Tag Archives: people

Photographs: Southern California, Photographs: Urban/Street

It Doesn’t Help And No One Cares

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It Doesn't Help And No One Cares
“It Doesn’t Help And No One Cares” — A scene at a Southern California art fair

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

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Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: France

Musée d’Orsay, Interior

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Musée d'Orsay, Interior
The main interior area of the Musée d’Orsay, Paris

Musée d’Orsay, Interior. Paris, France. August 12, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The main interior area of the Musée d’Orsay, Paris

Even though we had almost a week in Paris this past summer, there was simply too much to see — not that this was a surprise! We knew that there were certain things that we simply had to see, and we knew that we wanted to visit several museums, some small and some large. We visit a small photography museum one day, and we visited a portion of the Louvre on another, but there were other things to see and do as well.

All of this is to explain our unfortunately brief visit to Musée d’Orsay, which we only managed to get to near the end of our trip, and then on an afternoon when the place was only going to be open a few more hours. We went in and rushed to see at least a few things that we knew we did not want to miss, and I found time to make just a few photographs, including this one of the airy interior of the building just before it closed.

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: Urban/Street

Cafe, Tourists, and Duomo

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Cafe, Tourists, and Duomo
Morning visitors walk past an outdoor cafe and the Duomo, Florence

Cafe, Tourists, and Duomo. Florence/Firenze, Italy. August 29, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning visitors walk past an outdoor cafe and the Duomo, Florence

At the risk of repeating something I’ve previously shared, when I travel I often almost make it a point to not know too much precise detail about where I’m going, especially if the place is new. (I won’t go so far as wanting to know nothing, since that could make things very complicated!) The idea is that this lets me discover the place when I get there, thus giving me a sort of personal map of the location and my own orientation to it. This also means that I can have the joy of actual discovery while I’m on location, as differentiated by the recognition that, yeah, I know about this place.

I almost hesitate to admit how naive I was about Florence. I knew some odd background facts — for example, the importance of the Florentine camera — in classical music. But beyond that I know pretty much that a) it is in Italy and b) driving there isn’t supposed to be fun. My first major moment of “discovery” was walking around a corner to see the Duomo at night — I think that the experience was more awesome (in the true sense of “evoking awe”) than it would have been if I had read about the place. I made this photograph on our last morning in Florence, as we made a final visit to the area around the Duomo before heading to the airport to begin our long journey home.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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

Seated People, Dog

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Seated People, Dog
Seated people with a white dog in front of Florence shops on the Ponte Vecchio.

Seated People, Dog. Florenze/Firenze, Italy. August 27, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Seated people with a white dog in front of Florence shops on the Ponte Vecchio.

The Ponte Vecchio is a bridge across the Arno River in Florence, and it is covered with buildings, giving it a very different appearance than the typical cross-river bridge. Shops line the bridge and are open during the day, with some staying open into the evening.

It is, of course, a popular tourist spot — and we were tourists! When we walked across the first time it was close to sunset and the place was packed to the point that it was difficult to walk. There was the typical assortment of street artists, musicians, and men hawking cheap souvenirs. The lights were just coming on when I saw this small group of people and their dog sitting on the curb, somehow finding a way to look almost isolated in the midst of the crowd.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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