Tag Archives: travel

Photographs: Europe, Photographs: France, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Place de la Comédie, Montpellier.

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Place de la Comédie, Montpellier.
“Place de la Comédie, Montpellier.” — Place de la Comédie, the central square of Montpellier, France, on a rainy winter evening.

Summer travel to many popular destinations has become so common that the crowds can be close to unbearable. There are ways to compensate — go to smaller, less-well-known cities, travel during shoulder season, or just go straight to the off-season. We did the latter on our last big trip, visiting Germany, France, and Spain around the winter equinox. Of course, you need to be prepared for the weather — shorter daylight hours, cold, and a good chance of precipitation.

Speaking of the weather, we arrived in Montpellier, France in “gently inclement” weather. It was cold — though not like in Germany — and it rained. But this wasn’t the sort of rain that might pin you down in your hotel — it was gentle, and an umbrella and rain jacket were enough protection to go out and wander. Our first stop (but far from our last) was the Place de la Comédie, a popular square in the old part of the city.

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: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Dunes and Distant Hills

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Dunes and Distant Hills, Death Valley
“Dunes and Distant Hills” — Death Valley sand dunes and distant desert hills in morning light.

The photograph’s title includes the words, distant hills.” But just how distant are they? From my position as I made this photograph, once I got to my vehicle, it would be a roughly 10 mile drive to those hills. Distances (and sizes) can be very deceptive in this park where we often experience huge vistas with features many miles away.

I made this photo near the end of the morning’s work. I had started before dawn, both to photograph in the soft predawn light and because I wanted to be in place for the arrival of the first direct sunlight. When that arrives, things transform very quickly. At first the color-saturated light hits only the high points, but as it increases the light works down onto and around other features.

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: Europe, Photographs: France, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Woman and Delicatessen

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Woman and Delicatessen, Paris
“Woman and Delicatessen” — A woman walks past the Marianne delicatessen, Paris.

This photograph comes from one of our long walks during our early-December visit to Paris. We have been to Paris before, but always in the summer. The winter (technically, very late fall) visit felt quite different. There are still tourists — like us! — but in far lower numbers. But the biggest difference is that instead of the usual pleasant to hot summer weather… it was cold and gray the whole time.

As with several of the other recent Paris photographs, this one falls into the “quick grab” category, in which I work very fast before an opportunity disappears. Here it was partly the woman walking toward my camera position — I managed to get two frames including her before she was gone. I’m also fascinated by a few other things, including the prevalence of the color red in this scene, along with the extensive plant life above the canvas overhang.

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: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Salt Flat Reflections

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Salt Flat Reflections, Death Valley
“Salt Flat Reflections” — The lower slopes of the Panamint Mountains are reflected in shallow water on Death Valley salt flats.

The experience of making this photograph was perhaps as enjoyable as the scene itself. I was up very early and walked out to the edge of the salt flat a bit more than a half hour before sunrise. From earlier scouting I had a pretty good idea of where I wanted to be. Out there next to the playa it was utterly silent and still, and I was the only person there to witness the morning light coming to the Panamint Range and then the valley.

It may seem counterintuitive to go to Death Valley to photograph a mountain range reflected in still water. But out in the valley, a good distance from the roadways, there is essentially always water. It may be in pools and slowly evaporating or, as here, it flows slowly all year long. The water in the photo is probably less than an inch deep, but that’s enough to produce a fine reflection.

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

Join the discussion — you are welcome to leave a comment or question. (Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately.)

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