Category Archives: Photographs: Italy

Restaurant, Diner, Bicycles

Restaurant, Diner, Bicycles
A man sits at a table at an outdoor restaurant at night, Florence, Italy

Restaurant, Diner, Bicycles. Florence, Italy. August 27, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A man sits at a table at an outdoor restaurant at night, Florence, Italy

Photographing in the streets of Florence, Italy was a joy when we visited this past summer. My only regret is that we were there for such a short time. We spent a week in the hills between Florence and Siena, and we picked up our rental car in Florence before leaving for the hills. (And, yes, driving in Florence is just as much fun as you have heard.) Then we returned to Florence and had parts of three days there before leaving. As I know fully understand, three days was not nearly enough time!

In one way, the streets of Florence seem to have a more uniform look than many American cities. There are few obvious commercial signs and many buildings are roughly the same shade of brown. But the streets are often very narrow and they twist and turn in all kinds of interesting ways, occasionally opening up to large squares or the banks of the Arno River. At night things are even more magical. One moment you might find yourself in the midst of crowds of people, and in another you might be on a deserted side street. This small street, with its beautiful lighting, extended off of one of the large squares, a somewhat busy place, but here there was just one man sitting at this sidewalk cafe.


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 and Amazon.
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Stone Walls, Midday Light

Stone Walls, Midday Light
Bright midday light on a narrow street at Castello di Ama, Italy

Stone Walls, Midday Light. Tuscany, Italy. August 22, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Bright midday light on a narrow street at Castello di Ama, Italy

The Chianti region is, of course, full of vineyards and olive orchards and of wineries and producers of olive oil. There are vineyards everywhere — in the valleys, draped across the hillsides, and even on the tops of ridges. All of this is in a region full of historical structures, often centered around very old castles and churches and small villages.

One day we decide to visit this small place, a former village now (or so it seems) owned by the people who operate the surrounding vineyards. The little town, with its stone buildings and very narrow streets remains.


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

Caffe, Tabaccheria, and Bicyclist

Caffe, Tabaccheria, and Bicyclist
A bicyclist passes in front of a caffe’ and a tabaccheria, Florence.

Caffe, Tabaccheria, and Bicyclist. Florence/Firenze, Italy. August 28, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A bicyclist passes in front of a caffe’ and a tabaccheria, Florence.

Most of my photographs, nature and urban, tend to be made at the “good light” times of day — morning and evening — when the light softens and the colors warm. But the midday light has a charm of its own, especially this summer light in Italy. It is a surprising combination of stark from the high angle of the sun and soft from the frequent hazy quality of the atmosphere.

With this in mind, we were out and about during the daytime hours in Florence on this late August day. Things often happen quickly when shooting street photographs, and subjects and juxtapositions occur so quickly that one must often simply raise the camera and photograph intuitively, with little or no time to ponder. This was one of those moments. Somehow the slightly off-kilter cyclist appeared right in front of the metal door of the shop in the background just as the pedestrian was about the exit the frame at the left.


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

Ponte Vecchio

Ponte Vecchio
Buildings on the Ponte Vecchio bridge across the Arno River, Florence/Firenze

Ponte Vecchio. Florence/Firenze, Italy. August 27, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Buildings on the Ponte Vecchio bridge across the Arno River, Florence/Firenze

I have mentioned before that I often like to not know too much about a place before my first visit — I love the experience of discovering it in my own way once I arrive. While some research is a good thing, too much can compromise the experience. As a result, it isn’t unusual for me to arrive in a new location completely unaware of some thing that everyone else knows about. (Someone I know still tells the story of my first visit to Arches National Park…) This is a long way of saying that I did not really know about the famous Ponte Vecchio bridge until I saw it moments before I walked across the first time.

I now understand that this bridge across the Arno River in Florence has a very long history, but when I first saw it I simply responded to it on the basis of what I saw. And I had never seen a bridge quite like this before. The old span is almost entirely lined with buildings, many quite old, and apparently it was long ago the location of butcher shops and more recently of jewelers, art sellers, and souvenir shops. We arrived late in the day, just as the sunset light was coming on. I photographed this scene in the shaded side of the bridge, narrowing the composition to focus on the shapes, colors, and textures of the old buildings.


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 and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | FacebookGoogle+ | LinkedIn | Email


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