Tag Archives: sidewalk

Pausing At The Foto Automatica

This photograph of people pausing at the Foto Automatica in Florence took me back to a previous visit to this city. On that earlier trip we were barely there, stopping only briefly between time in Chianti and our flight home. We stayed in a hotel a few steps from this old-school photo booth, and I was surprised at its popularity. Even in an age of hand-held selfie cameras there seems to be something special about crowding into this little old-school booth.

I photographed it on that first visit, and I photographed it again when we spent a longer time in Florence, this time long enough to explore the place more extensively. We did not stay in the same hotel, but we walked past one day — and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Foto Automatica was still there, in its odd little corner along the narrow street. As I watched a (family?) group paused to make pictures.


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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Leaves Trace

I walk a lot, and I always carry a camera. At a minimum I have my smart phone, but most of the time I have a “real” camera in my bag. I don’t always photograph on walks, but from time to time I spot something that interests me. This was one of those times. Recent rains had leached the colors out of fallen leaves, staining the sidewalk with their autumn traces.

This photograph is a bit difficult to categorize. In a sense it is an “autumn photograph,” since the subject derives from that season’s leaves. But I made it in winter after those leaves had time to stain the concrete. In addition I’m not sure if it is an urban/street photograph or a photograph of nature. In the end, perhaps it doesn’t matter — it is just a photograph.


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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Curving Street, Lisbon

This photograph comes from our longish walk across Lisbon to climb up toward the St. George Castle. If you walk in Lisbon, get used to hills! We walked down a pretty good one from our lodgings, and before long we climbed the large hill topped by the castle. We didn’t go into the castle grounds, since we had some other ideas in mind, so we were soon ascending and descending the steep hills again.

I loved this little narrow street. Just about every thing about it is charming, The route gently curves, and you walk along pavement embedded with interesting patterns and colors. The buildings themselves are painted in striking colors, too. And, of course, it is so narrow that it isn’t really suited to vehicles larger than scooters.


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

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Columns and Shadows

Columns and Shadows
Soft light on columns near Ingreja Da Graca, Lisbon.

Columns and Shadows. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Soft light on columns near Ingreja Da Graca, Lisbon.

This is perhaps not quite a typical Lisbon photograph, and it came about as a result of one of our semi-random walks — something that characterizes our travel. We, wandered downhill to a central square, crossed and began ascending, and eventually turned toward the hill topped by the St. George Castle. We climbed up to it, but decided not to join the tourist throng inside, preferring to wander around the periphery… and that led us to this nearby convent and church. (The full name is longer than what I’ve used here, by the way.)

After wandering through the beautiful church, we walked around the grounds of the convent, a quiet and not-very-busy place that contrasted with what we had experienced earlier in the day. These columns, in lovely soft light, lined a walkway around an inner courtyard.


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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