Category Archives: Photographs: Architecture

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Portugal, Photographs: Travel

In the Shadows

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In the ShadowsIn the Shadows
A couple walks though Donostia-San Sebastian at night.

In the Shadows. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A couple walks though Donostia-San Sebastian at night.

This photograph comes from our visit to Donostia/San Sebastián this past summer. We were there for a few days, coinciding with the Tour de France ending a stage there and then passing through the town a second time the next day. Needless to say, that added a bit of extra excitement. Aside from its other attractions, the town is known for its “pinxtos” cuisine — a sor of Basque tapas tradition — and on this evening we were out to enjoy this wonderful food.

While portions of this area of San Sebastián can be quite lively at night, around the fringes there are some surprisingly quiet corners. This scene was at the edge of a square surrounded by closely-spaced buildings, and I had initially stopped to photograph the arches when this couple strolled through the scene.

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: Architecture, Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Consonance and Dissonance

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Consonance and Dissonance
Structural elements at the High Line Park, Manhattan

Consonance and Dissonance. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Structural elements at the High Line Park, Manhattan

Taking a cue from the music-related title of this photograph, I suspect you may have noticed that my photographs cover a wide range of subjects. When people ask me “what I photograph,” probably expecting a short answer like “landscapes” or “portraits” or “street,” there can be an awkward moment while I consider how to answer. I don’t photograph just one thing… any more than a composer would choose to write only, say, minuets. There is more than one thing to express, so more than one approach is necessary. If anything, my photographs are about… how I see the world photographically.

I won’t try to explain the entire “consonance and dissonance” connection here, except to point out that these terms have multiple meanings. One basic idea is that something is consonant in music if it “sounds nice” and “dissonant” if it doesn’t. But a more interesting idea relates to something that seems static and “settled” (consonance) versus something that seems restless and striving (dissonance). Taken one step further, the tension created by dissonance often propels us toward consonance… and consonance can resolve that tension.

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

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Portugal, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Travel

Columns and Shadows

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Columns and Shadows
Soft light on columns near Ingreja Da Graca, Lisbon.

Columns and Shadows. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Soft light on columns near Ingreja Da Graca, Lisbon.

This is perhaps not quite a typical Lisbon photograph, and it came about as a result of one of our semi-random walks — something that characterizes our travel. We, wandered downhill to a central square, crossed and began ascending, and eventually turned toward the hill topped by the St. George Castle. We climbed up to it, but decided not to join the tourist throng inside, preferring to wander around the periphery… and that led us to this nearby convent and church. (The full name is longer than what I’ve used here, by the way.)

After wandering through the beautiful church, we walked around the grounds of the convent, a quiet and not-very-busy place that contrasted with what we had experienced earlier in the day. These columns, in lovely soft light, lined a walkway around an inner courtyard.

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

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Hudson Yards Towers

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Hudson Yards Towers
A cluster of tall urban towers at the Hudson Yards complex, Manhattan.

Hudson Yards Towers. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A cluster of tall urban towers at the Hudson Yards complex, Manhattan.

There is a phenomenal range of photographic subjects in New York City: the natural scenes in Central Park, street life, and architecture old and new. For reasons relating to the season, our location in Manhattan, and more I ended up making quite a few “natural landscape” images in Central Park. But we did spend time elsewhere, too, including on a long walk that took us through the Hudson Yards development. My feelings about the place are complicated, for reasons I won’t go into here, but it does present some interesting architectural forms, including these buildings with reflecting glass surfaces.

I went with black and white in this rendition since I was more interested in the shapes and lines than in presenting of the supposed reality of the place. (The underlying image is full of blue tones and has much less contrast.) I’ve long been fascinated by how malleable monochrome images are in post — we can push and pull them in all sorts of ways that would be far too extreme in most cases with color.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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