Tag Archives: rollup

Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Urban/Street

Sidewalk, Person in Blue

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Sidewalk, Person in Blue
A blue-clad person walks along a Florence sidewalk

Sidewalk, Person in Blue. Florence, Italy. August 20, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A blue-clad person walks along a Florence sidewalk

Late in August, we ended our lengthy travels — the last four weeks of which were in the UK and Europe — in Florence, Italy. We had met family in the Chianti region, where we all stayed together for a week, and since we would begin our homeward flight in Florence, we decided to at least spend a couple extra nights there before departing. I suppose the main thing I discovered during our brief Florence visit was that two nights (two half days and one full day) was not nearly enough time to explore this city!

Our first Italian city was Bologna, where I noticed the color palette of the buildings was different from what I’m used to — almost everything was some shade between a dark tan and brown, all earth tones. We soon figured out that this was typical in all of the areas of Italy we visited. You see those colors in this photograph, with slight variations plus a bit of blue-gray around one door frame. Coming from the high-tech world of the San Francisco Bay Area, I was also struck by the natural wear on buildings in Italy — many had cracks, areas “needing” paint, and might seem to lean a bit. I discovered that this isn’t really a sign of decay, just the nature of the many older structures that give the place its character. This photograph shows, for me at least, one other characteristic I found in Italy, namely the remarkable light. Here it is the stark midday light, but it is often softened by a kind of gentle atmospheric haze or by low clouds. I think I now understand much better the nature of the skies I’ve seen in paintings from this part of the world.

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

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Warehouse Wall

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Warehouse Wall
Warehouse Wall

Warehouse Wall. San Francisco, California. June 13, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Warehouse wall, door, and window on a San Francisco pier

Photographed on one of my morning walks around portions of downtown San Francisco, this is a scene from one of the piers along the San Francisco Bay waterfront. I had made a looping walk from the Caltrain station over around portions of China Basin, eventually making my way to the old waterfront area where I photograph dilapidated piers that are decaying and falling into the Bay. Finishing with that subject, I started back along the waterfront and soon came to the entrance to this very large and active pier, and I decided to wander out onto it since there was a marked pedestrian walkway.

The first section of the pier has a roadway up the center, and it is lined with warehouse structures with loading docks and garage doors. The scene is spare and industrial, and the light was coming across the structures from the side and highlighting details and textures. Here I like the disembodied shapes of the window and roll-up door.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.