Tag Archives: bicycles

Bar Ristorantino

This photograph captures the comfortable yet ssometimes-cruffy character that we saw in Bologna. A couple of people sit at outside tables located under on of the ubiquitous porticos, between old, weathered columns. Racks hold bicycles, also common here, and an impromptu string of lights is ready for the evening hours.

Some Italian cities that we’ve visited, especially some smaller ones, have a sort of quaint charm. Others, perhaps like Milano, can present a kind of sophistication. In others, like Florence, history seems to be at the forefront. To me, Bologna feels a bit more rough-edged and unpretentious, but in an altogether pleasing way.


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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Bike Rack and Wall

Bike Rack and Wall
A bike rack in front of a wall covered with graffiti and street art, Bologna.

Bike Rack and Wall. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A bike rack in front of a wall covered with graffiti and street art, Bologna.

This photograph comes from a less-traveled (at least by tourists) back street in Bologna, Italy, in a neighborhood of narrow streets and walkways that seems like it might be where some of the locals actually live. There was, indeed, more street art and graffiti in this neighborhood, though this is perhaps an extreme example.

Several things drew me to this scene. Oddly, one of them was the connection between the light here and light that I have photographed in the narrow sandstone canyons of the American Southwest, where light bounces back and forth between reddish walls and acquires a warm softness. But the rest of the scene is, obviously, nothing like those natural landscape. a phalanx of bicycles crowds a wide rack, and the wall behind and above is plastered with a wild array of posters and graffiti.


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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Bicycles and Canal, Rainy Evening

Bicycles and Canal, Rainy Evening
Bicycles locked to a bridge railing above an Amsterdam canal on a rainy evening

Bicycles and Canal, Rainy Evening. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Bicycles locked to a bridge railing above an Amsterdam canal on a rainy evening

If I remember correctly — and I’m pretty sure I do in this case — I made this photograph late on our first day in Amsterdam this past summer. We had arrived by train from London that afternoon, made our way to our hotel just outside the main “downtown” section of the city, settled in, and then headed on foot into the city to start exploring. For some reason I had expected sunny and somewhat warm weather — which had recently been the trend in northern Europe — but we certainly did not have that when we arrived!

This first late afternoon exploration was quick. It began with a stop at just about the first decent-looking restaurant we ran across, since we were pretty hungry by this point. We finished, went outside, and began walking. It was a dark and drizzly evening, which produced a subdued and moody effect. I made this photograph — obviously! — as we walked on a bridge across one of the canals, finding bicycles leaning against the railings.


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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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Buildings and Canal Reflection

Buildings and Canal Reflection
Amsterdam buildings reflected on the surface of a canal

Buildings and Canal Reflection. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Amsterdam buildings reflected on the surface of a canal

The number of ways people get around in the confines of central Amsterdam is utterly astonishing. Yes, there are cars, though fewer than in a typical American City. There are pedestrians — tons of them. Cyclists are everywhere — I had heard that they love bicycles in Amsterdam, but I wasn’t prepared for the number of them. There are lanes for all three forms of transportation, and those of use who aren’t used to this have a hard time keeping them straight, and we have to be on constant guard against accidentally wandering into a bicycle lane. And, of course, there are canals.

The canals thread through central Amsterdam in surprising ways, passing between and under the other means of transport. If you are on foot you look down at them, but those on the boats have the opposite experience, sitting close to the water and looking up at the rest of the city. Here I photographed across one of the canals so that I could capture the reflections of the colorful — and frequently strangely aligned — buildings running alongside.


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