Tag Archives: paint

Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Portugal, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Paint Line

Image Leave a comment
Paint Line
“Paint Line” — The boundary between two different approaches to painting one building, Lisbon.

I spotted this little architectural oddity somewhere near the St. George Castle in Lisbon, high up in the hills. This is a single wall – it is all the same building. I can only assume that the building is divided into two or more residences and that those who live there have very different ideas about paint! Both are pretty striking. Purple isn’t quite a typical building color, and the worn, layered, and textured quality of the right side is about as different as I can imagine.

Little scenes like this are among those that I’m always looking for when traveling — interesting shapes, architecture, color, texture, and items that reflect that particular 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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

Join the discussion — you are welcome to leave a comment or question. (Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately.)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

(All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.)

Photographs: Europe, Photographs: France, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Weathered Street Art

Image Leave a comment
Weathered Street Art
“Weathered Street Art” — The weathered and worn figure of a man, on a wall in Montpellier, France.

There is a fine line when photographing things like this between appropriation of someone else’s creative work and making the image because the placement and weathering themselves provide independent visual interest. In short, I’m not big on simply photographing what other people create, but I do seek out and photograph things like this bit of weathered street art found on a wall in Montpelllier, France.

I suspect that it has or had some meaning or message that isn’t apparent to me — either because I lack the cultural context to see it or because it has been weathered to the point where it is no longer apparent. For me, that weathering itself is part of the attraction. In this case, the bits that remain suggest something like a genie emerging from a bottle.

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

Join the discussion — you are welcome to leave a comment or question. (Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately.)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

(All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.)

Photographs: Europe, Photographs: France, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Free ‘P’ Star

Image Leave a comment
Free 'P' Star, Store, Paris
“Free ‘P’ Star” — Free ‘P’ Star, a Paris thrift store, with orange and black paint and lots of street art.

This was one of those street photography “grab shots” — I think it was in Le Marais —that I make while walking about in the urban environment. I often make them almost spontaneously — thinking in the moment that the subject is interesting visually, but then not taking time to note the precise location or other facts. To be honest, in a lot of ways this is the opposite of how I work in my landscape photography, and that may be part of the appeal.

From more recent internet research, it appears that “Free ‘P” Star” may be a chain of what we in the US call “thrift stores” or “second hand shops.” There were lots of things in this scene that attracted me: the string contrast between black an orange, the glow of the purple light inside the store, and the impressive collection of street art on the outside wall.

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

Join the discussion — you are welcome to leave a comment or question. (Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately.)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

(All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.)

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Europe, Photographs: France, Photographs: Travel

Shades of Blue

Image Leave a comment
“Shades of Blue” — Details of a blue wall with shutter, Equisheim, Alsace.

I think of these photographs as a sort of “found geometry” — patterns of color and texture and lines that can be viewed abstractly if you prefer. When I travel I’m usually on the lookout for these little vignettes, which are everywhere once you start looking for them. This one is simply a wall of a building in the little Alsatian town of Eguisheim.

Beyond their abstract qualities, these subjects can also hold a lot of history if you look closely. Eguisheim is a very old town, and very old towns contain a lot of, well, very old stuff. But they also are usually continuously updated, repaired, and spruced up. We can let new things go for a while without maintenance, but these old structures require a lot of attention. Here someone has obviously taken the time to paint the walls in multiple colors. But before long the old walls wear out and chip and crack.

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 | BlueSky | Email

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.