Tag Archives: alley

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

Restaurant Workers on Break

February 6, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Restaurant workers take a break in an alley under streetlights

Last summer we spent five weeks on the road — starting in New York, then going to London, Paris, Heidelberg, and finally Italy where we spent a week in the hills between Florence and Siena and then concluded our trip in Florence. If I have a regret, it is that we spent too little time in Florence. Our final stop there was almost an afterthought — we knew we would fly out of its airport, and we decided we might as well add a couple of days there. Anyone who has visited knows that a “couple of days” is not remotely enough for this city.

I loved walking around this city and photographing, especially in the mornings and again at night. On this last evening we decided we wanted to find a place for dinner, but we didn’t have a plan so we just wandered. We found a place — it isn’t hard here! — and then wandered some more, right on into the evening. At the very end of the evening, just yards from our hotel, we passed this street corner where employees were taking a break outside of a restaurant.

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

Restaurant, Diner, Bicycles

December 16, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A man sits at a table at an outdoor restaurant at night, Florence, Italy

Photographing in the streets of Florence, Italy was a joy when we visited this past summer. My only regret is that we were there for such a short time. We spent a week in the hills between Florence and Siena, and we picked up our rental car in Florence before leaving for the hills. (And, yes, driving in Florence is just as much fun as you have heard.) Then we returned to Florence and had parts of three days there before leaving. As I know fully understand, three days was not nearly enough time!

In one way, the streets of Florence seem to have a more uniform look than many American cities. There are few obvious commercial signs and many buildings are roughly the same shade of brown. But the streets are often very narrow and they twist and turn in all kinds of interesting ways, occasionally opening up to large squares or the banks of the Arno River. At night things are even more magical. One moment you might find yourself in the midst of crowds of people, and in another you might be on a deserted side street. This small street, with its beautiful lighting, extended off of one of the large squares, a somewhat busy place, but here there was just one man sitting at this sidewalk cafe.

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

Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Urban/Street

Walking Man, Narrow Street

October 16, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A man walks up a narrow street in Florence, Italy.

This past summer we had the chance to do some extensive travel. The “main event” was a five-week trip that began in New York City and continued to London, Paris, Heidelberg, and various places in Italy. After a week in the wine and olive country of the Chianti region we returned to Florence for a few days before our return flight to the US. My only regret about this last phase of the journey was that we didn’t give ourselves nearly enough time in Florence!

Yes, Florence is now crowded with tourists, and in a place that isn’t that large to begin with the effect is hard to ignore. But putting that aside for a moment, Florence (at least to this observer) combines many things that seem typical of Italy with its own unique qualities. We stayed in the old part of Florence, between the Arno and the Duomo and not far from the Uffizi Museum. The streets here are strikingly narrow and lined with tall buildings, almost all in tones of brown to tan. The effect on the light reminds me in ways of being in the canyons of the American Southwest, though populated and perhaps more twisty, not by necessity following the effect of gravity on water. Unlike American cities, there are very few obvious signs in most places. And if you go out to the right places at the right times of day you can find nearly empty streets like this one.

Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Urban/Street

Woman, Smoking Cyclist

September 28, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A woman walks into an alley past a smoking bicyclist, Florence/Firenze, Italy

My impression, from about three days in Florence, is that this beautiful city is very much about tourism. (No surprise, right?) In the daytime, starting by mid-morning, and on into the evening it is a busy place, and most of the people seemed to me to have come from some other place. There are restaurants and shops all over the place and, of course, the folks selling trinkets in every square and along popular streets.

Occasionally I did manage to encounter scenes that seemed a bit less polished, especially when we went out early, avoided the most popular through routes, and wandered into some of the narrower streets with fewer businesses. Here, in the morning, a fellow with a bicycle pauses to lean against a wall and smoke, and a woman in what I suspect could be so-called “traditional dress” of some sort furtively ducks into an even small side alley.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: alley

Restaurant Workers on Break

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

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