Tag Archives: europe

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

Window, Striped Curtains

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Window, Striped Curtains
Red wall, green and white striped curtain, Venice.

Window, Striped Curtains. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Red wall, green and white striped curtain, Venice.

Venice is, of course, full of all sorts of grand and famous sights — the Grand Canal and all of the smaller waterways, St. Mark’s Square, and much more. We may have spent a bit less time in those places than some visitors, but we did visit them… despite the sometimes oppressive crowds that we knew we would encounter in August. But, as is our habit, we also just plain wandered a lot, enjoying the ambience of the place and discovering things on our own.

I do have photographs of some of the famous, iconic subjects. (Yes, you will see photographs of gondolas.) But as I wander in a place like this, at least on days when I’m actively photographing, I find myself shooting smaller subjects like this one, things that I think may suggest some subtler aspects of the character of the 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.

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

Woman in Dry Cleaner Doorway

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Woman in Dry Cleaner Doorway
A woman stands n the dorrway of a dry-cleaners and smokes, Fiesole, Italy.

Woman in Dry Cleaner Doorway. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A woman stands n the doorway of a dry-cleaners and smokes, Fiesole, Italy.

During this summer’s lengthy European travels, one of our longest stays was in Florence. There’s a lot to see there — much of which we had missed on our previous visit in the pre-pandemic era, when we barely did more than pass through on our way to and from other places. So one reason for the longer stay was that we had some catching up to do. In more practical terms, we feel that after a lot of active travel it is good to stop and stay in one place a bit longer — and Florence was that place. But this photograph is not in Florence…

… which might lead you to wonder why I’m posting it here. Well, it is very close to Florence! Friends had recommended a visit to Fiesole, a smaller town in the hills above Florence. So one morning we caught the bus up there for a partial day of wandering and looking at long views of the Arno Valley and Florence. This was a quick photograph I made while wandering through the town — a woman taking a cigarette break outside her dry cleaning shop.

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

Orvieto Rooftops

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Orvieto Rooftops
Stone and tile buildings of Orvieto, Italy.

Orvieto Rooftops. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Stone and tile buildings of Orvieto, Italy.

Our 2023 European travels took us mostly (with only a few day’s worth of exceptions) to the southern part of the continent. We spent a lot of time in Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Croatia… and also visited Kosovo and briefly passed through places including Austria, Hungary, Serbia, and Montenegro. Along the way we did visit some of the very popular places, those that are predictably crowded during the summer tourist season. But we also managed to spend time in some slightly less-visited places, among them a couple of smaller towns in Italy.

One of these was the “hilltop town” of Orvieto in Umbria. It would not be accurate to suggest that this is a place without tourists. In fact, it is a very popular destination for daytime visits from other nearby locations. But we stayed there for a couple of nights and saw a different aspect of the place. In the mornings and after day-trippers depart in the late afternoon it is much quieter and far less crowded. In fact, it turned out to be one of our favorite places of the entire trip.

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

Ponte De Le Bande, Evening

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Ponte De Le Bande, Evening
A couple sits at the edge of a Venice canal next to the Ponte de le Bande in the evening.

Ponte De Le Bande, Evening. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A couple sits at the edge of a Venice canal next to the Ponte de le Bande in the evening.

This photograph comes from an evening walk in Venice back in August. Looking back on it, I’m still surprised that I managed to find a break in the usual stream of humanity across bridges like this one. It was evening, and things do quiet down at night, but it isn’t all that late. It is pretty likely that I made the photograph quickly while passing, and I’d be willing to bet that seconds after I made it other people entered the scene.

Dealing with crowds in Venice and similar places — as a photographer or just plain as a visitor — is a complex subject. (Some might simplify it by simply staying away at the worst times of the year, but we did not have that option.) To some extent, it is possible to embrace the intense energy of the masses of people, but that can be both distracting and overwhelming. But late at night or — even better — very early in the morning the crowds melt away to nearly nothing. One early morning in Venice I walked through one of the most crowded locations, and it was almost empty.

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.