Category Archives: Photographs: Italy

Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Venice Restaurant, Evening

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Venice Restaurant, Evening
“Venice Restaurant, Evening” — Patrons sit outside at a Venice restaurant on a summer evening.

When we visited Venice in August we stayed perhaps no more than a five-minute walk from this scene. Our little hotel was in a quiet spot without the tourist hubbub that characterizes the popular areas of this city, but we were only a few minutes away from busier areas. We often passed through the square where this restaurant is located as we headed to a bridge across a canal. It was an interesting place, but until this evening I never quite saw how I wanted to photograph it.

We had been out late — I don’t recall the details now, but it probably involved looking for a place to eat late dinner. For some reason I was “in the zone” for night photography on this evening, and I carried my small camera as we walked, making spontaneous photographs along the way. We were headed back toward our hotel, and after we crossed that familiar bridge I spotted the table set up outside this restaurant, mostly illuminated by light spilling out from the indoor seating area, and I made a couple of quick exposures as we passed by.

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.

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

Street Art, Bologna

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"street art, bologna"
“Street Art, Bologna” — Weathered layers of street art and graffiti on a Bologna wall.

Recently I have noticed that American visitors to Europe are surprised by the amount of graffiti (aka “street art”) in some cities. There is a lot of it, but I’m not sure if there is more of it than in the US. Perhaps they/we just end up in places where it is found more often when traveling, or maybe we are so used to it at home that we no longer “see” it. Another possibility: In the US I think there are efforts to control graffiti in places that tourists go, but in at least some parts of Europe that seems to be less the case. (This is not to suggest that graffiti isn’t a problem, as some recent stories about cretins writing and carving on antiquities has shown.)

One of the European cities where I first started to notice this is Bologna, Italy. Almost a decade ago we spent one night there during a drive from Germany to Tuscany — and I have this strong memory of walking through unlit streets with tons of graffiti at dusk. (After our recent trip, when walks in the same area at the same time of day included quite a few people, I’m beginning to distrust that early memory.) This photograph comes from a side-street in Bologna, where it was one of many examples. This one fascinated me, with its top layer of glued-on paper deteriorating to reveal layers of earlier marks and its interesting palette of colors.

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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

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

Woman, Empty Venice Street

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Woman, Empty Venice Street
“Woman, Empty Venice Street” — A woman walks along a narrow and deserted Venice street in the early morning.

The whole concept of “travel” is complex and, I think, fraught with trade-offs and contradictions. The world is a huge place, far too big to fully experience and see all of it in a lifetime. Do we go to many places and experience each of them less fully? Or do we got to fewer places and try for a deeper experience with those? I don’t have the answer — just the question. Our visit to Venice on this trip relates to that question as, even though we had been to Italy before, we had not ever been to this remarkable — and now tourist-filled and other wise endangered — city. Part of us did not want to go there, given the issues with modern Venice, but another part of us thought, “Venice! How could you NOT go there at least once!” So we went.

The place is just as crowded as you have heard and possibly seen for yourself. But it is also just as remarkable as you have heard. Arriving there for the first time (a story I’ll share in more detail later) was one of the most remarkable moments of our trip. But those crowds! Fortunately, we stayed in a place that was outside the main tourist zone — yet close enough to get to places we wanted to visit quickly. On this morning I went out early, when almost no other tourists were out. It was possible to photograph empty streets or, as in this case, individuals passing through this remarkable place.

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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


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Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Travel

Trattorria Pennello

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Trattorria Pennello
Tuscan sun on the front of Trattoria Pennello, Florence, Italy.

Trattorria Pennello. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Tuscan sun on the front of Trattoria Pennello, Florence, Italy.

As a dedicated fan of weathered surfaces, angular shapes, textures, and interesting color combinations… there is no shortage of photographic targets in Italy. Although this photograph comes from busy Florence/Firenze, with a bit of patience and good luck I was able to photograph this little scene without people.

The light is also special here. At times it can be soft-edged, especially if the humidity is high and/or there are some clouds. But in the middle of the day there can also be an appealing sharp-edged quality, too, that accentuates the textures and shadows.

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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