Tag Archives: urban

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Europe, Photographs: France, Photographs: Travel

Shades of Blue

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“Shades of Blue” — Details of a blue wall with shutter, Equisheim, Alsace.

I think of these photographs as a sort of “found geometry” — patterns of color and texture and lines that can be viewed abstractly if you prefer. When I travel I’m usually on the lookout for these little vignettes, which are everywhere once you start looking for them. This one is simply a wall of a building in the little Alsatian town of Eguisheim.

Beyond their abstract qualities, these subjects can also hold a lot of history if you look closely. Eguisheim is a very old town, and very old towns contain a lot of, well, very old stuff. But they also are usually continuously updated, repaired, and spruced up. We can let new things go for a while without maintenance, but these old structures require a lot of attention. Here someone has obviously taken the time to paint the walls in multiple colors. But before long the old walls wear out and chip and crack.

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: Europe, Photographs: Spain, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Narrow Street with Automobile

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“Narrow Street with Automobile” — A small car makes its way along a very narrow street in Montpellier, France.

This is a narrow street in Montpellier, France. Like so many European cities and towns, with their long histories, the central area is filled with these tiny, curving lanes. They were most definitely not designed with automobiles in mind — more likely pedestrians and perhaps an occasional horse-drawn wagon. Since the building are built right to the edge of the street, there is no way to widen the lanes — so cars are very small and access is quite limited.

If you are American, you might think this would be a bad thing. We are used to cities built around and/or adapted to the automobile. Even older cities, like those on the Eastern Seaboard, have been adapted to have many wider avenues and lots of parking — not necessarily “enough” parking, but still. The folks who live in these European cities seem to do OK, though. Vehicles can get in when necessary, but much of the time pedestrians take over these streets.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | BlueSky | Email

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

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Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Spain, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Calle El Temple, Zaragoza

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“Calle El Temple, Zaragoza” — Water from the morning street cleaning reflects light on narrow Calle El Temple, Zaragoza, Spain.

During our recent visit to Zaragoza, Spain our hotel was a few steps away from this street and from the church that I believe gives it its name. The street was a bit of mystery that we never solved. It looks like the ground floor spaces are filled with clubs and restaurants and other businesses. They are closed in the daytime with their roll-up doors shut… and covered with fascinating painted images and graffiti. The confusing thing is that nothing on the street ever appeared to open for business, even late at night even though we saw deliveries being made.

We stayed close to what I think is the boundary between the San Pablo and La Magdalena districts, very close to the Mercado Central. This is an old part of the city, and it is criss-crossed by many narrow streets, some narrow enough to almost compete with the tiny back lanes of Venice. (Although this area is old, there are also quite modern sections of the city not far away, including the shopping district near Plaza de España.)

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

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

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Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Deserted Street, Orvieto

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Deserted Street, Orvieto
“Deserted Street, Orvieto” — A nearly-empty back street in Orvieto, Italy.

I suppose I could title this, “Yet Another Italian Street,” right? I have shared quite a few of them! Like some of the other recent photographs, this one also comes from the hill town of Orvieto. I made the photograph on a back street away from the popular tourist areas of the town, and at a time of day when fewer visitors would be about.

For those of us who live in the United States, it is hard to imagine what it much be like to live in these towns. We’re used to wide streets, lined with areas to park, then curbs and sidewalks and often some kind of open area in front of buildings. But these old streets were constructed in a very different time, when the automobile was not king. The buildings open right onto the avenues, which are great for walking but barely wide enough for motor traffic.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

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

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