Tag Archives: sidewalk

Photographs: France, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Urban/Street

Superette des Abesses, Night

September 10, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The light of a market in Montmartre spills out onto the nighttime sidewalk

This is another photograph from one of our night walks in Montmartre, Paris. It may be quiet at night somewhere in Paris, but here and in the other areas we visited it seemed that there were always people out and about, and especially sitting in cafes and restaurants well into the evening. We ended up getting into the swing of things and eating dinner hours later than we would at home — and taking much longer to do so.

It isn’t just restaurants that are open, either. There are bars and gelato shops and places where you can get a crepe or a cookie. And these little markets are also all over the place. One thing Americans could learn from Europeans, at least judging by what we say, is that it is possible to make healthier foods (and wine!) part of regular eating. Even the fast food places serve salads with the fried stuff! This little market had a colorful stand outside that offered a variety of fruits and vegetables.

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

Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Urban/Street

Sidewalk, Person in Blue

September 9, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

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.

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

Photographs: France, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Urban/Street

Cafe Le Chinon, Night

September 7, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Evening lights reflect on cobblestone street at the Cafe Le Chinon in Montmartre, Paris

Readers will have to give me a bit of slack for continuing to remark about things in Paris that are likely more obvious and mundane to people who know the city better than I. However, this was — believe it or not! — our first visit, so many things were new to us. Among the new (and wonderful!) things were the many cafes, with tables spilling out onto the sidewalks.

We stayed in a hotel in Montmartre, at the recommendation of our oldest son and our daughter-in-law, who had stayed in the area when they visited not long ago. Other than that, we didn’t know all that much about the area, besides some vague knowledge that it is sort of “artsy” (by long tradition) and that the famous Moulin Rouge is located nearby on a slightly seedy street. By the time I made this photograph we had been in Paris for some time, and we had learned to love the idea of wandering out late at night to pick a restaurant, and then to sit there slowly enjoying a meal, wine, and then coffee as the world walks by.

Photographs: England, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Urban/Street

Green Shop, Night

September 2, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The lights of a small market at night along a London street

When traveling I’m fascinated by the relationships between familiar things and the different ways they exist in other places. This is true within the US — for example, corner stores tend to be rather different things here in Silicon Valley than they are in, say New York City. But it is even more so when traveling overseas, as I saw on our recent five-week travels that took us from New York to London, Paris, Heidelberg, and several places in Italy. The little store, open into the night, is everywhere. But what you might find there is different, except that all provide a bit of a beacon to passersby in the night.

I made a series of exposures of this brightly lit store, set between other closed and darkened businesses. All of the other images included quite a few people, in some of them essentially crowds were passing by. I chose to share this one because it is almost unpopulated, with the exception of a clerk visible inside the store and a man approaching at the edge of the frame. The light of the store spill out onto and beyond the sidewalk and spreads beyond the confines of the store itself.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: sidewalk

Superette des Abesses, Night

Sidewalk, Person in Blue

Cafe Le Chinon, Night

Green Shop, Night

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.