Tag Archives: people

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

Street Market, Peja

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Street Market, Peja
“Street Market, Peja” — Shoppers at the street market in the town of Peja, Kosovo.

The town of Peja (or Pec) is located in western Kosovo, just below the spectacular and rugged Accursed Mountains. During our visit a couple of years ago we were fortunate to have in our group a Kosovo native who is fluent in the local language and who knows where to take visitors. Without his help (and the hospitality of his family, who housed us during our visit) it would have been very difficult for us to see as much as we did.

One day we all headed to the town for a look around and, eventually, lunch at a local restaurant. (I became quite fond of various Kosova dishes during our visit.) Here we walked up a main street where people were congregating and vendors were selling everything from clothing to the usual faux high-end watches and so forth.

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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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

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

At the Manneken PIs

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At the Manneken PIs
“At the Manneken PIs” — Tourists taking pictures at the Manneken Pis in Brussels, Belgium.

Some “tourist attractions” are darned near inexplicable. Manneken Pis is one of them. Located at a nondescript corner in a relatively nondescript area of Brussels, it is a fountain with a tiny (61cm tall) statue of a small boy urinating. Indeed, the idea that such a thing exists is mildly interesting. But the actual site is a pretty big nothingburger in my ever-humble opinion.

So, you might wonder, where is the fountain in this photograph referring to it? It is out of the frame to the right. I was completely uninterested in photographing the peeing kid myself. However, the people who came to look and photograph themselves in front of it were fascinating. Some stood back and shot images of it — and I’m trying to imagine them getting back home and wondering why they did. Others lined themselves up to take selfies with the urinating youngster in the background, thus managing, I suppose, to prove that they were actually there. Standing next to a 61cm statue. Of a pissing boy. Or something. ;-)

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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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

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

Morning, St. Mark’s Square

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Morning, St. Mark's Square
“Morning, St. Mark’s Square” — A few people and many pigeons, early morning at St. Mark’s Square, Venice

St. Mark’s Square can be one of the most crowded places in Venice. The square itself is one of the best known landmarks, and others (like the eponymous cathedral) are nearby, along with the famous columns and the waterfront. If you are looking to avoid the crowds, this is not one of the places you most likely go!

However, on this morning I was out on the streets very early with my camera. I began a bit before sunrise, actually. Not only were there far fewer people, but the early morning air was comfortably cool. It felt like a very different Venice as a few people walked past and flocks of pigeons collected in the square.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

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

Evening Along the Canal

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Evening Along the Canal
“Evening Along the Canal” — Visitors to Venice sit along the banks of a canal near the Campo Santa Maria Formosa at night.

This photograph of people lazily passing an evening along a canal in Venice almost didn’t see the light of day. It is a “left behind” photograph that languished in my raw file archives for the past three years. Every so often I revisit the archives, and I almost always discover something that I missed. How do I miss these images? Sometimes I think I had a different idea in mind for the photograph that did not work, and returning with fresh eyes allows me to see it anew. Or, as in this case, another photograph that I made almost next door to this one did make the initial cut, so I think I dismissed this one at the time and moved on.

We were in Venice in August that year. Believe it or not, we had not been there before, and we really felt that it shouldn’t be missed. So we put up with the crowds and heat and incorporated it into a larger trip to Southern Europe. On this evening we had eaten and then gone out for an evening walk in the cooler air, diminished crowds, and beautiful evening light.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.