Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Urban/Street

Via dei Girolami

February 18, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

An arch along the Via dei Girolami, Florence

During our too-short visit to Florence last summer — about three days at the very end of five weeks of travel — we spent a lot of time wandering the very narrow street “canyon” of the city. I fell in love with the place, especially its architecture and its photographic potential. I photographed from early morning on into the night almost the entire time we were there. Can I go back yet?

In a city of narrow streets, the Via dei Girolami stands out. There are narrower passageways, but whole sections of this street pass beneath buildings, supported by arching structures. As with so many things during our visit, especially since I prefer to not research too much ahead of time, we “discovered” this street by taking an unintended detour. The first time we began near the Ponte Vecchio, but the second — when I made this photograph — we walked through from the other direction.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Weathered Sandstone Wall

February 17, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A weathered and cracked sandstone wall in Utah canyon country

It has been about four-and-a-half years since I visited this spot and made this photograph, but I remember it distinctly. We had followed the twisting course of a small stream down a canyon as it wound back and forth between the tall sandstone walls. Eventually we perhaps began to think it was time to turn around, but it was hard to resist finding out what was around “one more bend” — until we had passed through quite a few more of them! I remember three things about this particular wall. It was huge — a monumental expanse of nearly solid granite broken in a few spots where giant flakes of rock had fallen. The stream passed right along the base of the wall. And there were odd circular patterns inscribed into its surface — so regular in shape that I first thought they must have been made by humans.

This spot is in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, a place that we might have believed to be safely protected for future generations. But these days, when America has been turned upside-down, things we took for granted are now threatened. And, yes, there are forces in the state of Utah that are working to take land out of this incredible monument and turn it over to extractive industries to dig it up and take out shale oil, uranium, and whatever else they can get their hands on. There are many things we can do about this. One very important step is to get the attention of the people of the state of Utah and remind them that one of their greatest assets is the beautiful system of parks, monuments, national forests, and other lands that draws visitors from all over the world — visitors who support a thriving tourism and recreation economy in the state. Since their legislators don’t seem to respond to reason or shame, perhaps they will respond to economic pressure. This week a consortium of outdoor manufacturers announced that they are moving their annual convention out of Utah. Lots of us are vowing to not visit the state until they stop trying to destroy it — and we won’t be staying in their motels, eating in their restaurants, buying gas there, or anything else.

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

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Three Planes

February 16, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A corner along a walkway, San Francisco

Since the photograph is minimalist I will make the commentary minimal as well. I made the photograph outside the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) at the end of a recent visit. This was a photograph of opportunity, made handheld as I left the museum and saw this simple conjunction of planes and varied light and textures.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Geese, Fog, Dawn

February 15, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Geese take flight in dawn Central Valley tule fog

The sensory experience of arriving at a place like this is remarkable. To understand you need to consider how it begins — a wake-up call at 3:00 or 3:30, a very quick cup of coffee, gear tossed into my vehicle, and departure for a two-hour drive in darkness out into California’s Great Central Valley. Most of the drive is on high-speed roads, at least until I get close to my destination, where I frequently encounter very thick winter tule fog — treacherous driving conditions that may force me to drop my speed to 20 mph or slower as I stare into the foggy darkness. Finally I arrive, pass through an entrance gate, and drive to a parking area and turn off the engine.

I open the door. The air is cold and damp. It is still and it would be silent… but for the wild calls of thousands of geese and cranes and other birds, often concealed behind the fog. In an instant I switch from my high-speed world cocooned in my heated vehicle to an entirely different world of fog, cold air, and the birds. Often I can’t help by smile when I hear the wild calls of those birds, and sometimes I almost laugh out loud. On this morning the fog thinned just a bit when I arrived, and it was possible to make out flocks of geese rising from ponds not far away as the first color came to the morning sky.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Via dei Girolami

Weathered Sandstone Wall

Three Planes

Geese, Fog, Dawn

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