Tag Archives: thames

Photographs: Travel, Photographs: United Kingdom, Photographs: Urban/Street

Summer Twilight, River Thames

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Summer Twilight, River Thames
The twilight sky above the River Thames on a summer evening in London.

Summer Twilight, River Thames. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The twilight sky above the River Thames on a summer evening in London.

This photograph comes from the end of a memorable day in London back in 2013. Believe it or not, this was our first visit to that city. We made the best of it, staying there for about a week before departing for other destinations. Various relatives from the US and Europe also showed up while we were there, and it was on this day, if my memory is correct, that the whole gang had finally arrived and met up. We had just had dinner together and were now along the Thames watching the day come to an end.

This photograph brings up the subject of how to interpret scenes photographed in very low light. It was the beginning of summer twilight on this July evening — there was still light and color in the sky, but artificial light was becoming more visible as in became darker. My tendency is to interpret light in ways that bring more of it to the subject, but with night and near-night photography it is easy to go so far that you lose the sense of a dark environment. In this photograph I decided to keep things relatively dark, at least compared to what I could have done, in the hope that the effect would be close to how we would perceive the scene in person.

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: Travel, Photographs: United Kingdom, Photographs: Urban/Street

Pedestrians Along the River Thames

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Pedestrians Along the River Thames
Pedestrians stroll along the banks of the River Thames on a cloudy London day.

Pedestrians Along the River Thames. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Pedestrians stroll along the banks of the River Thames on a cloudy London day.

Today another photograph in the ongoing series that might be entitled “Dreams of Things We Used To Do and Hope To Do Again,” or “Photographs I Left Behind and Have Now Rediscovered.” The photograph comes from a 2013 overseas trip that took us first to London for roughly a week and then on to Germany and (a little bit) Austria. While part of the trip was spent in the bucolic setting of the Bavarian Alps, a good portion of it was in busy, crowded, lively urban settings. Remember those?

These trips of ours feature (among other things) some significant amounts of unplanned time when we can just wander and explore. While this approach means that we may not hit all of the Big Tourist Icons (or only discover them accidentally), it also gives us opportunities to immerse ourselves a bit more in unanticipated local experiences. I can hardly claim that this one — walking across the Millennium Bridge — fits that category precisely, though it was a lovely, cloudy scene along the river.

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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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: United Kingdom, Photographs: Urban/Street

Summer Evening, River Thames

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Summer Evening, River Thames
Evening light on the River Thames, London

Summer Evening, River Thames. London, England. July 4, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Evening light on the River Thames, London

In England on the Fourth of July (a bit ironic for an American, no?) we were out along the banks of the River Thames as the summer evening came on. We had wonderful weather during this visit — if anything it was too warm. A low deck of broken clouds covered the sky, but to the west the sky was clearer and the light streamed through the hazy air.

I think this photograph is probably more about the light than anything else. For some reason, when I found the image in my archive and began to work on it I barely thought about the subject at all — the light seemed to be enough. When I did look at it more closely I realized that the content of the image is really fairly ordinary — a dock in the foreground, a bit of the river bank. a tall building on the right and urban buildings across the river on the left, a bridge (a central subject in my view), the clouds, and the warm color of the evening light.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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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: United Kingdom

Millennium Bridge

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Millennium Bridge
A ramp at the end of the Millennium Bridge, London

Millennium Bridge. London, England. July 4, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A ramp at the end of the Millennium Bridge, London

The Millennium Bridge is a new and popular footbridge across the River Thames, between the area of St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Tate Modern Museum. We passed over it more than once, including on this evening when, if I remember correctly, we managed to squeeze a short visit to the Tate before doing other things.

I think this photograph indulges my obsession with shape and form. There is a kind of symmetry to the scene, but things are quite complicated and there is perhaps a lot more in the scene than a quick glance would suggest. At this end of the bridge it divide into two branches as it descends toward the land, and then the two branches reconvene for the short section in the center of the photograph, where there are several people (including a woman who appears to veer off course, distracted by her phone) and a photo-bombing pigeon. Almost symmetrically placed, there are individuals on either side on the two branches of the bridge. Beyond the bridge leads toward St. Paul’s and the short arches suspending the bridge appear to either side. There are other little oddities in the scene including reflections in the material on either side of the walkways.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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.