Tag Archives: europe

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: France, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Eiffel Tower, Clouds

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Eiffel Tower, Clouds
Thin clouds in bright summer sky above the Eiffel Tower

Eiffel Tower, Clouds. Paris, France. August 12, 2016. © Copyright 201 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Thin clouds in bright summer sky above the Eiffel Tower

It was Paris, so I had to photograph the Eiffel Tower. It is expected of me. It is an iconic site and it is impressive in person. But I found it to be a difficult photographic subject. It is easy to photograph it, but I found it tricky to find a way to not just make a picture of the Eiffel Tower. (On the other hand, I did almost exactly that on one evening late in our visit when we had a view from an upper story towards to tower as it got dark and the lights on the tower were illuminated.)

In any case, I decided to try some relatively tightly cropped photographs of the structure, some of which were much tighter than this one. But I got lucky, and some thin, fluffy clouds floated over in the midday light, producing a soft and glowing quality in the sky, and this seemed to contrast nicely with the start, strong, and dark form of the tower.

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, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Urban/Street

Street Corner, Evening, Montmartre

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Street Corner, Evening, Montmartre
Evening on a street corner in Montmartre, Paris

Street Corner, Evening, Montmartre. Paris, France. August 8, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Evening on a street corner in Montmartre, Paris

In the summer of 2016, on our first evening in Paris, we went out wandering in Montmartre. We more or less had no idea where we were going, but eventually our random walk took us to a popular destination with a view over Paris, and then it was time to eat. As Paris novices it took us, believe it or not, a while to figure out where to eat. Yeah, I know. In Paris?

After eating in one of the numerous cafes in Montmartre we walked some more, mostly just wandering up and down the narrow streets to see what we could see. It was a long summer twilight and I was able to photograph on into the evening. In places there were lots of people, but on other streets there seemed to be almost no one, and here and there we found surprising and even odd little bits of street art and similar things. I want to think that this image on the wall might have been street art, but it could also have been some kind of shrine.

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.

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: France, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Windows And Hallway

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Windows And Hallway
A hallway with alcove windows, The Louvre, Paris

Windows And Hallway. Paris, France. August 11, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A hallway with alcove windows, The Louvre, Paris

In Paris we, of course, visited the Louvre. We had a day, and that was not nearly enough. A week might be about right. We managed to view one floor of one wing, and then quickly visit a few other areas. We mostly saw older work including some of the major classics for which the museum is known, but later in the day we briefly explored some areas that aren’t perhaps the typical things that American tourists look for there.

This was a day of interesting outdoor light. There were clouds, sometimes thick and sometimes thinning enough to produce directional light. As we passed through this hallway the light was softly directional and even though the architecture here was modern and somewhat plain, the light attracted me and I stopped to photograph this row of windows.

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.

Photographs: France, Photographs: Urban/Street

Pedestrians, Le Marais

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Pedestrians, Le Marais
“Pedestrians, Le Marais” — People on the sidewalk in Le Marais, Paris

Le Marais, where we ended up almost by accident as we searched for a photography museum in Paris, turned out to be a wonderful place to make photographs. The old streets are narrow, predating the more recent modernization of many parts of Paris, and the buildings are often old. Most people are on foot, and there are wonderful back drops for photographing them everywhere.

The person in the colorful clothing, paused against the textured and weathered wall for a cellphone check, first caught my attention. I did make another photograph in which this person is the only figure, set off against a very large expanse of wall. But when I have the chance I often like to try more than one interpretation of a subject, so I framed a vertical composition and waited for other passers-by to walk through the frame, trying to catch them in interesting juxtapositions and poses.

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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. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.