Tag Archives: people

Fountain of the Horses, Santiago de Compostela

Fountain of the Horses, Santiago de Compostela
“Fountain of the Horses, Santiago de Compostela” — Morning tourists near the “Fonte de Cabalos” (Fountain of the Horses) in Santiago de Compostela.

The “Fountain of the Horses” (“Fuente de los Caballos“) is a two-centuries-old monument in the Praza das Pratarías, a small square near various sacred buildings in the city. Its name comes from the four horses at the base of the statue. We passed though the square several times during our May visit.

While the fountain was on my mind when I made the photograph, it wasn’t the main thing that I was thinking about. (I mostly thought of it as a compositional element.) I was intrigued by the arrangement of buildings on the street at and around the square and by the morning light coming straight down a narrow street to the left… and also by the positions and colors of the people in the square.


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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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Bubble Dancing

Bubble Dancing
“Bubble Dancing” — Children dance and spread soap bubbles at the Praça do Comércio, Lisbon.

On our May visit to Lisbon (and a few other places) one of our first outings was to simply walk down the street to the Praça do Comércio square on the waterfront. It is a pretty obvious tourist thing to do, but it was the morning after a late arrival following about 20 hours of travel… so we were not up for anything too stressful.

Someone had a big bucket of soap and was making bubbles on the square, and a group of exuberant children was running and dancing around them, unconcerned about what anyone else might think.

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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A Lisbon Street

A Lisbon Street
“A Lisbon Street” — A narrow, curving street in Alfama, lined with colorful buildings.

From my limited experience, this feels like a “typical” street of Lisbon’s Alfama district… except that the street is wider than many of the passageways. The lines suggest that it is two lanes wide — though I imagine that when a trolley goes up and down those tracks there isn’t a lot of room for anyone else!

There is a lot in this scene that attracted my attention. The street itself with its pairs of tracks and optimistic center dividing line is one. The stacked and tightly spaced buildings are another. And I love the saturated colors, from the nearly pure white to the many yellow buildings, and the bits of blue here and there.

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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Night Street, Santiago de Compostela

Night Street, Santiago de Compostela
“Night Street, Santiago de Compostela” — People stroll along quiet streets in the early evening, Santiago de Compostela

Santiago de Compostela was one of two Spanish cities we visited on this trip almost on a whim. We knew almost nothing about it, aside from the fact that it is the endpoint for thousands of Camino participants, who take weeks or months to walk there. We ended up loving the town, with its old central district that is charming and has a different feel than other cities — in part due to the connection to the caminos.

When traveling we walk a lot and often just head out with no well-defined plan, expecting to see and discover things as we go. My recollection is that this was a post-dinner walk — though given Spain’s late dinner our it could have been pre-dinner! This street, with its old stone buildings, porticos, and narrow passages was almost deserted.

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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