Category Archives: Photographs: Urban/Street

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

Republica dos Kagados

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Republica dos Kagados
“Republica dos Kagados” — The well-worn front of a building in Coimbra, Portugal.

During our travels this past May (and early June) we spent several weeks in Portugal. We returned to Lisbon and Porto, but we also visited some new (to us) places, one of which was the town of Coimbra. It isn’t the same kind of tourist center as the other two, larger cities — tourists (like us) do visit, but Coimbra perhaps has a few more rough edges. That’s part of its charm.

The popular part of the town, it seems to us, lies between the river and the University, which is perched on top of the tallest hill. (If you walk in Coimbra — and you should — be prepared to do some climbing!) I do not know exactly what this building represents, but its weathered appearance, numerous posters and bits of graffiti, and name caught my attention. (Update: I did find some information on Republica dos Kagados — it is apparently some sort of historic student housing.)

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

Window 15

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Window 15
“Window 15” — A window in a stone wall in the Alfama, Lisbon.

This is another photograph from our stroll through Lisbon’s Alfama district — the oldest part of the city, and a place of narrow, twisting walkways and steep hills. It is also an area with a history of poverty. Here a window is open to reveal plants growing in pots.

I have a theory about a difference between dwellings in places like this and in American suburbia. In the US, where people may have front yards, a few trees, and possibly a single-family dwelling, they use that front space to present themselves — decorating, maintaining, and designing it with appearance in mind. In places like Alfama, the opportunities to do this area far more limited — and my notion is that perhaps more attention is spent on the interior space and that front exterior is often left as is.

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

Bubble Dancing

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Bubble Dancing
“Bubble Dancing” — Children dance and spread soap bubbles at the Praça do Comércio, Lisbon.

On our May visit to Lisbon (and a few other places) one of our first outings was to simply walk down the street to the Praça do Comércio square on the waterfront. It is a pretty obvious tourist thing to do, but it was the morning after a late arrival following about 20 hours of travel… so we were not up for anything too stressful.

Someone had a big bucket of soap and was making bubbles on the square, and a group of exuberant children was running and dancing around them, unconcerned about what anyone else might think.

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

Deserted Street, Porto

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Deserted Street, Porto
“Deserted Street, Porto” — Nighttime on a deserted street in Porto.

On our sort-of-first-night in Porto in May we ended up at a little restaurant on this street. (I write “sort-of-first-night” since we had actually stopped for one night earlier on the trip, between Coimbra and our walk in the Douro hills.) We walked out of our hotel looking for a nearby place to eat that didn’t scream “tourist restaurant. We ended up at a little restaurant here, so unobtrusive that you might not even spot its entrance sign in the photo.

I made the photograph a few nights later as we headed back to our hotel from a long walk to the other side of the Douro River and back. We crossed back over the river after sunset, and our route took us past this side street again. This time I thought the night scene looked fascinating, so I paused and photographed down the deserted street.

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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(All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.)