The Pose

The Pose
A woman stands on a sidewalk as a man and a woman photograph her and another talks on a phone

The Pose. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A woman stands on a sidewalk as a man and a woman photograph her and another talks on a phone

In many of my street photographs that include people, I am seeing some kind of momentary tableau — almost an arrangement that one might imagine and then pose the figures to produce it. These ephemeral arrangements constantly appear and disappear on the street, and I’m fascinated by the arrangements themselves and by the prices of trying to see them fast enough to make photographs.

This one was a bit more static than some — in fact I may have been the most active participant, as I more or less made this and a couple other photographs very quickly as I continued walking past. The primary interaction was between the young man sitting on the step with the camera and the woman with her back to my camera position. Another woman at right was making, with her smart phone, what may have been a documentation or informal photograph. To the left, leaning against a column, another woman seems unengaged with the main action, looking away and holding a cup of coffee.


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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