I am often a bit uneasy about photographing street art, tags, and graffiti. In some cases it feels more like attention-getting vandalism than creative work. But there are exceptions in places where it seems to be mostly tolerated, and when the work seems like an interesting expression.
Continue reading Lisbon Graffiti #2
Here is one more photograph of Lisbon graffiti, this one from a wall next to a sidewalk in the lower Alfama neighborhood. The colors and patterns are so vivid that you might not even notice the doorway in the wall behind the paint. The colors of this street anrt are were perhaps the most intense that I recall seeing.
Continue reading Lisbon Graffiti #1
As usual, I made the photo while thinking of it purely as a visual object, and only later did I stop to wonder about what it meant and why it might be there. I’m still a little bit confused about it. Some poking around on the internet offered a couple of translations of the words. They are literally, as I understand it, “purchase of horse.” One writer suggests that it might mean that a former business purchased horses. A complicating factor is that at least one previous business here was a butcher shop.
As to the visual quality of the object, the brilliant red colors certainly got my attention, as did the form of the horse on its two hind legs. Even more, whoever made this attention-grabbing sign did so in a truly old school manner. It is a complex and fascinating mosaic, and the entire front and side of the building are also covered in more abstract mosaic tile designs.
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.
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Today’s photo is a bit photo-journalistic, but sometimes that is appropriate for travel. We ended up at this Christmas market in Montpellier, France almost by accident. We knew there was a market, but we were not sure where it was located. We went on one of our morning “random walks,” heading toward the high point of the old section of the city, where we found a pond where an ancient aqueduct terminates. The market filled a large hilltop square between that and the upper end of the city’s main street.
We knew about German Christmas markets, and one of our goals during the first weeks of our trips was to visit them. We were less aware that these markets are actually all over Europe — we saw them in France and Spain during our trip. While the German markets seem to be best known, the other markets follow the same general theme — rows of booths selling food, drink, warm clothing items, Christmas decorations, and much more to throngs of holiday visitors.
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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