Tag Archives: travel

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Travel

Buildings and Walkway, Orvieto

Image December 9, 2024 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

I have previously described our approach to travel, but this is an example of how it can pay off. While we have no objection to them, we don’t take “tours.” Instead we head out on our own, and we love to walk in the places we visit, often with no particular goal in mind. In truth, we sometimes do miss some famous sites and sights, but we also see lots of things that aren’t on the tour agendas. Ending up at this quiet spot in Orvieto is an example of how this works.

Orvieto is an Italian “hill town,” situated on the top of a large plateau surrounding by very steep slopes and even cliffs in some places. It is on the day trip itinerary for visitors from Rome, but we stayed there a ew days. That meant that we weren’t under pressure to dash around and see things. (It also meant we enjoyed fewer crowds in the morning and evening.) One afternoon we arrived at this spot on one of our walks and we were almost the only people there. A small garden and walkway led to an overlook that provided a panoramic view of the country below the town.

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: Italy, Photographs: Travel

Piazza Grande, Arezzo

Image November 29, 2024 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

During the summer of 2023 we went on a 10-week ramble though (mostly) Southern Europe. During the latter part of the trip we made a circuit through portions of Italy over a period of about three weeks. We made a point of visiting a few smaller places like this town of Arezzo. It isn’t entirely devoid of tourists, but it is nothing like the big, popular places. The photograph comes from the “Piazza Grande,” or grand square, in the upper part of the town.

It is a fascinating place. One signature feature of the square is that it tilts. It is built near the top of a hill in this high part of the town, and the slope is quite impressive. The square is surrounded by buildings that are hundreds of years old. We were there a couple of times, but on this afternoon we got there just before a thunderstorm arrived. and we quickly took refuge in a restaurant beneath a portico on the piazza as the storm began.

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

The Quiet Pacific

Image October 29, 2024 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

There is not a lot happening in this photograph. In fact, the scene was as close to static as ocean scenes can be. It can be quite dramatic and dynamic here, especially if the sun is out, a big swell is generating high surf, the wind is blowing, and wildlife is present. But on this unexpectedly foggy morning it was quite still and most of the tourists were still sipping coffee back in town.

The location is a very high overlook along the Pacific Coast Highway south of Carmel. Several things intrigued me about the scene on this morning — not just the unusual stillness. The boundary between the ocean and sky was muted by the fog bank, and the light was soft and gray. A mysterious line of foam led from the foreground rocks far out into the ocean.

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Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sky

Mono Lake, Dissipating Storm

Image October 24, 2024 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

It is well understood that some of the most interesting landscape photography light comes at the edges of the day, around sunrise or sunset. When things work out just right, Sierra Nevada weather conditions amplify this light. During the summer months afternoon thunderstorms are not uncommon, and they often break up around sunset, allowing light from the west to dramatically illuminate and color the clouds.

I had been photographing in mixed light during the afternoon — sometimes it was clear, but at other times is was overcast. As the day moved toward sunset, I was passing along the west shore of Mono Lake as clouds dissipated and that western light turned the thinning storm clouds into a fiery cloudscape above the lake.

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G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: travel

Buildings and Walkway, Orvieto

Piazza Grande, Arezzo

The Quiet Pacific

Mono Lake, Dissipating Storm

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