Tag Archives: car

Narrow Street with Automobile

“Narrow Street with Automobile” — A small car makes its way along a very narrow street in Montpellier, France.

This is a narrow street in Montpellier, France. Like so many European cities and towns, with their long histories, the central area is filled with these tiny, curving lanes. They were most definitely not designed with automobiles in mind — more likely pedestrians and perhaps an occasional horse-drawn wagon. Since the building are built right to the edge of the street, there is no way to widen the lanes — so cars are very small and access is quite limited.

If you are American, you might think this would be a bad thing. We are used to cities built around and/or adapted to the automobile. Even older cities, like those on the Eastern Seaboard, have been adapted to have many wider avenues and lots of parking — not necessarily “enough” parking, but still. The folks who live in these European cities seem to do OK, though. Vehicles can get in when necessary, but much of the time pedestrians take over these streets.


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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Underpass Intersection, London

Underpass Intersection, London
“Underpass Intersection, London” — Two roads come together beneath bridges, London.

I photograph when we travel, typically using quite different equipment and techniques than for my landscape photography. While the latter usually uses relatively large and heavy equipment, I downsize in a major way for travel. This is partly due to the realities of travel — we go light and I don’t want or need a big bag of cumbersome gear. (That would actually decrease the overall quality of my photography, which is something I’ll write about at some point.) But it isn’t just the gear — it is also the whole approach. I shoot handheld with a small camera, and I often approach the subjects as a street photographer.

The decision to render this as a monochrome photograph was a bit of a surprise to me. Those round shapes on the wall above the sidewalk are blue lights, and when I made the exposure I thought that they might be a key element. But when I finally got to this image in post, I much preferred the mood of the image in black and white, so I had to let go of that preconception about the lights and color. (As much as pre-visualization is a crucial skill, sometimes post-visualization wins the day!)


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

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Piaggio Ape Art Car

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.

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

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Red Things

Red Things
Red awning and car, Portland, Oregon

Red Things. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Red awning and car, Portland, Oregon

Over the next week or so I plan to sneak in a few photographs from the urban world that I’ve had lying around here for a while. This one comes from a trip to Portland, Oregon a few years ago.

If this photograph is “about” something, it might be the color red. Sometimes in urban areas when my photographer brain is fully engaged, I move away from seeing “things” and instead see imagery that may be based on all sorts of elements. I’m pretty sure that I can make those who are with me wonder about my sanity by noting things like, “Look, the car, the paint, and the awning are all red! Too bad it isn’t parked in a red zone!”


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