Thursday, February 17, 2011

street personality

Street in Alfama

Strada. Via. Rue. Calle. Rua. Avenida. Straße. Straat. Weg. Ulica.

Whatever the language, they all mean street. Streets are the lifeblood of any neighborhood, whether old or new. In neighborhoods like this one, the Alfama district of Lisbon, the streets have been witness to centuries of lives since the Moors settled this place. Languages may change, cultures may change, pavements may change but the paths that people walk have remained the same. Over time streets take on a personality of their own, layers of history and lives lived out in their presence.

I got the same feeling, of layers of lives, from this photo by Stephanie~Floopse13 from Chinatown in San Francisco. The street may be newer than those of Lisbon, but it has developed a personality of its own. Can you feel it?

Kat of The Kat Eye View of the World

Chinatown Street Art
Chinatown Street Art by Stephanie ~ Floopse13

15 comments:

Maureen said...

Love this post and these street scenes. You are so right that the streets are our living history.

Anna said...

Great photos! I like the contrast of old vs. contemporary culture that is revealed in your photo, Kat. Chinatown by Stephanie is full of the colorful and varied flavor of the place.

urban muser said...

i love these kat. they make me want to grab my camera and go out and explore those streets!

Kirstin said...

What wonderfully interesting streets....both have such personalities, you are right!

Jamie said...

Love, love all the elements in these photos - I could stare at them forever.

Dotti said...

Streets are wonderful and both of these are beautiful, drawing in the viewer. We make an annual trip to Charleston SC, an endless source of street photos. Savannah is a fabulous source, too, as is any urban area. But Charleston and Savannah have a genteel feeling, as shown by Tammy Lee in her beautiful photo yesterday.

jennifée said...

Awesome street scenes both of them - so full of character.

Tammy Lee Bradley said...

Such wonderful stories here. Love your description of layers. xo tam

Stephanie said...

Thanks for choosing one of my fave SF photos! I never thought of it as the street's personality, but you are so right! Love it :)

GailO said...

Kat...I knew you would have the best of all street scenes since you live in Italy! The Chinatown street scene is a wonderful surprise!

michelled said...

Hi, I don't know if this is relevant or appropriate to say here, but those of you who haven't heard of street photographer Vivian Maier, should check out her story. She was an amazing amateur street photographer who was just recently discovered. She doesn't photograph 'steets', per se, but scenes on the streets....a lot of portraits. Awesome stuff. One link...http://vivianmaier.blogspot.com/

I find her story mesmorizing and I think all aspiring photogs would too!

janjan0000 said...

Love both of these!!!
Love the narrow cobblestoned street in the first shot. Perfect, with even the laundry hanging to boot!
A place I'd love to visit for sure. Both places!

Clare B said...

The Chinatown picture is so evocative of Chinatown's everywhere in the world - the hustle and bustle and a feeling of life being lived on the street.

Anonymous said...

oh I love these!

Suki said...

It always amazes me how different streets can look. Beautiful take on this !

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