James Mitchell
@plainfeather
Retired book publisher and author, medievalist, photographer, Soto Zen student, early musician, San Francisco resident since 1967, unrepentant hippie. Like Bluesky, life is plenitudinous.
Striped dolphins still swim in the Aegean Sea and are as fascinating as ever. Photo by C. Lanfredi Tethys. #dolphins
House of the Dolphins, Akrotiri frescoes, Thera, Santorini. 1650-1550 BCE, several centuries before Homer. Photographer unkjnown. #antiquity #dolphins
Drinking cup from Thera (Santorini) 1650-1550 BCE, National Archaeological Museum Athens. #antiquity #dolphins
This portrait of two Andean condors won the 2026 Patagonia photo contest for Mauricio Rossanigo. #ornithology
Artemis the cat was grumpy last weekend because of all the fireworks.
1940s Ford pickup truck with anthropomorphic headlight eyes I photographed on a street in Concord CA, 1960s. #wheels
I photographed the Hygenic Dog Food factory in the late 60s. It was down near the railroad tracks in Berkeley #dogfood
I remember clearly how the same conditions prevailed at the 200 years celebration 50 years ago, creating the biggest traffic jam in the city's history and superseded only by last night's. These photos from July 5th SF Chronicle. Oh well, I guess it wouldn't be San Francisco otherwise. #sanfrancisco
Jeff Koons' polychrome make-over of the Apollo Kitharon in the British Museum on the Greek island of Hydra. Greek gods are like Marvel Comics action heroes: they have super powers and when polychromed look like the figures in the color comic strips one used to see in the Sunday papers years ago.
Egyptian elites seem to have had something in common with these young Maasai warriors -- wearing of kilts, elaborate hair do and facial makeup, body paint, lots of jewelry. But no leg tatoos, though. #egyptology #maasai
If the Pope actually composed this sentence himself, he is a very wise man. #pope
Portrait of Federal Chancellor Merkel - June 27, 2006. #bundeskanzler #germany
A current light show clearly shows the hand of God shining on City Hall, and looks fabulous resonating through the numerous layers of fog in the evening. No idea who took the picture. Waiting patiently for the Dove to descend. #sanfrancisco
Athena wears an attractive gown while having a chitchat with Poseidon about something. (Amasis Painter, ca. 540 BC.) #antiquity #ancientgreece
Marian Michal, Brussels. Préparation matinale de Žižek pour une autre journée caniculaire. #heatwave
Pembroke Castle, by Drew Buckley. #medievalsky #castle #medieval #medievalarchtiecture
San Francisco Chinatown YWCA by architect Julia Morgan, 1932, now home to the Chinese Historical Society of America. Thx Ken Chan. #sanfrancisco
There's always time to rediscover Eadfrith's Lindisfarne Gospels, 700 AD, a century almost before Charlemagne was crowned emperor. The Chi Rho page is the incipit of St. Luke, the other of St. Matthew. #medievalsky #illumination
Dancers at Lviv Opera House onstage before a Giselle performance. Asssuming it wasn't staged, an instant moment of satori when things line up better than you could ever anticipate. Someone should write a book about Buddhism and photography. Photo: Paula Bronstein. #balletdancer #ballet
The Endurance, before it sank after being trapped in pack ice in the Antarctic Ocean during Shackleton's expedition, 1915. #antarctica
Lønselva River, Saltfjellet National Park. Photograph: Caroline Mills, The Guardian. #norway
Painted Lady Butterfly, west coast of England.. Photograph: Phil Gates, The Guardian #lepidepterology
Before departing for Nirvana, the great Buddhist teacher Mae West said: “You only live once. But if you do it right, once is enough.” Perhaps she was thinking of other matters, Mae West in "My Little Chickadee" 1940 #maewest
The Tomb of the Diver at Paestum is approximately 2,500 years old, dating back to around 480 to 470 BCE during the transition between the Archaic and Classical Greek periods. #ancientart
US Coast Guard Eagle in full drag at a 2008 sailing meet in San Diego. The crew member clutching the yard on the main top gallant yardarm must be enjoying a terrific view. Wonder if they used this as recruiting picture. #sailingship
Chief Dust Maker, from the Ponca tribe in northern Nebraska, 1898. (Photograph by Frank Rinehart) #nativeamericans