Tag Archives: tourists

Morning, Florence

Morning, Florence
People walk the narrow streets of Florence, Italy on a summer morning.

Morning, Florence. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

People walk the narrow streets of Florence, Italy on a summer morning.

I made this photograph at a sort of “in-between time” in Florence. From midday on into the evening the place can be quite crowded — such a stupendous place draws just as large of a crowd of tourists as you might imagine. On a summer day, especially in the squares, along the river, and near any of the most famous attractions the number of people can be overwhelming — but most often in an energizing way.

To find somewhat quieter moments I went out early and sometimes stayed out late. As the evening wears on there are fewer and fewer people in some of the crowded areas, though the summer heat of Italy does tend to keep people out in the squares and restaurants longer than you might expect. But even better, in some ways, are the early morning hours when it at least seems like most of the sparse foot traffic belongs to locals. I made this photograph a bit later, after those early hours but before the main crush of crowds had arrived.


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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Tourists, Evening, San Francisco Bay

Tourists, Evening, San Francisco Bay
Tourists pause in the evening at the end of a pier on San Francisco Bay

Tourists, Evening, San Francisco Bay. San Francisco, California. April 30, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Tourists pause in the evening at the end of a pier on San Francisco Bay

I was in San Francisco to meet up with a group of fellow (mostly) street photographers, first for dinner along the fringe of Chinatown and then out to make photographs afterwards. We finished dinner and headed out before sunset, beginning by photographing in the long shadows cast by early evening light in the downtown canyons. Since many in the group wanted to photograph the waterfront we headed that direction. I was geared up more for night street photography — typically done handheld rather than with the tripod I might choose to use for architectural or urban landscape photography — but I hung in with the group anyway.

At the waterfront, after wandering in and around some buildings, the group was of a collective mind to head out on one of the pedestrian piers that juts out into the Bay. Again, this was a bit different from what I had in mind, but there is no denying the attractions of being out over the surface of the Bay as the evening comes on and things quiet down. I photographed some fishermen, a few passing boats, bridges, and back towards the urban waterfront buildings.Eventually, as it became quite a bit darker, I took a moment to photograph a small group of what I assume must have been friends, sitting out near the end of the pier and conversing in the fading light.


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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Cafe, Tourists, and Duomo

Cafe, Tourists, and Duomo
Morning visitors walk past an outdoor cafe and the Duomo, Florence

Cafe, Tourists, and Duomo. Florence/Firenze, Italy. August 29, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning visitors walk past an outdoor cafe and the Duomo, Florence

At the risk of repeating something I’ve previously shared, when I travel I often almost make it a point to not know too much precise detail about where I’m going, especially if the place is new. (I won’t go so far as wanting to know nothing, since that could make things very complicated!) The idea is that this lets me discover the place when I get there, thus giving me a sort of personal map of the location and my own orientation to it. This also means that I can have the joy of actual discovery while I’m on location, as differentiated by the recognition that, yeah, I know about this place.

I almost hesitate to admit how naive I was about Florence. I knew some odd background facts — for example, the importance of the Florentine camera — in classical music. But beyond that I know pretty much that a) it is in Italy and b) driving there isn’t supposed to be fun. My first major moment of “discovery” was walking around a corner to see the Duomo at night — I think that the experience was more awesome (in the true sense of “evoking awe”) than it would have been if I had read about the place. I made this photograph on our last morning in Florence, as we made a final visit to the area around the Duomo before heading to the airport to begin our long journey home.


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.

Sidewalk Shoppers, Night

Sidewalk Shoppers, Night
Shoppers and tourists walk past Chinatown shops at night, San Francisco

Sidewalk Shoppers, Night. San Francisco, California. July 25, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Shoppers and tourists walk past Chinatown shops at night, San Francisco

Allow me to continue to indulge my (relatively) new obsession with handheld night street photography! This is yet another photograph made after dark in San Francisco, in a popular tourist area full of people, shops, and plenty of wildly colorful artificial light. This might look a bit like just a photograph of a crowd, but when I look closer I’m fascinated by the variety of faces and activities and ways of engaging that I see.

It was only perhaps a couple of years ago that I discovered that I can use small handheld mirrorless camera set to high ISO to photograph in the nighttime city environment. In the past this was sometimes marginally possible in very well-lit areas, but most such photography required a tripod and its attendant disruption of the scene — people behave very differently when they see a big camera on a tripod. But now it is quite possible to roam with a very small camera and produce viable photographs that can even be printed rather large.


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.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | FacebookGoogle+ | LinkedIn | Email


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