Tag Archives: narrow

Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Building And Shadow, Tuscany

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Building And Shadow, Tuscany
A cloud drifts in the sky above stone buildings in Tuscany

Building And Shadow, Tuscany. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A cloud drifts in the sky above stone buildings in Tuscany

If you follow my posts you may have noticed quite a few post from Italy recently, and you might be wondering why. Have you been to Italy? ;-) OK, there are more objective reasons I can share. I make a habit of reviewing older work a year or more after I make the photographs. I see the images differently with a bit more subjective distance from the actual experience. There’s another reason, too, and it ties the place I live (California) to Italy it ways that have only recently made more sense to me. This spring and summer as I’ve walked trails in California’s grass and oak lands on warm days, it has hit me just how similar the experiences can be. And a visit to an area winery on such a day reinforced that feeling. So I suppose I’ve been enjoying both the pleasant memories of the 2016 visit from which this photograph comes and the realization that I live in a place that shares some Italy’s pleasant features.

This is one of a pair of related photographs I made at an Italian vineyard and winery we visited — both focus on the stone buildings and midday shadows. (The related image will show up here in a later post.) The vineyard centers on a very old hamlet consisting of stone buildings surrounded by vineyard. We were there in the middle of the day, and the unique Italian light was wonderful. I’m not quite sure how to describe it in words, but it has some remarkable combination of the intensity of southern light along with the softness of the Italian atmosphere.

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: Italy, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

NO FOTO, NO FILM

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NO FOTO, NO FILM
People passing along a narrow street in Siena, Italy

NO FOTO, NO FILM. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

People passing along a narrow street in Siena, Italy.

This photograph comes from our brief, one-day visit to Siena, Italy in 2016, made during a week-and-a-half stay in Tuscany, mostly in the hills between Siena and Florence. We were in Siena only long enough for a single foray into this fascinating city, and I would certainly like to return.

There are several ways to “see” this photograph, I think. It started with the little “pizzicheria” shop across the narrow street, and its catchy little “NO FOTO NO FILM” sign, likely posted to let tourists known that the owners don’t want folks going inside to make photographs. It is also a record of the sorts of crowds you will find here on a summer, tourist season day — many of the narrow streets are absolutely filled with visitors. Finally, if you look a bit closer you might find a few other interesting features — some of the individuals in the scene, some interactions among them, and some shapes and forms that their figures create. I’ll leave it to viewers to have fun with those things.

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

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

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

Night Cyclist, Florence

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Night Cyclist, Florence
“Night Cyclist, Florence” — A man on a bicycle rides a down a narrow street at night, Florence, Italy

The curve of this narrow street, with its backwards “HOTEL” sign, turned out to be a productive spot for photography during our 2016 visit to Florence. Florence is a popular and crowded place during the tourist season, but very early in the morning and late and night the crowds thin and it is possible to find empty and near-empty streets.

Imagine it is a very hot Italian evening. People are out walking in the narrow streets, stopping to get something to eat or drink, and sitting in the warm outdoor air. It is not deserted by any means, but things are slowing down and most streets, especially those away from the main points of tourist interest, are quiet. A cyclist emerges from around the curve and passes by, and it is quiet again.

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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

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Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Morning, Florence

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Morning, Florence
People walk the narrow streets of Florence, Italy on a summer morning.

Morning, Florence. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

People walk the narrow streets of Florence, Italy on a summer morning.

I made this photograph at a sort of “in-between time” in Florence. From midday on into the evening the place can be quite crowded — such a stupendous place draws just as large of a crowd of tourists as you might imagine. On a summer day, especially in the squares, along the river, and near any of the most famous attractions the number of people can be overwhelming — but most often in an energizing way.

To find somewhat quieter moments I went out early and sometimes stayed out late. As the evening wears on there are fewer and fewer people in some of the crowded areas, though the summer heat of Italy does tend to keep people out in the squares and restaurants longer than you might expect. But even better, in some ways, are the early morning hours when it at least seems like most of the sparse foot traffic belongs to locals. I made this photograph a bit later, after those early hours but before the main crush of crowds had arrived.

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 | Facebook | Email

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

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