Tag Archives: venice

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

Evening Along the Canal

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Evening Along the Canal
“Evening Along the Canal” — Visitors to Venice sit along the banks of a canal near the Campo Santa Maria Formosa at night.

This photograph of people lazily passing an evening along a canal in Venice almost didn’t see the light of day. It is a “left behind” photograph that languished in my raw file archives for the past three years. Every so often I revisit the archives, and I almost always discover something that I missed. How do I miss these images? Sometimes I think I had a different idea in mind for the photograph that did not work, and returning with fresh eyes allows me to see it anew. Or, as in this case, another photograph that I made almost next door to this one did make the initial cut, so I think I dismissed this one at the time and moved on.

We were in Venice in August that year. Believe it or not, we had not been there before, and we really felt that it shouldn’t be missed. So we put up with the crowds and heat and incorporated it into a larger trip to Southern Europe. On this evening we had eaten and then gone out for an evening walk in the cooler air, diminished crowds, and beautiful evening light.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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

Ristorante-Pizzeria, Venice

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Ristorante-Pizzeria, Venice
“Ristorante-Pizzeria, Venice” — A small pizzeria at the end of a dark alley, Venice at night.

We spent time in Venice during our summer 2023 travels. We had been to Italy before but — it is almost embarrassing to admit — we had bypassed Venice. We had mixed feelings: On one hand, it is notorious for the throngs of tourists that pack the place during the summer months. On the other hand, it is Venice! So we went, and we’re very glad we did.

We (and by “we” I refer to Patty, who is a master planner) managed to find a wonderful little place to stay that was in a quiet corner of the city. Even during the busy hours there was never a tourist crush there, and in the evening and early morning it was downright quiet — even though the busy places began only minutes away. I made this photograph on an evening walk down one of the famously narrow Venice passageways, pointing the camera down an even smaller side passage toward this restaurant.

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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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

Window, Striped Curtains

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Window, Striped Curtains
Red wall, green and white striped curtain, Venice.

Window, Striped Curtains. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Red wall, green and white striped curtain, Venice.

Venice is, of course, full of all sorts of grand and famous sights — the Grand Canal and all of the smaller waterways, St. Mark’s Square, and much more. We may have spent a bit less time in those places than some visitors, but we did visit them… despite the sometimes oppressive crowds that we knew we would encounter in August. But, as is our habit, we also just plain wandered a lot, enjoying the ambience of the place and discovering things on our own.

I do have photographs of some of the famous, iconic subjects. (Yes, you will see photographs of gondolas.) But as I wander in a place like this, at least on days when I’m actively photographing, I find myself shooting smaller subjects like this one, things that I think may suggest some subtler aspects of the character of the place.

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

Ponte De Le Bande, Evening

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Ponte De Le Bande, Evening
“Ponte De Le Bande, Evening” — A couple sits at the edge of a Venice canal next to the Ponte de le Bande in the evening.

This photograph comes from an evening walk in Venice back in August. Looking back on it, I’m still surprised that I managed to find a break in the usual stream of humanity across bridges like this one. It was evening, and things do quiet down at night, but it isn’t all that late. It is pretty likely that I made the photograph quickly while passing, and I’d be willing to bet that seconds after I made it other people entered the scene.

Dealing with crowds in Venice and similar places — as a photographer or just plain as a visitor — is a complex subject. (Some might simplify it by simply staying away at the worst times of the year, but we did not have that option.) To some extent, it is possible to embrace the intense energy of the masses of people, but that can be both distracting and overwhelming. But late at night or — even better — very early in the morning the crowds melt away to nearly nothing. One early morning in Venice I walked through one of the most crowded locations, and it was almost empty.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.