Category Archives: Photographs: Urban/Street

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

NO FOTO, NO FILM

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NO FOTO, NO FILM
People passing along a narrow street in Siena, Italy

NO FOTO, NO FILM. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

People passing along a narrow street in Siena, Italy.

This photograph comes from our brief, one-day visit to Siena, Italy in 2016, made during a week-and-a-half stay in Tuscany, mostly in the hills between Siena and Florence. We were in Siena only long enough for a single foray into this fascinating city, and I would certainly like to return.

There are several ways to “see” this photograph, I think. It started with the little “pizzicheria” shop across the narrow street, and its catchy little “NO FOTO NO FILM” sign, likely posted to let tourists known that the owners don’t want folks going inside to make photographs. It is also a record of the sorts of crowds you will find here on a summer, tourist season day — many of the narrow streets are absolutely filled with visitors. Finally, if you look a bit closer you might find a few other interesting features — some of the individuals in the scene, some interactions among them, and some shapes and forms that their figures create. I’ll leave it to viewers to have fun with those things.

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, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Pizzicheria

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Pizzicheria
A man emerges from a shop in Siena, Italy

Pizzicheria. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A man emerges from a shop in Siena, Italy.

Perhaps the first question is, “What is a Pizzicheria?” I don’t speak Italian (at least not beyond a few words of “opera Italian” picked up from my music background), so I went looking for a definition. They seem to be somewhat varied, ranging from a “grocery” (though perhaps a small one and not a modern big store?) through more or less a delicatessen to a place that sells meats of various sorts.

I did not go into this place, but judging by some of the things appearing on the store front, I’m going with the meat-oriented business. There is that actual pig’s head hanging from the wall, for starters, and a few other clues. It did appear to be a place with a bit of local character, or perhaps just plain “character.” For example, they are apparently not very interested in visits by photographers. A hand-written sign hung inside that curtain proclaim “NO FOTO NOFILM!”

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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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

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

Street Light, Siena

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Streetlight, Siena
A wall-mounted streetlight bearring the colors of a Siena contrada.

Street Light, Siena. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A wall-mounted streetlight bearring the colors of a Siena contrada.

A few years back during a weeks-long trip through portions of Europe, we stayed in Tuscany for about a week and a half. We drove down from Germany (where Patty’s brother lives), stopped briefly in Bologna, continued on to Florence, and then to a place in this hills between there and Siena where we stayed for about a week. (We concluded this visit with a few days in Florence before flying home.) One one of those days in the hills we drove to Siena and spent a good part of the day there.

Our visit to Siena was too short… but at least we had time to do a brief exploration and realize that it would be worth a return trip. The old section of the city is a wonderful maze of narrow, twisting streets that eventually lead to the famous central square. The city is divided into 22 districts, each of which is identified by an animal and, as I understand it, a color scheme. The colors appear everywhere, but I thought they were especially notable on the novel street lights like this one.

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

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

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

Laundry, Siena

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Laundry, Siena
Laundry hangs outside a weathered yellow builiding in Siena, Italy

Laundry, Siena. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Laundry hangs outside a weathered yellow builiding in Siena, Italy.

The old part of Siena is remarkable. Yes, there are old cities and towns all over Italy, and they all have their charms. But my (too!) brief visit to Siena showed me a town that felt quite different. A maze of narrow and curving streets encircles the main piazza, it is easy to become lost here. But after negotiating the maze you can emerge at the remarkable Piazza del Campo, the large square where the famous horse races are held.

You don’t see all of that in this photograph, but you do see lots of little features that are common in this part of the world. The color of the building on the left is intense, but it is also common — many buildings are in a narrow color band between brown and yellow… and many are also rather weathered, like this one. The light is also typical of this area — intense and stark in the summer, especially in the midday.

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

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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