Tag Archives: people

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Travel

Duomo di Siena

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Duomo di Siena
“Duomo di Siena” — An overhead interior view of the Duomo di Siena.

Here is another photograph made from the upper levels of the Duomo di Siena, or Siena Cathedral. In this case we signed up for an early morning tour that took us way up to the roof of the building and listed a number of rooms and passageways that you wouldn’t know about by visiting the main floor. At times we had incredible views of the surrounding city and countryside, and at other points we got unusual and striking views inside the church itself. I made this photograph through a narrow opening as we crossed between the two sides of the duomo.

As with all such cathedrals, it is worth pondering how their architecture and interior additions must have seemed almost incomprehensible to people when they were constructed. Today we put up much large buildings in a year or a few, but then it took decades or even centuries. Even more remarkable, at one point at even larger cathedral was planned and initial construction begun — and it that version the space in this photograph would have been merely the width of the church, not its length.

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.

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

Strolling in Bologna

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Strolling in Bologna
“Strolling in Bologna” — Pedestrains stroll along a narrow, curving street in Bologna, italy.

Sometimes my ideas about whether a photograph should be monochromatic or color turn out to be wrong. This street is quite colorful, with paint on the buildings that suggests the sandstone colors of Southwest American canyons. The soft light accentuated this effect and warmed those colors. But the more I worked on the photograph, the more that it seemed a case of “too much.”

In fact, the two central figure also disappear into the detail in the color rendition, and those colors, found throughout the rest of the frame, simply overwhelmed everything else. So gradually, step by step, my idea about how to interpret this scene shifted to thinking of it as monochromatic.

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 | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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

Street Scene, Florence

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Street Scene, Florence
“Street Scene, Florence” — People walk along a narrow street in Florence, Italy.

There’s a lot happening in this little street vignette, photographed in Florence, Italy in the summer of 2023. You may have to look closely to see. Beyond the woman at the far right is another woman who is rather extensively tattooed. Behind her we see a young man and a fellow in black and a wide-brimmed hat assisting him. What looks like a family is about to disappear around a corner. One of the things that street photography aspires to do is capture these brief, fleeting events that occur spontaneously.

If you have been following along here you know that this photo is a pretty big contrast to the Death Valley photographs that I have been sharing since late March. There are more of those yet to come, but there are still even more of these photographs from our 10-week European adventure in 2023… and it is time to start catching up.

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 | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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

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

Street Scene, Via Pescherie Vecchie, Bologna

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Street Scene, Via Pescherie Vecchie, Bologna
“Street Scene, Via Pescherie Vecchie, Bologna” — People stroll along Via Pescherie Vecchie in Bologna, Italy.

There are, of course, narrow streets like this in almost every city, and they are abundant in old sections of Italian towns. This one extends from the main plaza in central Bologna. It is lined with small shops, restaurants, and fish markets.

I suppose these streets are narrow partially because they were originally created in an era before automobiles. But they still have advantages today. Obviously, they are very intimate and walkable, and restaurants and bars spill out onto them. Because they are narrow and the buildings are tall, they provide respite from the Italian summer sun and heat — and here awnings provide almost complete coverage.

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 | Post | 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.