, and were soon on the one-hour trip to the university town.

It is, of course, a popular day trip and there were lots of other visitors. It is interesting to consider the attractions of the place. The historic university is, of course, the main thing. But as much as the academic tradition is important, I think that the visuals of the town are a pretty big draw, too. It is full of these old buildings with their many intricate details. And let’s not forget the attraction of any place that evokes the popular Harry Potter imagery!

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, Scotland

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Oban, Scotland
“Oban, Scotland” — An elevated view of central Oban, Scotland, from near McCaig’s Tower.

Judging from our brief 2-night stay in this Scottish town, Oban is a charming place. It sits right on the waterfront and, from what I could see, mostly lines the shoreline and nearby hills. My impression is that the town is largely connected to three things: tourism, water-related industry (ferries, tours, and fishing), and whisky. (The well-known and highly-regarded Oban Distillery is right in town). Because we were there before the prime summer season the impact of tourists was perhaps less than it might be late.

We had two nights in Oban, and we walked around a lot on our full day in town. We had seen McCaig’s Tower, the old circular structure on top of the nearby hill, so we decided to do the steep but short walk up there. This photograph comes from that walk, and it looks out over the town from that hillside, with a view towards more distant hills and islands.

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: Scotland, Photographs: Travel

New Town, Edinburgh

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New Town, Edinburgh
“New Town, Edinburgh” — The New Town area of Edinburgh, viewed from the Edinburgh Castle.

This photograph overlooks the section of Edinburgh, Scotland known as “New Town.” To an American visitor, who might think a town is “old” if it has been around for a couple of centuries, it might be surprising to find out that New Town arose (next to the much older Old Town) roughly 250 years ago. In places with such deep history, 250 years is not that long! New Town features a lot of fascinating Neo-Classical and Georgian architecture and, in fact, it does seem a lot newer than the “Old Town” near Edinburgh Castle.

Speaking of the Castle, that is my camera position for this photograph — the foreground structures are part of it. The castle is on the top of an imposing ridge and its summit provides expansive views. Here we look across New Town to the shores of the Firth of Forth and then to more distant areas of Scotland across the 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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Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Four Mailboxes

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Four Mailboxes
“Four Mailboxes” — Four old metal mailboxes on a weathered wall in Orvieto, Italy.

When we travel we do seek out some of the famous, must-see places and things — castles, cathedrals, geological features, markets, and all the rest. But we also like to engage in a certain amount of random wandering when we can. In some ways this gives me a better sense of the character of a place than I would get by checking off all of the Big Important Things. (Don’t get me wrong. Many of those are important with good reason and are well worth visiting.) I made this photograph on one of these wandering days.

We often start out with a very general goal or idea in mind, but what we do along the way is often fairly unplanned. That was the case on this day in Orvieto, a lovely Italian hill town. Being constrained by its location on the relatively flat top of a hill, the place isn’t huge, and you can cover most of it easily on foot. So we were out walking, poking our heads into narrow alleys, looking for interesting buildings, and photographing any little bits of local character we found.

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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