Tag Archives: graffiti

Ways

Ways
“Ways” — A graffiti-filled side alley in Glasgow, Scotland.

We visited a number of Scottish towns and cities, ranging from small villages where we were lodged during our Great Glen Way trek up to the urban centers of Edinburgh and Glasgow. We were actually in Glasgow twice. Our (long!) flight from the West Coast of the USA (in two segments) terminated in Glasgow, so we had made arrangements to walk the short distance from the terminal to the closest hotel and fall asleep. The next morning we took a shuttle into Glasgow to catch a trail to Oban, and while waiting we walked just a bit around downtown. But it wasn’t until we returned a couple of weeks later that we had a chance to explore this city.

We liked Glasgow even more than we expected to. We had read various things about the city — some suggested that it was more mundane than its bigger neighbor Edinburgh, but others touted its charm, quirkiness, “workaday” quality, and street art. In the end, we ended up agreeing with the latter reaction. There’s plenty to see and do there, but it doesn’t have the same tourist pressure that we saw in Edinburgh. I made this photograph near the end of a very long walk we took one day. Perhaps it doesn’t quite illustrate the point I’m trying to make about the town, but it was a fascinating little alley off of one of the main thoroughfares.


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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | PostEmail

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

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)


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

Bologna Porticos

Boilogna Porticos
“Bologna Porticos” Bologna porticos, covered in graffiti and glowing with reflected light.

Last summer we spent a few days in Bologna, Italy. It was August, the peak of the hot season, and as a result we could certainly see (and feel!) the benefits of the old city’s porticos. Here, as property owners extended the upper floors outward into the streets, they constructed these porticos over sidewalks, supported by columns. This is not the only place you can find them, but they are very numerous in Bologna.

Another notable feature of this scene is the graffiti. I’m generally not a graffiti fan, but it seems to be part of the scene in this area of Bologna. We saw it the first time we visited some years back, and it was still the case in 2023.


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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | PostEmail

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

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)


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

Graffiti, Bologna

We spent several very enjoyable days in Bologna, Italy last summer. There are many wonderful things about this city — its two famous towers, the activities in the central piazza, the food, and more. But the amount of graffiti in the central city is quite striking, to the point that it seems to be a real part of the city’s character. The street art is quite diverse, including the familiar large scrawls, bits of poetry, and more — in this area including a Madonna and Child image.

I remember this from our first visit years ago. We came into the city late in the day, dropped off the car in a garage staffed with questionable characters, had to hunt for our lodgings inside an unmarked building, and then found ourselves unable to enter. We got in, got settled, and went out to find dinner. In our area the streets were deserted, no streetlights were on, nothing was opened, the walls were covered with similar graffiti. The sensory effect was post-apocalyptic. (I can report that the Bologna experience is mostly much different than that!)


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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | PostEmail

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

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)


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

Window, Striped Curtains

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.

Blog | About | Twitter | Flickr | FacebookEmail

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)


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