Tag Archives: architecture

Photographs: Netherlands, Photographs: Travel

Amstel Canal

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Amstel Canal
Boats along the Amstel Canal, Amsterdam

Amstel Canal. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Boats along the Amstel Canal, Amsterdam

We had clouds — and occasional rain — during a good part of our August visit to Amsterdam. This being our first time in that city, I did not really know what sort of weather to expect, and stories of unusually warm northern European weather had me expecting something different. I mentioned this to some natives we ate with at a brewery one rainy evening, and they sort of laughed, explaining that “seeing the blue sky is somewhat unusual” in Amsterdam. I guess we were lucky then, since we actually did see some blue sky later.

Amsterdam is pretty much as you probably imagine it if you have read about the place. There are, obviously, those canals, with provide one of the many layers of transportation in parts of the city. (Other elements include many walkers, many cyclists, some drivers, public transit, and so on.) We had gotten to this location in the city by boat, if I recall correctly, but then set out on foot to explore a bit. I made the photograph not far from the opera house, on a bridge crossing the 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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: France, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Pigeons on the Roof

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Pigeons on the Roof
Pigeons on the roof of the Brancusi Gallery at Le Centre Pompidou, Paris

Pigeons on the Roof. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Pigeons on the roof of the Brancusi Gallery at Le Centre Pompidou, Paris

We were here somewhat early in the morning to visit the nearby Centre Pompidou. We may have arrived before it opened — or perhaps we weren’t aware that it had opened, or possibly we just wanted to look a bit before entering. In any case, we were walking around the large open space in front of the entrance, and I took the time to make a few photographs of the surroundings.

Off to the side, along a parallel street, is the Brancusi Gallery — the building whose roof is seen in the photograph. I think that the flock of pigeons first caught my attention. I thought it was odd that they were all clusters on the roof of this structure. Then I began to find the composition of lines and shapes and color interesting, with the slight foreground diagonal creating some dissonance with the squared shape of the gallery and with the older buildings in the background.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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 and Amazon.
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Photographs: France, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Red Door, Paris

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Red Door, Paris
A red door in the Le Marais area of Paris

Red Door, Paris. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A red door in the Le Marais area of Paris

On this summer’s visit to Paris we stayed along the edge of Le Marais, in an area not far from the Seine, transportation, and the Centre Pompidou. The latter was on our list of places to visit this time, and on this morning we were walking into that area when we passed through this neighborhood of old buildings and narrow streets.

I don’t suppose there is a whole lot to write about (another!) photograph of a colorful door on an old building — after all, it is a bit of a “type.” One thing that did intrigue me about this little scene was the clear attempt to add something approximating nature to this very urban setting… though apparently not with complete success judging from the condition of some of the potted plants.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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

Photographs: Netherlands, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Amsterdam Bike Lane

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Amsterdam Bike Lane
Cyclists on a bike lane on a cloudy day in Amsterdam

Amsterdam Bike Lane. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Cyclists on a bike lane on a cloudy day in Amsterdam

This photograph is partly about bicycles and Amsterdam, partly about that interesting and dark sky, partly about Amsterdam architecture and buildings that lean, and partly about that guy in the foreground. This summer was our first visit to Amsterdam. We stayed just outside of the central city and walked a few blocks to get to the well-known areas each day. For many years I was a very active cyclist in the US, but this is an entirely different scene. Almost no lycra, dropped handlebars road bikes, few mountain bikes… and lots of people in street clothes riding very utilitarian bikes… and parking them everywhere. Somehow the intersecting types of traffic — foot, transit, canal, bicycle, car — seem to coexist here, though it can be quite confusing at times for a first-time visitor.

This day’s light was remarkable. There was thin sunlight, but there were also some lovely dark clouds in the sky. If memory serves, we were in light rain later that evening as we ate dinner outside. We ended up talking to a couple who live in Amsterdam about many things. I confessed that I had initially been mildly disappointed to find the cloudy weather when we arrived, expecting it to be sunny. They more or less laughed and pointed out that this was the more typical sort of conditions. (They claimed that I would not see blue sky. That turned out to be wrong… but only by a little bit!)

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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 and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook |
Email

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