Tag Archives: europe

Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Spain, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Holiday Lights, Mercado de San Miguel

Image February 21, 2025 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Yes, the Mercado de San Miguel is a tourist hub, and yes it is right next door to another hub, the Plaza Mayor. While you probably don’t want to spend your entire time in Madrid at such places, this mercado is kind of fun and has a lot to offer. Our favorite vendor sells vermut and skewered treats built around fascinating variations on the traditional gilda. If you go, embrace the crowdedness and enjoy the food.

On this evening we passed by a bit later — we were not there to eat, but instead were on a walk to some other locations. Surprisingly the crowds had diminished a bit, and we were able to enjoy the holiday decorations on the building as we walked along.

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.

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

Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Spain, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Rounding the Corner

Image February 18, 2025 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Photo of a women walking on a darkened street in Madrid — “Rounding the Corner” — A woman walks around a corner on a quiet Madrid street at night.

Madrid is quite active at night — you’ve perhaps heard about the very late dinner hour there? We visited during the December holiday season, when the sun sets early, so there were even more hours of nighttime activity. I love to photograph urban areas at night, and these factors gave me lots of opportunities. Here a woman walks through a beam of light as she rounds a corner on a quiet street.

While it was possible to find quiet moments like this, many places in Madrid were packed with people during the holiday season, especially in the late afternoons and evenings. Major streets were filled with pedestrians and restaurants and bars were packed.

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 G Dan Mitchell.

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

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

Urban Tree, Night

Image February 13, 2025 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

You may have to look closely to realize it, but this photograph was made at night. (t is often surprising just how much light is found in the nighttime urban environment.) The location is Madrid, not far from the Plaza Mayor, during December, when the streets here are filled with people celebrating the holidays. But this little side street was quiet and nearly deserted.

Night transforms the urban environment. Things that might look mundane during the day can take on a different appearance under the glow of artificial lights. Here several light sources illuminate the brick wall and the sidewalk, and side light highlights the trunk of the urban tree.

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.

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

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Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Germany, Photographs: Travel

Die Alte Brücke, Heidelberg

Image February 9, 2025 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

As I have written previously, Heidelberg is our “home away from home” when we travel to Europe. We almost always end up there for at least a few days, and on our late 2024 visit we used it as our home base for essentially three weeks. Patty’s brother and sister-in-law live there and graciously host us. So by now we are somewhat familiar with parts of the city, including the Altstadt (“old town”) area.

I made this simple little photograph as we walked through hills above the Neckar River on the Philosophenweg footpath. Although the weather felt like winter (at least to us Californians!), there were still colorful autumn leaves on many of the trees. “Die Alte Brücke” (the old bridge) is visible beyond the trees in the center of the frame, and after we descended from the hills we crossed it into the town.