Images

Desert Branches

Desert Branches
“Desert Branches” — Branches with sparse foliage, Red Rock Canyon State Park.

This was most definitely not the subject I was looking for at this place. We were on the long drive back to California after a few weeks of photography in Utah when we decided to make a quick stop at the Red Rock Canyon State Park in Southern California. The main visual target there was to be the fantastically eroded formations — that last we would see that felt like the Southwest as we headed home.

We arrived late in the day, just before sunset. Because the hills near the entrance face east, the area was already in the early evening shadows. We photographed the red rock formations in the soft, blue-tinted light, and at some point I happened to spot these sparse plants silhouetted against bright ground in the distance and illuminated by the evening’s bluish light.


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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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Narrow Street, Evening

Narrow Street, Evening
“Narrow Street, Evening” — Evening lights along a narrow street in Riquewihr, France.

When we stayed at Riquewihr, France, in the Alsace region a month or so before Christmas 2024, our lodgings were just barely outside the center of the old town. We could easily walk over there and back. While the main street could be busy, side streets were nearly deserted. Here one of those streets is lit by lights on the sides of the buildings as dusk arrives.

Like many other towns in this part of Alsace, the place seems to thrive on cuteness — and wine, food, and other goodies. the Main Street, decorated with holiday lights, is where most of the visitors happily spent their time and money.


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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


All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Graffiti Wall and Bars

Graffiti Wall and Bars
“Graffiti Wall and Bars” — Complex paint patterns on a graffiti wall with metal bars, Ghent.

This is another photograph from the “graffiti alley” in Ghent, Belgium. This short, narrow walkway connecting two streets is covered with street art, tags, and graffiti of all sorts. The imagery covers the walls higher than you can reach and even extends to the sidewalk beneath your feet. If you are lucky you might find someone creating new work when you visit.

A lot of the work is text-based and/or representational. That’s interesting stuff, but I like to take a step back from the individual pieces and consider the layers and colors that build up over time. Older work is partly obscured by newer stuff, and eventually it seems that a lot of the old material simply disappears beneath the new. Here, as in some of my other photographs of this site, I decided to move close and focus on the abstract components — the broad strokes, the colors, and the surfaces to which the paint is applied.


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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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Kaysersberg Christmas

Kaysersberg Christmas
“Kaysersberg Christmas” — An old Kaysersberg building with pink shutters, decorated for Christmas.

Last year we visited Kaysersberg, in the Alsace region of France, about a month before Christmas. The village is one of may such places here in a region dotted with small towns full of half-timbered buildings and, at this time of year, set up for the Christmas holiday. You may have to look closely to see, but there are lots of decorations on this old building.

We stayed in nearby Riquewihr, but while we were there we must have visited at least three or four other nearby towns. It was cloudy when we visited Kaysersberg, but that meant beautiful soft light for photographing the town’s interesting buildings.


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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


All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.