Tag Archives: graffiti

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Florence Building

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Florence Building
A gritty looking Florence building

Florence Building. Florence/Firenze, Italy. August 28, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A gritty looking Florence building

It was almost the end of our five weeks of American, British, and European travel this past August — from New York City in late July to the UK at the start of August, and then through Paris, Heidelberg, and several areas in Italy. The trip was winding down. Truth be told, we were at the point where we would have been happy to continue traveling, but it was time to return to the US and get back to the so-called real world.

We went out for a morning walk in Florence, heading away from the busiest areas in the opposite direction from our hotel. We wandered up narrow streets to a large, open square, and then simply “random walked” our way back. For an American, particularly a west coast American perhaps, central Florence is a remarkably different looking place. This is not just because of the very old streets and buildings but secondarily because of the state of their exteriors. In many places things are very similar colors, in a range between brown and tan, and most buildings don’t look all that fancy from the outside. There is a striking lack of advertising signs — a shop might typically have one sign and it probably isn’t lit much if at all. This building had a practical look about it, with pipes, wires, and conduit on the outside. The light was remarkable — an unusual combination of brilliance combined with a certain softness that the Italian atmosphere provided almost the entire time we were there.

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: Urban/Street

Intersection, Montmartre, Dusk

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Intersection, Montmartre, Dusk
An intersection of narrow streets at dusk, Montmartre, Paris

Intersection, Montmartre, Dusk. Paris, France. August 8, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

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.

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: Architecture, Photographs: France

Dumbed Down By Foreign Actors

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Dumbed Down By Foreign Actors
Graffiti on a wall along a Paris sidewalk

Dumbed Down By Foreign Actors. Paris, France. August 8, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Graffiti on a wall along a Paris sidewalk

When traveling it pretty quickly becomes apparent that graffiti is a pretty universal thing. The amount may vary, but is probably as much a function of how quickly it is cleaned up as it is of the amount of it that is produced. (In some cities, both in the US and Europe, it is pretty clear that no one has bothered to remove it for a long time.) Broadly speaking, it comes in several types. The personal scrawls, or “tags,” seem pretty similar just about everywhere, and I rarely share them. (They also seem like the lowest form of graffiti, basically just a “look at me” or “see what I can get away with” kind of thing.) A second sort is more art/icon oriented and not particularly about text. (My “Je suis bleu” photograph from Le Marias includes such material.) It may or may not be political. A third type includes text messages — though some of the “art” graffiti may fit here, too — seems more overtly political and delivers some message, though the meaning may not always be clear.

I saw these “Dumbed Down By Foreign Actors” scrawls in quite few places in Paris. This one is in Montmartre. I’m not certain what it means, and a quick search didn’t provide any clear answers: is it literally about actors from foreign countries, or is it about (e.g. political) “actors,” or something else? I photographed this example as much for the surroundings as for the text itself. The old wall, painted (and partially re-painted) pink, the barred square area (not actually a window), and the interruption of the power box all are visually interesting to me.

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: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

This Is Jess

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This Is Jess
Door with graffiti and stickers

This Is Jess. New York City. July 28, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Door with graffiti and stickers

I truly don’t remember this photograph at all! Sometimes when doing street photograph (in this case at the start of five weeks or what was largely street photography) I photograph quickly and then almost forget quite a few of the photographs as I move on to the next thing, trusting that my ideas about the subject will come back when I see the photograph again as I do my post processing. In this case, no such luck!

I don’t usually photograph graffiti — in fact I used to make it my policy to almost never post graffiti or to disfigure tags that the photographs might contain. But in this case there may be enough in the scene to convince me to let it go. The layers of time and culture in this photograph are easy to overlook, but when you stop to think about it they are quite amazing. I’m sure that this wall and old door have stood for a long time, likely created by and for people who would have little concept of how the surroundings have evolved. The “stuff” on the door includes its own kinds of diversity, ranging from informal scrawls to bits of paper that were created with the intention of affixing them to place like this. And on the left we have the bright colors of  the edge of a sign in (I presume) a Chinese language, itself visually contrasting with yet connecting to the newer writings on the green door.

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.