Category Archives: Photographs: People

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

Woman in Sunshine

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Womn in Sunshine
“Woman in Sunshine” — A woman looks upwards in the sunshine, Lisbon.

I made this photograph on our first foray in Lisbon during our visit this past May. If I recall correctly, after arriving late the previous night, we were up (and quite jet-lagged) and out the door to walk some of the surrounding streets. We joined the crowd and made our way down to the popular Praça do Comércio square.

I made this photograph quickly, since photographing such subjects happens in real time — there’s little opportunity to stop and carefully consider. There’s an element of serendipity in such photographs. The right person has to be in the right place and light at the right time, I have to be there, I have to look the right direction, and I have to react quickly.

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

Ginginha Vendor

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Gingihha Vendor
“Gingihha Vendor” — A woman selling ginginha from her doorway in the Alfama, Lisbon.

One can never be sure things like ginginha are tourism constructs or actual traditions — or perhaps a bit of both. (Parallels include Portugal’s pastel de nata, San Francisco’s Sourdough bread, Belgium waffles, and more.) But I understand, both from reading about it and from seeing it, that gingihna is a traditional drink in many places in Portugal. It is a sweet, cherry liqueur that is often sold on the street, either in small shot glasses or in little chocolate cups that you simply eat when you are done. (Nice way to solve the litter problem!)

You can step up to small ginginha shops and buy one all over the place. But there also appears to be a less formal sales force operating from their front doorways. On our recent visit we saw several women set up this way to sell ginginha, including this woman sitting in her doorway in the Alfama district.

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: Belgium, Photographs: Europe, Photographs: People, Photographs: Travel

The Point

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The Point
“The Point” — Four tourists looking up, Bruges

This is one of those “shoot fast” street photography images that I sometimes like while traveling. It happened so quickly that I barely remember the act of making the photo. My recollection is that we were walking along a street in Bruges, Belgium when I spotted this group and fired off a frame. I think there might be several ways to “see” this image…

One is simply compositionally — the arrangement of figures and colors, the direction of their attention, the pointing hand, the one fellow standing slightly apart from the other three people, a parallel between the body positions of the two at the right/left extremes, and the physical contact between the two in the middle. I think it also conveys something important about the experience of travel — the possibility of being astonished, the public innocence about that experience, and more.

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

2 responses to “The Point”

  1. brendatharp Avatar
    brendatharp

    Great moment you captured here, Dan! And your writing is ‘spot on’ as far as I read the image.

    Reply
    1. G Dan Mitchell Avatar
      G Dan Mitchell

      Thanks, Brenda. I especially appreciate the comment on _this_ photograph as it is a big of a challenge for some of my landscape fans to make sense of the street photography stuff! :-)

      Dan

      Reply

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Photographs: Europe, Photographs: France, Photographs: People, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Woman in Red Coat

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Woman in Red Coat, Paris
“Woman in Red Coat” — A woman in a red coat sits on steps outside a Paris building.

This is another of the “grab shots” that I often come away with when I’m doing street photography. Here things appear and disappear quickly, and it is often more a matter of grab-that-shot than careful and slow consideration of the subject. Here I simply spotted this women on the steps and wearing the striking red coat as we walked past.

It can sometimes be hard to articulate precisely what I see in a photograph that I make. Here, I think that the color of the woman’s red coat is pretty important, as it stands out against the cooler colors in the rest of the scene, especially the color blue. I also was attracted to the somewhat melancholy feeling of the woman sitting alone on the steps in front of the badly weathered doorway. Form is also important, and here the mirrored shapes of the planter boxes create a kind of background rhythm.

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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