Tag Archives: man

Photographs: England, Photographs: Urban/Street

Bubble Man

May 14, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A man making soap bubbles for the crowd in London

We were out on foot on the first day of this trip to London and, if I recall correctly, we must have traveled across the Millennium Bridge over the River Thames to the Tate Modern in the gray drizzle. We had no specific plans on this day, and I think we were just sort of getting our “London legs” by getting out and about, no matter where our whims took us. (That said, one place that the walk took us was a pub, for breakfast!)

Coming back across the bridge the view points straight toward the St. Paul’s Cathedral, and once over the bridge the walkway travels between some modern buildings as it approaches. This is, obviously, prime tourist territory, so it is a likely place for street vendors and performers. (It is also a fine place for street photographers.) The black-dressed fellow was spreading a mess of soapy water on the sidewalk tiles and lots of big bubbles into the air.

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

Photographs: England, Photographs: Urban/Street

London Rain

May 5, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A man with an umbrella walks down a rainy London street

Our travel too London was a bit “complicated” this time. We started in New York City, where we had been for nearly a week, and then left for Washington DC, from which our international flight was to depart. (Don’t ask…) Our connecting flight from NYC to Washington was delayed by thunderstorms along the eastern seaboard, and by the time we arrived in DC late that night, our overnight London flight had already departed. We ended up in a (rather nice) nearby hotel, so that we could return to the airport very early for an alternative flight. This flight was on time and we arrived at Heathrow just after sunset and made our way to our hotel in downtown London. We emerged from a tube station… in the dark… in the rain… with cell phones the didn’t work… and not quite sure where our hotel was. Finally we found it, grabbed something to eat and, exhausted, simply went to sleep.

The next morning we started to actually feel like we were in London again, and we went out for a random walk in light rain, ending up on this very narrow street heading toward the Thames. The photography gods must have wanted to reward me for the difficult previous day, and they sent this man in a dark suit and carrying an umbrella down the glistening cobblestone street ahead of us.

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

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

Restaurant, Diner, Bicycles

December 16, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A man sits at a table at an outdoor restaurant at night, Florence, Italy

Photographing in the streets of Florence, Italy was a joy when we visited this past summer. My only regret is that we were there for such a short time. We spent a week in the hills between Florence and Siena, and we picked up our rental car in Florence before leaving for the hills. (And, yes, driving in Florence is just as much fun as you have heard.) Then we returned to Florence and had parts of three days there before leaving. As I know fully understand, three days was not nearly enough time!

In one way, the streets of Florence seem to have a more uniform look than many American cities. There are few obvious commercial signs and many buildings are roughly the same shade of brown. But the streets are often very narrow and they twist and turn in all kinds of interesting ways, occasionally opening up to large squares or the banks of the Arno River. At night things are even more magical. One moment you might find yourself in the midst of crowds of people, and in another you might be on a deserted side street. This small street, with its beautiful lighting, extended off of one of the large squares, a somewhat busy place, but here there was just one man sitting at this sidewalk cafe.

Photographs: Southern California, Photographs: Urban/Street

It Doesn’t Help And No One Cares

December 10, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

This is, obviously, not “the usual” around here, but it seemed worth sharing. We were visiting a sort of art fair during a Thanksgiving visit to Southern California. At first I just looked at the arts and crafts, but having a camera in my hand I, of course, started to look at other things and to look at the event in different ways than most people who attend holiday fairs.

I could probably write an essay about this little photograph, but I’ll keep it short. At this mostly happy event, there was, once I looked more closely, a surprising undercurrent of lonely looking people. The man sitting on the bench in the spot of sunlight, hands in front between his legs and head falling to the side, was certainly not the only one. However, the juxtaposition of this person with another man wearing a shirt with the cynical slogan, ostensibly during a “holiday” event, was jarring.

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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

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: man

Bubble Man

London Rain

Restaurant, Diner, Bicycles

It Doesn’t Help And No One Cares

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