Tag Archives: art

Photographs: Chicago, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Michigan Avenue, Evening

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Michigan Avenue, Evening
“Michigan Avenue, Evening” — A wet autumn evening along Chicago’s Michigan Avenue, photographed from the Chicago Institute of Art.

Needless to say (though I am saying it anyway!), for Californians, Chicago around Thanksgiving seems like a very cold place. (I can imagine Chicagoans shaking their heads and muttering, “Come back in January, California boy!”) To be truthful, we had very nice weather for late November: overcast, but daytime temperatures into the 40s and only a little bit of light rain. Yet, this photograph just looks cold to me!

We had been out for a walk and as we passed the entrance to the Art Institute of Chicago, I decided to use that building (on the left) to frame the early evening sky against the skeletal trees, and set against the other buildings along Michigan Avenue.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Chicago, Photographs: Travel

Bean People

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Bean People
“Bean People” — Visitors in front of and reflected in the surface of “Cloud Gate” (aka “The Bean”) in Chicago.

The “Cloud Gate” sculpture is an icon in Chicago. Located in Millennium Park, it attracts hoards of visitors. I’ve been there more than once, and I encountered crowds each time — including on this rather cold November day. It seems that no one can resist interacting with their distorted reflection!

We had wandered through less crowded parts of the park — and those were easy to find in the cold weather. We saw beautiful rows of trees, some shedding autumn leaves, and then walked out to the Lake Michigan shoreline. We headed back into the more popular areas of the park looking for something warm to drink and paused for a few minutes at “Cloud Gate” to see the object and, perhaps even more, watch the people.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Belgium, Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Street Art, Antwerp

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Street Art, Antwerp
“Street Art, Antwerp” — An old structure is decorated with street art along the waterfront in Antwerp, Begium.

The photograph comes from Antwerp. We were in Belgium at the end of May and beginning of June. Adding Belgium to a trip that was mostly in Portugal and Spain was a bit of an afterthought, but we managed to stay in Antwerp, Bruges, and Brussels, and make a day trip to Ghent. It was a lot to see in one week, and with more time we might have spent extra days in Antwerp and Brussels.

On the day that I made this photograph we headed out on one of our typical wandering walks. It took us towards the waterfront, where it appears that some sort of long term redevelopment project is underway. An urban walkway traverses much of the area, but there’s also still a certain amount of interesting street art.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

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

Alfama Street Art

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Alfama Street Art
“Alfama Street Art” — Detail of street art on a wall in the Alfama district of Lisbon.

This detail of a bit of Portuguese street art comes from the Alfama district of Lisbon. This is the oldest neighborhood of the city, with tightly spaced buildings and streets so narrow and twisting that vehicles cannot pass. It was (and reputedly still is) a neighborhood where the poor are more likely to live — though one can see a creeping urbanization occurring around the edges.

I don’t generally photograph graffiti — the “I am here” initials and other personal marks made in public spaces. But there’s a fine line between that and what I think of as street art. I will photograph the latter. Here the imagery covers of a mundane wall — look closely and you can make it out beneath the paint — and uses wildly exuberant patterns and colors.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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(All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.)