Tag Archives: duomo

Souvenir Shoppers, Milan

One of the “problems” with a long trip — at least for this photographer — is that I come back with so many photographs that it takes quite a whileto go through all of them. I made more than 5000 exposures on a 10-week visit to (mostly) Southern Europe last summer. While I’ve viewed all of them at least once, there’s still a lot of work to do when it comes to evaluating and post-processing. That’s my way of saying, “More still to come!”

This was a quick “street photography” shot in the doorway of a small souvenir shop along the square in front of the Milan Duomo. Needless to say, this is a busy area, especially during the summer. There are lots of opportunities to watch and photograph people of all sorts, both tourists and the Milanese.


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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Firenze Duomo, Evening

Firenze Duomo, Evening
The Duomo of Firenze/Florence, Italy in evening light.

Firenze Duomo, Evening. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

The Duomo of Firenze/Florence, Italy in evening light.

Florence, or Firenze in Italian, is a remarkable city full of remarkable places and artifacts. And, yes, it is also really crowded with tourists during the peak travel season… which is when we were there this summer. But still… it is one of those places that is amazing enough that it is worth braving those crowds. And, on occasion, the crowd can even be part of the fun. That’s how it turned out on this evening.

We wanted a longer, elevated view of the city, so we headed to the Piazzale Michelango, a sort of park perched on a hillside overlooking the Arno River and the central city, with views extending into the far distance. To be honest, we were not looking forward to the crowds, but we really wanted to see and photograph this view. When we arrived, there were so many people that it was a challenge to even find a place to stand. But gradually we figured out that it was a sort of grand party. Vendor were selling refreshments (including adult beverages) and food, musicians were playing, some guy was doing essentially improv theater in front of the crowd, the light was increasingly magical, and people began to sing as they watched the sunset.


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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Early Evening, Florence

Early Evening, Florence
Early evening view of Florence, Italy from the Piazzale Michangelo.

Early Evening, Florence. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Early evening view of Florence, Italy from the Piazzale Michangelo.

This might be one of the best-known viewpoints in Florence, the Piazzale Michangelo. From this high terrace you look down and across the Arno River toward the old central city and beyond. If you know about the city you probably recognize at least a couple of landmarks in the photograph.

This photograph and the evening on which I made it might be a good reminder that the advice you sometimes hear about staying away from the most famous places isn’t always valid. I deal with this a lot in my landscape photography – I often love to go to somewhat anonymous, out-of-the way places, but I think the first-time visitors are often best off by starting with the well-known places. Knowing that this spot is so famous and seeing so many people heading that way, I might have decided not to join the throngs… but it turned out that the evening was beautiful and the throng was a big part of the fun!


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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Illusions, Manhattan

Illusions, Manhattan
Illusions, photographed on a Manhattan street in winter.

Illusions, Manhattan. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Illusions, photographed on a Manhattan street in winter.

This photograph may not be quite what it first appears to be. First hint? I made “this photograph” on the streets of Manhattan on a very cold winter day. Perhaps you are now looking a bit more closely. Possibly you have noticed that odd white area on the woman’s face and wondered what it is. If you looked very closely at the scene you may have noticed a few other incongruities. I hope you wondered about the nature of the borders at the top and bottom of the image.

“All photographs lie.” This is a line I repeat frequently when certain ideas about photographs and photograph arise. I’ll admit that the statement is a bit of a cheap shot, but I say it to provoke some folks to think differently about photography, particularly the notion that it is real or that being “real” is it primary purpose or goal. The “lies” in the photograph I present here are on multiple levels, and I’ll mostly leave you to ponder them on your own.


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