Tag Archives: wall

Photographs: France, Photographs: People, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Couple With Roller Bags

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Couple With Roller Bags
A couple of tourists pulling roller bags on a Paris sidewalk

Couple With Roller Bags. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A couple of tourists pulling roller bags on a Paris sidewalk

I photographed this couple in Le Marais, Paris, not far from where we stayed for a few days near the end of August. If I recall correctly it was Friday evening, and I suspect that these folks were just arriving for the weekend. (I could be wrong — perhaps they live here and were returning from travels.) Their appearance in this scene was fortuitous. I had noticed the monumental weathered wall in the background. I was intrigued, but it hardly seemed like a photograph by itself. But with people in the frame such a surface can add interest.

Being a relatively light travel — at least when traveling by air — I can also identify a bit with these folks. This European trip was nearly six weeks long, yet we managed to restrict ourselves to carry-on luggage — one backpack-style bag plus a smaller “camera” bag that fit under airline seats. (We cheated a bit, too. We did ship some more formal clothes ahead of time for one special event that we attended in Germany.) Even with our relatively light loads, sometimes at the end of a day of travel those bags just… weigh you down. These folks look like they just might be having a similar moment…

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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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Germany, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Hostel 36

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Hostel 36
Window and entrance to Hostel 36, Heidelberg

Hostel 36. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Window and entrance to Hostel 36, Heidelberg

By now we have visited Heidelberg several times, spending a total of perhaps a couple of weeks there. We have relatives (Patty’s brother and sister-in-law) who live there, so we almost always include a visit when we are in that part of the world. By now we’ve wandered a bit around the city, especially the Altstadt area and its surroundings, but also on the other side of the hill that runs along the opposite of the Neckar.

The Altstadt is, of course, a bit of a tourist destination. It is an older area of the city, many of the streets are narrow enough that there is little or no vehicle traffic, it is filled with restaurants, hotels, and other things that attract visitors, with historic churches, a university, and a large castle in the hills above. I recall that the first visit took us right up one of those streets filled with shops and restaurants. We still go there, but we also wander away from the “main drag” and into some of the back streets. It was on one such walk that I spotted this scene, a hostel with an unusual color exterior color scheme.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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 | Facebook | Email

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

Photographs: France, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Red Door, Paris

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Red Door, Paris
A red door in the Le Marais area of Paris

Red Door, Paris. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A red door in the Le Marais area of Paris

On this summer’s visit to Paris we stayed along the edge of Le Marais, in an area not far from the Seine, transportation, and the Centre Pompidou. The latter was on our list of places to visit this time, and on this morning we were walking into that area when we passed through this neighborhood of old buildings and narrow streets.

I don’t suppose there is a whole lot to write about (another!) photograph of a colorful door on an old building — after all, it is a bit of a “type.” One thing that did intrigue me about this little scene was the clear attempt to add something approximating nature to this very urban setting… though apparently not with complete success judging from the condition of some of the potted plants.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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 |
Email

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

Photographs: France, Photographs: Urban/Street

Parked Scooter

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Parked Scooter
“Parked Scooter” — A scooter parked along a Paris street

I saw this scooter parked along a street in Paris — in the Le Marais area, if I recall correctly. In many urban European areas, at least that I’ve seen, such things are ubiquitous, along with the many urban bicycles. Here there is really little or no room for a car, but it is possible to squeeze in a bike or a scooter. The retro styling of these things is a lot of fun — they have an appearance that seems like it might have felt hyper-modern… about 40-50 years ago.

The scooter also reminds me of something that I rediscover to varying degrees when I travel, namely how much of what we do and expect is conditioned by familiarity with places and their customs. At one point on this trip we rented a car to drive from Paris (CDG airport) to a location southwest of the city where we would stay for a week. The area was semi-rural, but with towns and villages here and there. Driving in such places would be second-nature to me in the USA, but in France it was anything but! I had to actually try to understand and interpret traffic signs and graphics, something that takes considerably longer when the signs are unfamiliar and one is not a speaker of the local language. Even something as simple as knowing, for example, that it is apparently OK to park a scooter in a place like this would be an utter mystery.

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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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