Tag Archives: buildings

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

Morning Light, Venice

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Morning Light, Venice
Morning light on a canal and buildings in Venice, Italy.

Morning Light, Venice. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Morning light on a canal and buildings in Venice, Italy.

This week I began sharing landscape photographs from California once again, including recent work from a late-summer visit to areas just east of Yosemite. But I’m not done with the Europe photographs yet — not by a long shot! There will be more of the nature photography, but today I’m back in… Italy, Venice to be specific.

Venice is a complex place. It is city that is quite crowded with tourists, especially during the summer months when we visited. (It is possible to escape the worst of that by being selective about where you stay, where you go, and the times of day when you wander.) I was out in the morning on this day, and there were hardly any other people. There’s a lot going on in this little composition — a bridge and a boat, of course, but also a building showing the impact of rising water in this old city, and some surprising shapes on some of the walls. There is also some wonderful low-angle light that reminded me of what I find in the red rock canyon country of Utah.

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.

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Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Travel

Venice Canal, Evening

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Venice Canal, Evening
Evening lights come on along the Rio de San Giovanni Laterno, Venice.

Venice Canal, Evening. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Evening lights come on along the Rio de San Giovanni Laterno, Venice.

During our August visit to Venice we stayed in a little place that was perfectly situated. It was outside of the zone of maximum tourists and the a bit quieter, yet there were restaurants nearby and we could easily walk to just about any place we wanted to go. It was also directly on one of the canals, and our room had windows overlooking it. (Our windows actually appear in the photograph.)

I made this photograph at that wonderful hour of the day when there is still some light in the sky, but when it is getting dark enough that lights are starting to switch on here and there. On opposite sides of the canal and in the distance you can see lit openings where water taxis can pick up and drop off clients. (At our hotel this was nicely outfitted with four comfortable seats, making it a perfect place to sit and watch things pass on the water.)

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.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Trogir Street, Early Morning

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Trogir Street, Early Morning
Trogir Street, Early Morning. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell

Trogir Street, Early Morning. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A (nearly-) empty early-morning street in Trogir, Croatia.

Trogir, Croatia is located not far from the city of Split. (It is not too far from the Split airport, as any visitor will note after watching and listening to planes on approach over the town.) It is a very old town and quite a striking place, with buildings and narrow streets constructed from local stone. Its history goes back over 2000 years, and these days it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a well-known location from the Game of Thrones franchise and, not doubt partly as a result, a very popular place with tourists. The latter can be an issue, especially in such a small town, and during the daytime it can be really crowded.

My friend and Croatian fellow photographer Franka Mlikota Gabler was visiting while we were there, and she suggested meeting before sunrise for some early morning — and crowd-free! — photography. Aside from people setting up restaurants and shops or making deliveries, or tourists heading out to catch early flights from the Split airport, the place was almost deserted. I photographed this narrow street while it was early enough that the blue hour light still suffused the narrow passageways.

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 | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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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

Woman, Empty Venice Street

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Woman, Empty Venice Street
A woman walks along a narrow and deserted Venice street in the early morning.

Woman, Empty Venice Street. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A woman walks along a narrow and deserted Venice street in the early morning.

The whole concept of “travel” is complex and, I think, fraught with trade-offs and contradictions. The world is a huge place, far too big to fully experience and see all of it in a lifetime. Do we go to many places and experience each of them less fully? Or do we got to fewer places and try for a deeper experience with those? I don’t have the answer — just the question. Our visit to Venice on this trip relates to that question as, even though we had been to Italy before, we had not ever been to this remarkable — and now tourist-filled and other wise endangered — city. Part of us did not want to go there, given the issues with modern Venice, but another part of us thought, “Venice! How could you NOT go there at least once!” So we went.

The place is just as crowded as you have heard and possibly seen for yourself. But it is also just as remarkable as you have heard. Arriving there for the first time (a story I’ll share in more detail later) was one of the most remarkable moments of our trip. But those crowds! Fortunately, we stayed in a place that was outside the main tourist zone — yet close enough to get to places we wanted to visit quickly. On this morning I went out early, when almost no other tourists were out. It was possible to photograph empty streets or, as in this case, individuals passing through this remarkable place.

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 | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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