Tag Archives: historic

Santa Maria della Pieve Church, Arezzo

As I promised a while ago, there will be more photographs from our ten-weeks of Southern European travel in the summer of 2023. This one comes from the Italian town of Arezzo. This was one our stops in some smaller towns, and it was pleasant to have a bit of downtime between larger and better-known cities. This view shows the Santa Maria della Sieve church next to the Grande Piazza.

There were thunderstorms in the area on this afternoon, and when we arrived at the Grande Piazza the sky looked ominous. We planned to explore, perhaps checking out restaurant options before getting lunch. But within minutes the skies opened up and we made a run for the nearest place, where we got a table under an awning and watched the storm.


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.

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Apartment Facade, Porto

Apartment Facade, Porto
“Apartment Facade, Porto” — A building full of tightly packed apartments, Porto.

We visited Porto, Portugal last summer during our travels though (mostly) Southern Europe. We spent a week in Portugal, split between Porto and Lisbon. We had heard good things about Porto, and it is clearly a city that combines history with modernity. That, in fact, seems to sometimes lead to some (typical urban) conflicts as older areas transition to incorporate expensive real estate, and you’ll sometimes see juxtapositions of wealth and poverty.

I saw this building on our very first walk in Porto. We headed toward the historic Ribiera district, which features densely packed buildings on a steep, hillside landscape alongside the Duoro River. The building in the photograph is not, as far as I know, any sort of historic treasure, but it is a visually remarkable structure. . It appears to be very dense apartments of some sort, and I can only imagine wh=at it must are like inside.


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.

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Siena Backstreet

Siena Backstreet
Pedestrians round a corner on a narrow Siena street lined with tall buildings.

Siena Backstreet. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Pedestrians round a corner on a narrow Siena street lined with tall buildings.

During our 2023 European travels we finally returned to Siena after missing earlier opportunities to go there during the pandemic. Seven years earlier we were there for literally only hours, spending an afternoon on a day trip from where we were staying in Chianti. We were entranced by the city, with its remarkable maze of narrow streets and large central plaza, Il Campo.

We made a point of scheduling a longer say on this return visit, with time to wander the streets, sit in cafes and restaurants, visit important sites, and make photographs. This scene is along a non-busy (remarkable, yes?) back street that roughly parallels two much busier thoroughfares. The narrow width of the route, the tall buildings, and the varied colors and textures are typical of this area.


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.

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Window, Trogir

Window, Trogir
Plants grow behind a small obscured-glass window in Trogir, Croatia.

Window, Trogir. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Plants grow behind a small obscured-glass window in Trogir, Croatia.

As another photographer once wrote, “There’s always something to see!” We all occasionally discover that we aren’t “seeing” like we used to, and perhaps we feel like there is nothing to photograph. But there is always something. It may not be the thing you were looking for, but if you keep at it, perhaps looking in places that you don’t normally pay attention to or possibly thinking about what you could do differently.

I was not planning to photograph tiny windows with plants behind obscured glass when I went out to photograph in Trogir, Croatia last August. I was in “street photography” mode, looking for people in interesting places and poses, against the backdrop of this very old city. But by opening my eyes and taking a bit more time I was able to see things like this that are easy to overlook.


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.

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

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