Tag Archives: travel

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Germany, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Roofs of Heidelberg

July 29, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

As seen from the tower of the Heiliggeistkirche, the rooftops of the Heidelberg Altstadt extend into the distance

Heidelberg is a city with a very long history, and a lot of this history seems to be maintained in the altstadt or “old town” section of the city, where most buildings are quite old and some date back many centuries, where streets are pre-automobile narrow, and where you can find a combination of small shops, old churches, university buildings, places to eat, and – of course – tourist attractions.

I made this photograph from the tower of the Holy Ghost Church (Heiliggeistkirche), a structure that dominates the view of the old town area and which is located across the street from the historic Ritter Hotel. The interior of the church is also impressive, and I’ll have some photographs of that a bit later. We paid the 1 euro donation to climb the many twisting steps to the walkway far up the church’s tower, from which a spectacular 360 degree view of the city, the Neckar River, and the surrounding hills is seen. I spent quite a long time up there, watching for good moments in the soft light, and making photographs of the city from this high vantage point. This view looks across the altstadt along the path of the Neckar as is leaves this valley and heads towards the valley of the Rhein.

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: Austria, Photographs: Nature

Eisriesenwelt Trail, Alps

July 27, 2013 G Dan Mitchell 5 Comments

Hikers descend the trail from the ice caves of Eisriesenwelt above the town of Werfen, Austria

Over a period of three weeks, our July 2013 visit to Europe took us to parts of Germany and Austria, and to London before that. The London portion of the trip was almost wholly and urban experience, but the time in Germany (with side trips into Austria) was quite a bit more varied. One significant difference is that while we hit our share of tourist areas, that’s not all we did since a) we were visiting relatives who are long-time residents of Germany and b) we traveled, as we often do, without a specific advance plan about what we would visit – at least beyond our fixed plan to stay in certain places on certain dates. Perhaps for this reason, and because I travel as a photographer as much as a tourist, the photographs from this trip may seem a bit eclectic and will cover a wide range of subjects.

This photograph was made at a popular tourist attraction not far from Salzburg and above town of Werfen, the Eisriesenwelt, also known as the Eisriesenwelt Ice Cave. There is a lot to say about this place – too much for this post – but I’ll give a bit of background. The cave is located far up the mountainside – more of a cliff, actually – above the town. The popular tour visits amazing underground ice formations near the mouth of the cave, though I understand that the cave system goes much farther back into the mountains. After driving up from Werfen, you walk uphill a short distance to a ski-lift style cable car system that takes you up the steep face almost to the cave… but you still have an additional uphill walk from there to the cave itself. (This being Europe, though, you can stop at the parking lot, the lower end of the tram, the upper end of the tram, and the same places going back down to sit, have a bite to eat, and drink a beer!) The trail between the upper tram station and the entrance to the cave is quite something. It traverses terrain that would scare the life out of people not used to very high and very exposed places – though a very civilized path has been built along the edge of the void, covered in some places for protection from rockfall. In this photograph, a section of the trail winds around a promontory with the deep Salzach Valley and Alpine ridges beyond.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Spring, Oaks, El Capitan Meadow

July 25, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Green grass and new oak leaves, El Capitan Meadow, Yosemite Valley

Probably almost anyone who has photographed in Yosemite Valley much can recognize this sort of scene and perhaps even think of some favorite spots to find black oak trees with new spring growth, set in meadows and backed by forest. Even though this is a very dry year in The Valley – and in almost all of California – around the beginning of May the annual “greening” of the Valley did take place, and this photograph was made during that period.

When lit from behind and above, the light coming through the new oak leaves is luminous and the colors can take on an intensity that sometimes cause me to describe this as the “impossibly green season” in California. Perhaps it is because the state is brown, tan, or gray during so much of the year that the spring green seems so intense.

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco

Ships and Morning Sky

July 24, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Ships at anchor on San Francisco Bay under a hazy morning sky

San Francisco’s Embarcadero can be a busy, hectic, noisy traffic artery filled with cars, buses, trains, trucks and tourists – but very early in the morning it provides a beautiful and sometimes even quiet view of San Francisco Bay that is incomparable, especially on a morning when the water is calm and the haze over the water catches the light and produces a glowing, luminous effect.

I have a habit of traveling to The City on Caltrain to photograph, usually arriving between 6:00 AM and 7:00 AM when things haven’t quite woken up yet. When I go there to photograph I often have no specific plan, but I almost invariably end up along the Embarcadero waterfront, whether I go directly there, wander around urban streets first, or do a lot of photography elsewhere before arriving later in the morning. On this morning I took a short detour through some nearby back streets before catching a view of the light over the bay and heading to the east. With the view framed this way, so that only a bit of water, a few anchored ships, and lots of sky are visible, you can forget that you are along the edge of one very busy city.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: travel

Roofs of Heidelberg

Eisriesenwelt Trail, Alps

Spring, Oaks, El Capitan Meadow

Ships and Morning Sky

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.