Category Archives: Photographs: Structures and Objects

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

Weathered Wall

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Weathered Wall
“Weathered Wall” — Abstract patterns of paint, stucco, and weathering on a wall in Orvieto, Italy

There’s really no obvious way to tell from the image that it was made in Italy — though once you know that you may recognize that beautifully worn and weathered walls are part of the landscape there. I spotted this detail as we walked through the small hill town of Orvieto during the summer of 2023.

While I usually prefer to think of such weathering as “picturesque,” you could be forgiven for regarding it as run-down, too. To be honest, the exteriors of buildings in big cities are not always pristine, and this is especially so when we get away from fancy downtowns and into regular neighborhoods. After years of visiting such places it finally occurred to me that people in these places might surrender exterior beauty, but that they transfer their aesthetic impulse to interiors. In any case, I’m happy to find subjects like this.

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: New York City, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Arch, High Line Park

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Arch, High Line Park
An arch structure at the High Line Park, Manhattan.

Arch, High Line Park. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

An arch structure at the High Line Park, Manhattan.

I didn’t even pause long enough to find out what this structure was. I was attracted to its form and its appearance in a space full of other linear forms, and by the low-angle and rather stark late-day light coming from the right. I suspect that it is some sort of commercial construction, but who knows? From appearances, it could be a monolith in the vein of “2001: A Space Odyssey,” though I doubt that this one was left by aliens.

The location is in Manhattan, along a section of the High Line elevated park that passes under the Standard Hotel just before the park terminates at the new Whitney Museum. This was at the end of our rather long walk that began all the way up at the west side of Central Park, during which I photographed everything from street scenes to architecture, trees to… this thing.

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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Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Portugal, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Travel

Columns and Shadows

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Columns and Shadows
Soft light on columns near Ingreja Da Graca, Lisbon.

Columns and Shadows. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Soft light on columns near Ingreja Da Graca, Lisbon.

This is perhaps not quite a typical Lisbon photograph, and it came about as a result of one of our semi-random walks — something that characterizes our travel. We, wandered downhill to a central square, crossed and began ascending, and eventually turned toward the hill topped by the St. George Castle. We climbed up to it, but decided not to join the tourist throng inside, preferring to wander around the periphery… and that led us to this nearby convent and church. (The full name is longer than what I’ve used here, by the way.)

After wandering through the beautiful church, we walked around the grounds of the convent, a quiet and not-very-busy place that contrasted with what we had experienced earlier in the day. These columns, in lovely soft light, lined a walkway around an inner courtyard.

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 | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

Perpendicular

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Perpendicular
Blue wooden doors with former windows filled by painted wood panels.

Perpendicular. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Blue wooden doors with former windows filled by painted wood panels.

Many photographers are intrigued — obsessed, even — with the abstract qualities of shapes, form, color, and texture. Many of you already understand that these things are often as important as, if not more so, than the objective content of photographs. A photograph does record things, but it isn’t just recording “what we see” — it is also about recording, arranging, and presenting “how we see.” And many of use — almost all, really — see this other things when we use our cameras.

I made this photograph while walking through Trogir, Croatia one morning — I am pretty sure this was the morning when Franka Mlikota Gabler and I met there to photograph. This town can be very crowded later in the day, but in the early morning hours we had it almost to ourselves, and there was plenty of time to photograph things like this without distractions. What is the photograph “about?” Hard to say precisely, and you have a voice in this, too. But I was obviously fascinated by the perpendicular arrangement of lines and rectangles, the subtle difference in the blue tones, and the weathering and other imperfections in the surfaces.

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 | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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.