Tag Archives: ape

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

Piaggio Ape Art Car

Image Leave a comment
Piaggio Ape Art Car
“Piaggio Ape Art Car” — A highly decorated PIaggio Ape vehicle in Orvieto, Italy.

I have been looking forward to posting this photograph, the final in the Current series featuring these Piaggio Ape three-wheeled vehicles that I photographed in Italy. In the other cases the vehicles were also small “pickup trucks,” but they looked rather utilitarian. For all I know, this one may serve such a purpose, too. But it sure goes way beyond that with its visual appearance.

It was parked along a street in Orvieto when I photographed it. There was no one around who could give me a hint about what its purpose is or what it might mean. But it was quite a sight. The basic paint job is decidedly non standard, but the owners have gone well beyond that simple modification, as you can probably see.

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” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)

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

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

Piaggio Ape in Turquoise

Image Leave a comment
Piaggio Ape in Turquoise
“Piaggio Ape in Turquoise” — A colorful Piaggio Ape “pickup truck” parked next to a stone wall in Orvieto, Italy.

You may recall another recently shared photograph of one of these vehicles. It was actually the very same one, though photographed from a different angle and rendered in monochrome. And I’m not done — there is another coming, an example that is highly modified, to the point that it probably qualifies as a mini art car.

These little three-wheeled vehicles (and others like them) are common in these European cities with very old and very narrow streets. The town of Orvieto, where I photographed this one, is no exception. While the color of this Ape (“bee”) is a striking and attention-getting turquoise, it is clear that this is a vehicle intended for utilitarian use.

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” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)

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

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

Piaggio Ape, Wall, Alley

Image Leave a comment
Piaggio Ape, Wall, Alley
“Piaggio Ape, Wall, Alley” — A Piaggio Ape utility vehicle parked against a wall in an alley, Orvieto.

We spent several days in the hill town of Orvieto, Italy last summer. We understand that many visitors arrive on day trips from Rome, but we were ready for a few days in a smaller, quieter place after visiting bigger cities like Milan and Florence. One of the fun things about staying overnight in the “day trip” cities is that they become much quieter in the evening and early morning after most visitors depart! We were out on a random walk, exploring the fringes of the town, when I saw this scene.

Working on the photograph sent me off into a world I did not know about. I had seen these little three-wheeled utility vehicles elsewhere in Italy — they are very practical on these narrow streets — but I didn’t know what to call them. A quick search turned up the name “Piaggio Ape,” where “Ape” refers to “bee.” Further reading led to the history of the things. As I understand it they essentially began as Vespa scooters with three wheels, and were then adapted into small trucks and vans.

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” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)

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

Photographs: England, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Textures, Photographs: Urban/Street

Brick Wall, London

Leave a comment

Brick Wall, London
Brick Wall, London

Brick Wall, London. London, England. August 6, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A painted and weathered brick wall beneath a London overpass

I have only a general recollection of where I made this photograph. I think it was on the south side of the Thames, probably somewhere beyond the Millennium Bridge and in an area of older narrow streets where we walked both to kill some time before an appointment and to wander and see what we could see.

There is, obviously, nothing all that exotic about this wall. In fact, I’ve likely photographed similar subjects in the SF Bay Area. I think several things caused me to stop and shoot it. First, to be honest, I was in a shooting mode – in other words I was shooting quickly and shooting a lot of frames. But beyond that, I was intrigued by the lights, muted by the narrow street and the fact – again, if I recall correctly – that this was shot near the edge of an underpass of some sort. Bricks often intrigue me, but here the layers of paint applied to the bricks, which really shouldn’t be painted, probably covers something that we are not supposed to see. The larger underlying area of black paint contrasts with the Halloween orange that must have been added later. But now new stuff has already been added to the wall on top of the old cover-up job.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.