Tag Archives: europe

Photographs: France, Photographs: Urban/Street

Intersection, Montmartre, Dusk

October 13, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A deserted Montmartre intersection in the evening “blue hour,” Paris

This past August we stayed in Montemartre during our weeklong visit to Paris. We went to many places in Paris, often on foot, but we obviously ended up spending quite of bit of time in Montmartre near our hotel — going out on walks, looking for restaurants, returning from other adventures. This area is more hilly that other parts of Paris, so here the narrow and twisting streets also wind up and down hills in many places.

I’m not certain at the moment where we were headed on this evening, though there is a pretty good chance that it involved food! It might have been on our first night in Paris, when we didn’t yet know our way around the local area and we went out for what amounted to a random walk. I made the photograph during that brief interval between night and day, the “blue hour,” when all areas in shadow are lit by the blue wash of light from the sky. At the moment I made this photograph the light was dimming, just enough that the brightest street lights were beginning to create pools of warmer light.

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

Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Urban/Street

Accordionist and Carriage

October 10, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A horse carriage and an accordionist on his way to work on a Florence street

Places like Florence combine touristy stuff (lots of people, and folks selling souvenirs), amazing and often very old buildings and urban design, great museums, and occasionally little moments of “that could only happen here,” when we run into things that belong to that particular city.

This was perhaps one of those moments in Florence. By this point I had caught on to the maze of very narrow and often twisting streets in central Florence. But this was a bit of a “did that actually happen?” moment, full of experiences that are far from the everyday for this American. The background — the narrow street and the brown/tan buildings — is part of it. But the real surprise was that a) some fellow carrying an accordion happened to be walking by and b) at just that moment a fast-moving horse carriage came up the street.

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

Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Urban/Street

Cafe, Tourists, and Duomo

October 9, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Morning visitors walk past an outdoor cafe and the Duomo, Florence

At the risk of repeating something I’ve previously shared, when I travel I often almost make it a point to not know too much precise detail about where I’m going, especially if the place is new. (I won’t go so far as wanting to know nothing, since that could make things very complicated!) The idea is that this lets me discover the place when I get there, thus giving me a sort of personal map of the location and my own orientation to it. This also means that I can have the joy of actual discovery while I’m on location, as differentiated by the recognition that, yeah, I know about this place.

I almost hesitate to admit how naive I was about Florence. I knew some odd background facts — for example, the importance of the Florentine camera — in classical music. But beyond that I know pretty much that a) it is in Italy and b) driving there isn’t supposed to be fun. My first major moment of “discovery” was walking around a corner to see the Duomo at night — I think that the experience was more awesome (in the true sense of “evoking awe”) than it would have been if I had read about the place. I made this photograph on our last morning in Florence, as we made a final visit to the area around the Duomo before heading to the airport to begin our long journey home.

Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Urban/Street

Seated People, Dog

October 8, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Seated people with a white dog in front of Florence shops on the Ponte Vecchio.

The Ponte Vecchio is a bridge across the Arno River in Florence, and it is covered with buildings, giving it a very different appearance than the typical cross-river bridge. Shops line the bridge and are open during the day, with some staying open into the evening.

It is, of course, a popular tourist spot — and we were tourists! When we walked across the first time it was close to sunset and the place was packed to the point that it was difficult to walk. There was the typical assortment of street artists, musicians, and men hawking cheap souvenirs. The lights were just coming on when I saw this small group of people and their dog sitting on the curb, somehow finding a way to look almost isolated in the midst of the crowd.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: europe

Intersection, Montmartre, Dusk

Accordionist and Carriage

Cafe, Tourists, and Duomo

Seated People, Dog

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.