Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Urban/Street

Accordionist and Carriage

October 10, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A horse carriage and an accordionist on his way to work on a Florence street

Places like Florence combine touristy stuff (lots of people, and folks selling souvenirs), amazing and often very old buildings and urban design, great museums, and occasionally little moments of “that could only happen here,” when we run into things that belong to that particular city.

This was perhaps one of those moments in Florence. By this point I had caught on to the maze of very narrow and often twisting streets in central Florence. But this was a bit of a “did that actually happen?” moment, full of experiences that are far from the everyday for this American. The background — the narrow street and the brown/tan buildings — is part of it. But the real surprise was that a) some fellow carrying an accordion happened to be walking by and b) at just that moment a fast-moving horse carriage came up the street.

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

Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Urban/Street

Cafe, Tourists, and Duomo

October 9, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Morning visitors walk past an outdoor cafe and the Duomo, Florence

At the risk of repeating something I’ve previously shared, when I travel I often almost make it a point to not know too much precise detail about where I’m going, especially if the place is new. (I won’t go so far as wanting to know nothing, since that could make things very complicated!) The idea is that this lets me discover the place when I get there, thus giving me a sort of personal map of the location and my own orientation to it. This also means that I can have the joy of actual discovery while I’m on location, as differentiated by the recognition that, yeah, I know about this place.

I almost hesitate to admit how naive I was about Florence. I knew some odd background facts — for example, the importance of the Florentine camera — in classical music. But beyond that I know pretty much that a) it is in Italy and b) driving there isn’t supposed to be fun. My first major moment of “discovery” was walking around a corner to see the Duomo at night — I think that the experience was more awesome (in the true sense of “evoking awe”) than it would have been if I had read about the place. I made this photograph on our last morning in Florence, as we made a final visit to the area around the Duomo before heading to the airport to begin our long journey home.

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

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

Seated People, Dog

October 8, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Seated people with a white dog in front of Florence shops on the Ponte Vecchio.

The Ponte Vecchio is a bridge across the Arno River in Florence, and it is covered with buildings, giving it a very different appearance than the typical cross-river bridge. Shops line the bridge and are open during the day, with some staying open into the evening.

It is, of course, a popular tourist spot — and we were tourists! When we walked across the first time it was close to sunset and the place was packed to the point that it was difficult to walk. There was the typical assortment of street artists, musicians, and men hawking cheap souvenirs. The lights were just coming on when I saw this small group of people and their dog sitting on the curb, somehow finding a way to look almost isolated in the midst of the crowd.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Evening Shadows, Sierra Crest

October 7, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Mountain shadows on the Sierra Crest at sunset, Yosemite National Park

Earlier I had photographed in the large meadows along the Dana Fork of the Tuolumne, just below Tioga Pass, continuing to work until the sun dropped behind the long and tall ridge to the west. As I walked back toward my vehicle through the soft light of the shadows, the surrounding peaks were still in full sun. I started thinking about putting a very long lens on the camera and photographing the last light when if finally got to these peaks and ridges.

It took a while! This meadow area loses the light early, so even though I lingered there after the direct sun was gone, I still had quite a while to wait before sunset. The intense coloration of the arctic zone peaks comes from two sources. This section of the Sierra is topped by much older rocks — not granite but very reddish-brownish rocks. By the time I made this photograph the sun was very close to the horizon and the color of the light had warmed considerable, adding even more intense color to the rocks. (Inspecting the image file very closely I learned something new — there is a faint trail traversing the upper slopes of the ridge at the left!)

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Accordionist and Carriage

Like this:

Cafe, Tourists, and Duomo

Like this:

Seated People, Dog

Like this:

Evening Shadows, Sierra Crest

Like this:

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.

Share this page:

Like this:

Share this page:

Like this:

Share this page:

Like this:

Share this page:

Like this:

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.