Tag Archives: europe

Photographs: France, Photographs: Urban/Street

Empty Lot, Paris

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Empty Lot, Paris
An empty lot with graffiti and street art, Paris

Empty Lot, Paris. Paris, France. August 8, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An empty lot with graffiti and street art, Paris

I’m pretty certain that I made this photograph on the evening of our arrival in Paris in the summer of 2016. We came from London the train, arrived in the afternoon, checked into a hotel, and headed out to explore. We were staying in Montemartre, which is a fine place to wander, with narrow streets, hills, and plenty of places to eat and drink.

A bit later, at dusk, we were walking through a residential area when we passed this empty and apparently abandoned lot. It appeared that it had been commandeered by graffiti artists, who produced everything from text to images. My sense was that this produced a sort of urban landscape, and as different as this look from, say, the Sierra Nevada, it photographed it in a similar way in the fading light.

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 and Amazon.
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Photographs: France

The Louvre

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The Louvre
Courtyard and people, the Louvre

The Louvre. Paris, France. August 11, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Courtyard and people, the Louvre

We spent about a week exploring Paris during the summer of 2016. Mostly we wandered, with a few specific goals in mind, and many opportunities for (sometimes random) discoveries. But there were a few things that we knew we had to visit, and the The Louvre was, of course, on that list. The museum is gigantic, with collections that are so extensive that a single day visit — which is what we had — only affords an opportunity to visit a small portion of the museum. We managed mostly one floor of one wing.

The grounds within and around the Louvre are constructed on a monumental scale. While many parts of Paris feature narrow and twisting streets, here there are vast open courtyards and buildings that extend over great distances. This photograph was made from one of the upper levels of the museum, and it looks back toward the central open area, across which groups of people walk.

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

Photographs: Germany

Heidelberg Altstadt, Neckar River

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Heidelberg Altstadt, Neckar River
The Heidelberg Altstadt and schloss, Neckar River

Heidelberg Altstadt, Neckar River. Heidelberg, Germany. August 15, 2016. © Copyright 201 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The Heidelberg Altstadt and schloss, Neckar River

From where we stay when we visit Heidelberg it is not a long walk to the Heidelberg Altstadt. We hike up a hill via the Philosophenweg, traverse the hillside above the Neckar River (from which the views of the old town are beautiful), descent a steep walkway, and cross a bridge… and we are there.

I made the photograph from this pathway, stopping at a spot where the vegetation is a bit thinner and the view a bit more open. The Neckar River flows past in the foreground, and the footbridge is the route we take across the water to the old town. The castle is on the more distant hill beyond the altstadt.

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

Photographs: Germany, Photographs: Urban/Street

Altdeutsche Weinstube

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Altdeutsche Weinstube
A small child on the sidewalk passes in front of Altdeutsche Weinstube

Altdeutsche Weinstube. Heidelberg, Germany. August 15, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A small child on the sidewalk passes in front of Altdeutsche Weinstube

I must have made this photograph while walking up one of the back streets of the altstadt, a few blocks over from the popular main street. I simply grabbed the photograph and moved on, so I don’t know much of anything about the building aside from what I can see in the photograph. (A check of Google Maps suggests that whatever business was in there may now be closed.)

The building itself was fascinating to me, with its badly weathered brightly colored pain and the old script painted signs (partially painted over) on the wall. The small child walking by at that moment — and alone! — was a bonus in many ways. Among them is the strange sense of scale that he provides. Either he is a very tiny child or, more likely, the scale of the building is a bit larger than we might think.

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 and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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