White Door and Wall. San Francisco, California. July 12, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
White door and stucco on a building in San Francisco, California.
As I photograph the various usual subjects that appear here, I always have a few background subjects that I’m always looking out for. One of my projects might be described as “urban minimalism,” featuring subjects from the urban environment that are very simple. This is probably about as minimalist as I can get with such images. (Though, now that I’ve written that, I’m starting to think of some even “more minimalist” possibilities. Funny.)
This one gets perilously close to the infamous “Polar Bear in Snowstorm” photo that people imagine from time to time. It is a white door in a white door frame against a white wall. Believe it or not, I had to go back and forth for a while to decide whether to print it in color or black and white – and, no, I’m not joking. Much of the image changes little when I switch between the two interpretations. However, there is a slight coloration to the “white” wall (that is almost certainly not displayed accurately on your monitor) and there is some real color on the metal security cover over the lock. But still… it is almost all shades of white in the end.
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Thanks, Melli!
I love this minimalistic style!
So, did you print this photo? How often do you print and what do you do with them?
Joshua: Yes, I have printed this photograph on 13 x 19 paper.
I probably print about a quarter or so of the photographs that you see at this blog, first and foremost because I’m thinking of prints as the target format for my photographs when I make them. When I think one has potential I initially work on a small print on letter-size paper, and if that confirms my expectations I make a proof on 13 x 19 paper – using Epson Ultrapremium Lustre, which I think of as my inexpensive proofing paper. The majority of the photographs never go beyond that stage, at least not initially.
I make larger prints less frequently since the cost is higher, but even more so because there really almost has to be the prospect of the print “going somewhere” before I do that in all but a few cases. (Sometimes with a photo that think is especially promising I may go ahead and make a large print just to confirm this.) With the larger prints I move from the Epson paper (which seems a bit plastic and has a cool color cast) to Ilford Galerie Gold Fibre Silk.
Dan