Tag Archives: wall

Bicycles, Heidelberg

July 31, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Bicycles parked against the wall of a building of the Heidelberg University, Germany

There are many things that seem to characterize Heidelberg, especially the old portion of the town: the historic character of the buildings, the crowds of visitors, the university, the very young population, and the huge number of bicycles. A hint: it sees that the last three items in that list are related. It seems like everyone is riding a bicycle, the vast majority of which are similar sorts of very practical bikes, and not so much the racing bikes or mountain bikes that I tend to see in the US. Folks seem to use them to get everywhere – school, work, shopping, out to meet friends. Given this, it isn’t surprising that bicycles are also parked nearly everywhere, sometimes in huge numbers and other times in small groups, as in this photograph. (It took me a few close calls to figure out that there are bike lanes marked on some of the sidewalks in Heidelberg – I never did completely develop instincts for this while I was there.)

This group of the ubiquitous “work” bikes was parked outside a building belonging to Heidelberg University. The bikes themselves often seem interesting to me, but this little scene was also full of the sorts of features and details that always attract my attention – the colorful patterns of the building, along with its geometrical shapes, the cobbled street and sidewalk with rows of stones leading toward the entry door and the curve of the lighter stones separating sidewalk and street.

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: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Unclassified, Photographs: Utah

Autumn Maple Tree, Slot Canyon

June 12, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The red and gold leaves of an autumn maple tree against the lichen-covered and layered sandstone walls of a slot canyon, Zion National Park

When we passed through Zion National Park about a week and a half from the end of October, it was mostly too early for fall color in Zion Canyon, but things were starting to get interesting in the high country along the Mount Carmel Highway, where we spent most of a day looking for and photographing fall color, red rock, canyons, and much more. It seemed to me that the predominant sources of autumn color here were maples, and some of them were quite brilliant.

This tree was growing along a wash at the bottom of a red rock canyon which in places took on the appearance of a slot canyon. Between the tree, with its golden-yellow, oranges, greens, and bits of red, and the cliff, with shades of brown, white, red-orange, and even blue and purple, it is hard to think of very many colors that don’t make an appearance here. I of course liked the colors of this tree, but I also found the water-sculpted steep canyon walls to be interesting, with their folded shapes, lichen, and brighter color where the underlying rock could show through.

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Turret Skylight, SFMOMA

June 11, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Vertical format black and white photograph of light streaming through the upper reaches of the turret skylight above the atrium at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

This is a second photograph made during a recent visit to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, or SFMOMA, on the weekend before the place closed for two years of renovation and expansion work. Only days before did I realize that it was about to close and the extraordinary length of the closure, and I quickly adjusted my plans to get up there one more time. I wanted to wander the facility itself, but I especially wanted to see the excellent exhibit of the work of photographer Garry Winogrand.

This skylight is a dominant feature when the museum exterior is viewed from the west, where its tilted and round shape stands out from almost anything else nearby. Inside the building it creates a wonderful space full of light that somehow seems intimate, even though it is the highest point in a very large lobby atrium. The small diameter of the space and the walkway that splits it in two probably contribute to this effect. This photograph is a highly interpreted or stylized view of the subject, and is the result of a great deal of work in post-production – which almost seems somewhat ironic since the photograph was made handheld with a very small rangefinder style mirrorless digital camera.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Box Elder with Sparse Leaves

June 5, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The last autumn leaves on a box elder tree against a dark wall of Escalante Canyon, Utah

On a very cold and somewhat cloudy day in late October we explored portions of the Escalante River in Utah. This was a tough day for shooting! Not only was it cold – it was trying to snow by the end of the day – but it was also very windy, making photography of cottonwood and box elder trees and other vegetation a real challenge.

In places the river twists and turns, first going one way and permitting sun down to the river, then abruptly turning in a share s-curve and heading back the other direction. Then, as they say, “lather, rinse, repeat.” The back and forth winding course of the river continues. As we passed through one of the sharp bends, beneath very tall cliffs and in deep shade, we had to wade across the river as it flowed next to this sandstone wall. Tucked up against the wall and growing from rocky ledges were several trees, including this one that still retained just a few autumn leaves.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: wall

Bicycles, Heidelberg

Autumn Maple Tree, Slot Canyon

Turret Skylight, SFMOMA

Box Elder with Sparse Leaves

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