Category Archives: Photographs: Europe

Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Portugal, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Souvenir Store, Lisbon

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Souvenir Store, Lisbon
“Souvenir Store, Lisbon” — The entrance to a small souvenir store on a backstreet in Lisbon.

I am realizing that I have lots of photographs of these shops in Lisbon — perhaps a series of photographs is in order at some point. We saw many of them on walks from our lodgings in the city. We weren’t too far from the train station, which meant that we were in an area where a lot of things come together — main streets, transportation, business and shopping areas, tourist stuff, neighborhoods, restaurants, with narrow streets packed with people, and these little shops.

If I can generalize, there’s a kind of continuum (and not just in Portugal) that runs form fancy, upscale shopping areas to tiny, improvised, shops like this one. We didn’t go inside, as we were passing by on our way somewhere else, but this distinctly non-fancy shop seemed to sell a little bit of everything, with the tourist-attracting knick-knacks out front.

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: Europe, Photographs: Spain, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Au Natural Pizza

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Au Natural Pizza
“Au Natural Pizza” — Painted roll-up door on Au Natural Pizza, Sevilla, Spain.

You may have noticed that I photograph a lot of stuff like this, especially for someone who gets categorized as a “landscape photographer.” There’s a lot to say about that, but I’ll save it for the second paragraph. (Those who follow me on social media will have to click through.) This beautifully painted roll-up door and facade are on a small shop along a business street in Sevilla, Spain. That harsh light is seems fairly typical there at this time of day.

So, why does a “landscape photographer” photograph all of this city stuff? A full answer is longer than a paragraph, but here are a few thoughts. For one, like many photographers I am fascinated by the basic “material” of photographs — the textures, colors, shapes, form, composition, light, and so on. And these things are present everywhere, including in cities. I also do not limit my concept of “landscape” to the natural world. As such, these are “urban landscapes.” I’m also fascinated by what these scenes tell us about the people and cultures with which they are associated. To keep it simple enough for this paragraph, they illustrate both similarities among and difference between cultures.

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: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Spain, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Bar Bistec, Sevilla

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Bar Bistec, Sevilla
“Bar Bistec, Sevilla” — Bar Bistec, a cafe-bar in Sevilla, Spain.

On this morning we crossed the wide canal near the old part of Sevilla where we were staying, and wandered through a newer (less-old?) section of town. After visiting the farmer’s market, we walked through an area with shops and restaurants, then followed streets that paralleled the canal and took us into what one well-known travel writer might describe as “workaday” neighborhoods.

This establishment was in one of those areas. To an American it might seem odd that it was, if my memory is correct, almost next door to a large church — but that’s not so uncommon in Europe. I like several things about this subject, including the arrangement of rectangles, the colors, and the signs. But above all else is that intense daytime light of summer in Spain.

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.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Spain, Photographs: Travel

Fabrica-Real de Tabacos

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Fabrica-Real de Tabacos
“Fabrica-Real de Tabacos” — Hand-painted sign at the historic Sevilla tobacco factory building.

The site of this historic “tobacco factory” was a short walk from our lodgings and along the route to the Maria Luisa Park, so we made a point to find a route that passed it. You might wonder about the significance of a… tobacco factory, but there’s a lot of fascinating history to the place. One bit that we were already aware of is the connection to Bizet’s opera, Carmen. Bizet’s libretto was adapted from an earlier story inspired by the women who were employed here. As they say on those TV ads, ” But wait, there’s more!”

While working on the photograph I discovered fascinating information. First off — and I had probably heard this before but forgotten — tobacco was another of those products that came from the “New World.” Very early on, Sevilla established a factory, first to produce snuff and later smoking tobacco in the form of cigars. Unlike just about all other factories, the employees were women. (I won’t go into the reasons for that here, but it is worth looking up if you are interested.) Later on the building — one of the very largest factories of its time — was taken over for use by a university, which seems like an unlikely event!

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.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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