Tag Archives: wall

Photographs: Belgium, Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Graffiti Wall and Bars

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Graffiti Wall and Bars
“Graffiti Wall and Bars” — Complex paint patterns on a graffiti wall with metal bars, Ghent.

This is another photograph from the “graffiti alley” in Ghent, Belgium. This short, narrow walkway connecting two streets is covered with street art, tags, and graffiti of all sorts. The imagery covers the walls higher than you can reach and even extends to the sidewalk beneath your feet. If you are lucky you might find someone creating new work when you visit.

A lot of the work is text-based and/or representational. That’s interesting stuff, but I like to take a step back from the individual pieces and consider the layers and colors that build up over time. Older work is partly obscured by newer stuff, and eventually it seems that a lot of the old material simply disappears beneath the new. Here, as in some of my other photographs of this site, I decided to move close and focus on the abstract components — the broad strokes, the colors, and the surfaces to which the paint is applied.

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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.

Photographs: Europe, Photographs: France, Photographs: Travel

Kaysersberg Christmas

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Kaysersberg Christmas
“Kaysersberg Christmas” — An old Kaysersberg building with pink shutters, decorated for Christmas.

Last year we visited Kaysersberg, in the Alsace region of France, about a month before Christmas. The village is one of may such places here in a region dotted with small towns full of half-timbered buildings and, at this time of year, set up for the Christmas holiday. You may have to look closely to see, but there are lots of decorations on this old building.

We stayed in nearby Riquewihr, but while we were there we must have visited at least three or four other nearby towns. It was cloudy when we visited Kaysersberg, but that meant beautiful soft light for photographing the town’s interesting buildings.

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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.

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

Handbills and Tags

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Hadbills and Tags
“Handbills and Tags” — Handbills and tags in a frame on a wall, Santiago de Compostela.

This subject comes from a side-street in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. It is in the historical core of the “old town” but not at one of the main attractions — on a street where visitors are perhaps more likely to walk past than to linger. In a sense, its content attests to the fact that life here goes on apart from the world of tourists like us.

I thought several things were interesting about the display. Most of the handbills seem to concern musical performances, but not quite all of them. For example, there is a “FOTO-GRAFIA” event listed on one of the fliers. It also intrigues me that this object, the inner square and the frame around it, seem to both encourage and constrain the sharing of marks that are not found on the surrounding walls.

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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.

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Rectangular

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Color and Light Patterns
“Rectangular” — Patterns of color and light on an urban building, San Jose, California.

This photograph ties in with a couple of aspects of my photographic practice. I’ve always been fascinated by patterns, shapes, colors, and textures in the abstract. I think this is present even in photographs of mine that are not as clearly geometric as this one. In addition, I often photograph things that might seem mundane — every day places and objects.

Connected to that last point, I often carry a camera with me when I go out for non-photography purposes. I walk a lot — often miles every day. And I virtually never head out on a walk without a camera. Most often it stays in the bag and I don’t make any photographs. But every so often I see an interesting subject and, having the camera with me, I make photographs.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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.