Tag Archives: village

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: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

Street Scene, Manhattan

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Street Scene, Manhattan
Looking up a narrow street in the West Village

Street Scene, Manhattan. New York City. December 28, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Looking up a narrow street in the West Village

I like old photographs of cities, and especially of big cities like New York. For obvious reasons they tend to be in black and white. Once I started photographing these same subjects and making some of the photographs black and white, I began to notice that things in such places often look far more like they had in the past and that the supposed modern nature of such scenes is not at all obvious when abstracted by the camera.

I made this photograph from an elevated position along the High Line Park path that runs along a portion of the western side of Manhattan. In order to spot much here that is unique to the current time, I have to look closely — the overall impression is almost timeless. Yes, the vehicles are modern (at least for now), there are some traffic barriers in the distance that are a fairly new presence, and a very close look reveals somewhat modern attire on a few of the pedestrians.

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: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Village People

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Village People
Pedestrians waiting for the light to change, San Francisco

Village People. San Francisco, California. May 20, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Pedestrians waiting for the light to change, San Francisco

A photograph like this one may or may not make sense to you. If it does, I probably don’t need to write much about it. If it doesn’t, I’m not sure that I can write enough to explain. But I’ll try. A little bit.

Walking around any large city, and especially in San Francisco, I’m on the lookout for various things: a scene, light, collections of people, individual people, color, architecture, shapes, you name it. I think the light first caused me to pause at this corner. Here much of the light is reflected from the windows of surrounding building, and it comes from almost all directions. Then, for just a moment, this collection of people, most of whom are unconnected with the others in the scene, assembled themselves into this pose, one that almost seems staged. The arrangement of the group intrigues me, but even more the contributions of the individuals is interesting.

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.