Tag Archives: bench

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

Welcome to Oz

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Welcome to Oz
“Welcome to Oz” — Street scene near Il Mago di Oz, and eccentric shop in the Italian town of Orvieto.

We’re back (figuratively) in the Italian hill town of Orvieto again for this photograph. The title comes from the sigh behind the white metal bench, and it refers to a nearby shop that I’ve shared in a previous photograph. The shop (“Il Mago di Oz”) is a strange and fantastical collection of, well, just about anything its proprietor thinks fits the theme.

Besides its connection to Land of Oz, the photograph includes features that are common on backstreets in Italian towns like this one. The building is weathered in an attractive way, it sits directly on the edge of the narrow street paved with stones, there are plants, and the light is softened in the shadows of buildings along the passageway.

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: Urban/Street

Master of All I Survey

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Master of All I Survey
A man sits on a bench next to a pile of garbage bags, Midtown Manhattan.

Master of All I Survey. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A man sits on a bench next to a pile of garbage bags, Midtown Manhattan.

It seems like there is always someone doing something interesting, unusual, compelling, typical, or in some other way worthy of attention in Manhattan. I’m not sure if that reflects on the character of the place or if it is simply a statistical matter — there are so many people there that you are bound to encounter, for better or worse, pretty much everything on the human spectrum. It is even possible to find isolated people, not part of any of the crowds that we associate with the place.

I saw this fellow while walking near the UN Plaza. It was morning — on a Sunday, if I recall correctly — and the area was relatively quiet. There wasn’t much of anything going on along this street, but there he sat, alone and not engaged in any particular discernible activity. In front of him was one of the characteristic morning piles of plastic trash bags, a common feature of this city.

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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Timberline Meadow

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Timberline Meadow
A timberline meadow with small trees is bounded by a granite bench.

Timberline Meadow. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A timberline meadow with small trees is bounded by a granite bench.

I recall the time, quite a few years ago, when I first understood that the places in the natural world (and the human world, for that matter) that we identify with are not necessarily the most iconic, biggest, most classically impressive places. I was at the end of a moderately short backpacking loop out of Tuolumne meadows, within perhaps little more than an hour of the trailhead. It was a day of potential rain, and that potentiality became reality at this point. I stopped, put on rain gear and covered my pack, stepped off the trail, sat down, and leaned against a rock to watch the rain approach. Decades later I still remember that rock and consider it a thing worth visiting — although I’m sure that no one else would even notice it.

I passed by the spot in this photograph a couple of times during our August backcountry photography visit to the Eastern Sierra. There are, I’m certain, thousands of similar little meadows throughout the Sierra — most from a stream meandering through, green with meadow grasses, bounded by granite and small trees. But somehow this particular spot caught my attention and, I think, may have become one of “those places.”

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

Seated at the Louvre

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Seated at the Louvre
A boy and two girls seated on benches at the Louvre, Paris.

Seated at the Louvre. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A boy and two girls seated on benches at the Louvre, Paris.

Among the members of my family, I have a problematic reputation as a museum visitor. Apparently I spend way too much time in such places and traverse them way too slowly. A ritual has developed where eventually everyone else heads off to somewhere fun, leaving me behind to wander and. ponder, and later I catch up and join the party. What can I say? I like museums.

Not only do I like them for the things they present, but I also like to photograph in and around them. The buildings usually have fascinating design and architecture and often also very interesting light. There are lots of people, individually or in groups, who populate these interesting spaces. Here I photographed outside the Louvre, in the immense central courtyard, making a photograph of two girls in enthusiastic conversation and one very small-looking boy sitting alone against the monumental scale of the building.

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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