Tag Archives: stone

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Portugal, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Narrow Street and Steps, Porto

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Narrow Street and Steps, Porto
A woman stands below steps ascending a narrow street in Porto, Portugal

Narrow Street and Steps, Porto. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A woman stands below steps ascending a narrow street in Porto, Portugal

On our first walk in Porto we headed straight for the historic Ribeira district. This neighborhood rises steeply from the banks of the Duoro River and is filled with extremely narrow and twisty streets on the impressively inclined hillside. Yes, it is a popular tourist destination, but with good reason. In places the streets are so narrow that I was reminded of wandering Utah slot canyons, with soft light filtering down from above.

Later on our visit we branched out a bit more — though to be honest we barely scratched the surface of the place during our stay. We love to walk when we visit cities, and there were plenty of opportunities for that in Porto. On this day we took a long and semi-random looping walk that took us past busy downtown areas, to hilltop views of the Duoro, and through more neighborhoods — like this one where we stopped to photograph the steep and narrow walkways near the end of the day.

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: Croatia, Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Travel

Window, Trogir

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Window, Trogir
Plants grow behind a small obscured-glass window in Trogir, Croatia.

Window, Trogir. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Plants grow behind a small obscured-glass window in Trogir, Croatia.

As another photographer once wrote, “There’s always something to see!” We all occasionally discover that we aren’t “seeing” like we used to, and perhaps we feel like there is nothing to photograph. But there is always something. It may not be the thing you were looking for, but if you keep at it, perhaps looking in places that you don’t normally pay attention to or possibly thinking about what you could do differently.

I was not planning to photograph tiny windows with plants behind obscured glass when I went out to photograph in Trogir, Croatia last August. I was in “street photography” mode, looking for people in interesting places and poses, against the backdrop of this very old city. But by opening my eyes and taking a bit more time I was able to see things like this that are easy to overlook.

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 to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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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: Portugal, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Purple Doors

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Purple Doors
A pair of purple doors and a peeling wall, Porto.

Purple Doors. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A pair of purple doors and a peeling wall, Porto.

We spent some time in Porto this past summer during a week in Portugal… and ten weeks overall traveling through (mostly) southern Europe. Porto is a fascinating city, quite energetic and active —especially during tourist season, I suppose — with a mix of the urban, the modern, the historic, and the rundown. It isn’t a simple place, but I can see why it has become so popular.

At one point it was a relatively poor city, but it is undergoing a rebirth and, for better or for worse, a large amount of redevelopment. Close by the Ribiera district, with its twisting, narrow streets there are cranes set up to remodel and update homes with remarkable views of the Duoro River. The old and the new seem to live in close proximity here. This pair of purple doors, set in a very weathered wall, were on a nearby street.

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 | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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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

Orvieto Rooftops

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Orvieto Rooftops
Stone and tile buildings of Orvieto, Italy.

Orvieto Rooftops. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Stone and tile buildings of Orvieto, Italy.

Our 2023 European travels took us mostly (with only a few day’s worth of exceptions) to the southern part of the continent. We spent a lot of time in Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Croatia… and also visited Kosovo and briefly passed through places including Austria, Hungary, Serbia, and Montenegro. Along the way we did visit some of the very popular places, those that are predictably crowded during the summer tourist season. But we also managed to spend time in some slightly less-visited places, among them a couple of smaller towns in Italy.

One of these was the “hilltop town” of Orvieto in Umbria. It would not be accurate to suggest that this is a place without tourists. In fact, it is a very popular destination for daytime visits from other nearby locations. But we stayed there for a couple of nights and saw a different aspect of the place. In the mornings and after day-trippers depart in the late afternoon it is much quieter and far less crowded. In fact, it turned out to be one of our favorite places of the entire trip.

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 | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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