Tag Archives: tuscany

Photographs: Italy

Lamp, Cloud, Stone Walls

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Lamp, Cloud, Stone Walls
Midday light along the narrow road through Castello d’Ama, Italy

Lamp, Cloud, Stone Walls. Castello d’Ama, Italy. August 22, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Midday light along the narrow road through Castello di Ama, Italy

While visiting a vineyard/winery here I learned some things I would not have expected about this part of Italy. I’m used to California’s wine country, especially the areas in northern California where a lot of the vineyards seem to be either on hillsides of quite often in flat river valleys. Here, at least among the vineyards around the area where I made this photograph, the vineyards are on relatively steep hillsides and, as I discovered, on soil that is more rock than dirt. There was a place where the path was well below the level of the soil surface and a section of the rock wall had been removed to show the earth down perhaps 6-8 feet deep… and it was almost entirely rock.

Speaking of these paths, I made this photograph along an old, narrow, winding “road” between the buildings of a now-isolated village. It was midday, when the light becomes much brighter and sharper, though still with that bit of softness that seems to be the norm here. The high sun angle and bright light cast a strong shadow across the wall at the left and part of the part, while a few scattered clouds floated by overhead.

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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Photographs: Italy

Road Through Castello di Ama

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Road Through Castello di Ama
A narrow old road passes between buildings at Castello di Ama, Italy

Road Through Castello di Ama. Tuscany, Italy. August 22, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A narrow old road passes between buildings at Castello di Ama, Italy

In this area of Italy, small and sometimes very old villages like this are everywhere. The country roads pass through many of them and traverse past others. But there are more off of the road ways, and you can often spot them in the distance across nearby valleys and hills. Some are still active, others have been purchased and are now private (perhaps as wineries, etc.), and some have been left to decay.

This one was purchased decades ago and is in the heart of a winery surrounded by vineyards and olive orchards. A small number of people still live here, too. I would probably most often try to photograph such a place in the softer light earlier or later in the day, but this is a midday photograph — partly for the practical reason that this is when I was there (!) but also because I’m starting to like the somewhat start light here in the middle of the day, too. About that light: Often it seems to have a kind of softness to it, even when the sun is high in the sky, that I rarely see in the western United States.

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: Italy

Caffe’ La Curva #1

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Caffe' La Curva #1
Sunday morning visitors outside Caffe’ La Curva, Panzano

Caffe’ La Curva #1. Panzano, Chianti, Italy. August 21, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunday morning visitors outside Caffe’ La Curva, Panzano

On this lazy Sunday morning in the Chianti region of Italy we had gotten up, made coffee, and sat around for a couple of hours before we remembered that we really needed to do some shopping… and that many things would be closed here today. We did some quick research and found that there was a market in this little town a half hour from our location and that it would be open only for another hour and a half. It was suddenly time to go!

Before we arrived we began to see cars parked everywhere along the road and parking wasn’t easy to find — the result, no doubt, of this being the only market open in the area on this morning. We found parking and walked up the small square, which was jam-packed with shoppers and others. The road continued on into the town, where there was just barely enough room for its two lanes to fit between buildings as it curved past and over the high point on the ridge. Across the street I saw this small caffe’, aptly named for the narrow curve, and I waited to photograph people coming and going.

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 | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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