“Woman With Blue Bags, Alfama” — A woman carrying heavy blue bags walks along past weathered buildings along a curving Alfama street, Lisbon.
This photograph is a result of one of the quick, unexpected encounters that occur when doing street photography. Sometimes they happen so fast that there is hardly time to photograph. This one was brief, but not so quick that I couldn’t make a couple of photographs.
“Alfama Laundry” — Laundry hung by entry door and stairs, Alfama.
I know. Laundry hanging above urban homes in foreign cities is more than a bit of a cliche. I’ll try to minimize it, but sometimes I cannot resist. Here it is really more about the wild range of colors in the photograph, from that laundry to the colorful overhead streamers above the lane, and the contrast with the other less-colorful surroundings.
“Gingihha Vendor” — A woman selling ginginha from her doorway in the Alfama, Lisbon.
One can never be sure things like ginginha are tourism constructs or actual traditions — or perhaps a bit of both. (Parallels include Portugal’s pastel de nata, San Francisco’s Sourdough bread, Belgium waffles, and more.) But I understand, both from reading about it and from seeing it, that gingihna is a traditional drink in many places in Portugal. It is a sweet, cherry liqueur that is often sold on the street, either in small shot glasses or in little chocolate cups that you simply eat when you are done. (Nice way to solve the litter problem!)
You can step up to small ginginha shops and buy one all over the place. But there also appears to be a less formal sales force operating from their front doorways. On our recent visit we saw several women set up this way to sell ginginha, including this woman sitting in her doorway in the Alfama district.
“Street Scene, Calle el Temple” — Blocked-off ground-level units and weathered walls at Calle el Temple, Zaragoza.
I am always a bit of a sucker for old buildings that show the effects of time, especially if they are on narrow, car-free European streets, and perhaps more so when they are a bit messy around the edges. This building puzzled me. The ground floor seemed abandoned, with doorways sealed of its bricks. But the second story and above seemed well-maintained.
We stayed in the old part of Zaragoza, Spain. This location is mere footsteps from our hotel, and we walked past it a number of times. ON this morning we were just starting a walk that would take us the Central Market, then to some historical buildings, followed by a walk along the river back to the center of this part of town.
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” from Heyday Books, is available directly from G Dan Mitchell.
Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.
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