Category Archives: Photographs: Urban/Street

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

Christmas in Riquewihr

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Christmas in Riquewihr
“Christmas in Riquewihr” — People stroll along an evening street with Christmas decorations in Riquewihr, Alsace, France.

Just about a year ago, in November and December of 2024, we spent six weeks getting into the holiday spirit in Europe, spending time in Germany, France and Spain. The photograph comes from the Alsace village of Riquewihr, where we spent a few days in a part of France that was new to us. Not surprisingly, the place was all tricked out for Christmas.

One reason to visit Alsace on this trip was that we drove down with relatives from Germany — this region and Germany are close geographically and culturally. (As I understand it, the local dialect is deeply influenced by German.) It was a charming region, at least in the less-busy winter season. It is filled with small villages, separated by vineyards in many places, and it has a wonderful local cuisine.

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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


All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Belgium, Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Graffiti Wall and Bars

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Graffiti Wall and Bars
“Graffiti Wall and Bars” — Complex paint patterns on a graffiti wall with metal bars, Ghent.

This is another photograph from the “graffiti alley” in Ghent, Belgium. This short, narrow walkway connecting two streets is covered with street art, tags, and graffiti of all sorts. The imagery covers the walls higher than you can reach and even extends to the sidewalk beneath your feet. If you are lucky you might find someone creating new work when you visit.

A lot of the work is text-based and/or representational. That’s interesting stuff, but I like to take a step back from the individual pieces and consider the layers and colors that build up over time. Older work is partly obscured by newer stuff, and eventually it seems that a lot of the old material simply disappears beneath the new. Here, as in some of my other photographs of this site, I decided to move close and focus on the abstract components — the broad strokes, the colors, and the surfaces to which the paint is applied.

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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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

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

Old Venice Buildings

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Old Venice Buildings
“Old Venice Buildings” — Several old and worn buildings along Calle Fonte in Venice.

Venice is a very busy place, full of tourists, especially during the high season — as you know if you have ever been there in the summer. We were reminded of this when we visited a few years ago near the end of ten weeks of travel in Southern Europe. We managed to find accommodations away from the most crowded areas, but there is no escaping the crowds entirely. But it helps to wander into out-of-the-way spots like this one.

We went out for a long walk on our last day in Venice. We decided to cover a lot of ground and to visit some of the crowded areas that we had avoided. While walking one of those very busy streets, lined with stalls selling things to tourists, we noticed a very narrow passage leading off to the side. Taking it brought us to this spot and to the banks of the grand canal.

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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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

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

Street Market, Peja

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Street Market, Peja
“Street Market, Peja” — Shoppers at the street market in the town of Peja, Kosovo.

The town of Peja (or Pec) is located in western Kosovo, just below the spectacular and rugged Accursed Mountains. During our visit a couple of years ago we were fortunate to have in our group a Kosovo native who is fluent in the local language and who knows where to take visitors. Without his help (and the hospitality of his family, who housed us during our visit) it would have been very difficult for us to see as much as we did.

One day we all headed to the town for a look around and, eventually, lunch at a local restaurant. (I became quite fond of various Kosova dishes during our visit.) Here we walked up a main street where people were congregating and vendors were selling everything from clothing to the usual faux high-end watches and so forth.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.