Category Archives: Photographs: New York City

Photographs: New York City

Rebuilding, Manhattan

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Rebuilding, Manhattan
Cranes atop the new World Trade Center building.

Rebuilding, Manhattan. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Cranes atop the new World Trade Center building.

Those who recall the events of 9/11 have a variety of memories of that date and what followed. The subject is too big for me to claim to address it in two paragraphs and a photograph, so I’ll simply recall a few things of my own from that date. Back then it was my habit to get up early, turn on the radio while having breakfast, and listen to news. The first report here on the West Coast lacked much detail but mentioned a plane hitting one of the towers. I immediately thought of older incidents where small planes struck tall buildings, and I assumed it was such a story. But from there began a crescendo of news that got worse and worse over the day and beyond — thousands died and America went to war and the effect still reverberate.

On a visit to New York around New Year’s Day 2000 we had ridden the elevators and climbed the stairs to venture out on the catwalks above one of the towers at night. Among other things, we had watched passing planes from that vantage point. We did not visit New York again until very close to exactly one decade after the attack. Thinking back, we somehow mostly managed to avoid the WTC site until late in the visit when we finally went there. It was an overwhelming experience, though at that point it was a construction site — a place of growth rather than destruction — but the fact of what had happened there could not be ignored. I made the photograph of the new tower under construction from the Brooklyn Bridge.

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: New York City, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Urban/Street

Windows and Shadows

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Windows and Shadows
The shadows of passing figures on a pair of windows and a wall in Manhattan.

Windows and Shadows. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The shadows of passing figures on a pair of windows and a wall in Manhattan.

This somewhat mysterious-looking photograph comes from a few years back on a visit to New York City. It was late in the day, and we found ourselves wandering along the Highline Park, the elevated park along a portion of the west side of Manhattan. The park wanders past all sorts of Manhattan features — apartments, hotels, businesses, parking, streets, and more. In such places unusual and fleeting lighting effects can occur, some of them as magical as the light I look for in the natural world. Among them is the potential for light to reflect back and forth among multiple reflective surfaces. This often softens the light and directs it into places where you might not expect it. That was the case here, as the light worked its way down into this urban canyon in the same way it does in the red rock canyons of the Southwest.

This photograph also exemplifies why I like to work with small and light cameras in urban environments — rather than using the larger, tripod-mounted gear I often use in the natural landscape. Here things happen quickly, often with little warning, and quickly disappear. Being able to respond quickly is critical, and this ability to work quickly and spontaneously often turns out to be far more important than having larger and objectively “better” gear. The ghostly shadows of the passing figures were gone within seconds.

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: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

Hats and Cashmere Scarves

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Hats and Cashmere Scarves
A sidewalk vending cart on a winter day in Manhattan.

Hats and Cashmere Scarves. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A sidewalk vending cart on a winter day in Manhattan.

This photograph comes from our last big travel adventure in the Before Times, a week in New York City — mostly Manhattan, but also the Bronx and probably a bit of Brooklyn as well. New Yorkers will either laugh or think we’re nuts — or perhaps both — but somehow the two times of year that we almost invariably visit are in August and late December. Yeah, I know. Not ideal. But by now this has almost become a tradition. Even now — it is August! — I’m thinking about New York again.

This trip, as you may guess from the items being offered for sale here, was the December visit. Street vendors are common all over the world, especially in urban areas, but those in Manhattan seem to have their own special culture. I’m continually amazed at how the products vary by season and even — almost instantly — by weather. Rain on the way? Everyone is suddenly offering umbrellas. Snow and cold? Hats and cashmere scarves.

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

Twins

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Twins
Twin sisters and other pedestrians along a Manhattan sidewalk.

Twins. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Twin sisters and other pedestrians along a Manhattan sidewalk.

Given that many people have had it much harder than I have during the pandemic, I can’t really complain. However, recently I’ve been missing travel (at least of the urban sort) and large crowds of people along busy streets, on transit, in restaurants, at concerts. I’m especially missing New York and its crazy energy. We have relatives there and typically visit a couple of times each year… but the last visit was in December of 2019, just months before everything shut down. I think that the short-lived feeling that we were emerging from all of this in the early summer has interfered with the optimism that we were starting to feel. This will eventually be behind us, but it is going to take longer than we hoped.

I grabbed this little street vignette in Manhattan during that last visit. When I saw these two women approaching — apparently twins, wearing the same clothes and carrying nearly identical bags — I quickly squeezed off a single frame here they were gone. Technically, it was a terrible photograph! It was badly tilted and not framed very well. But with some post-processing magic I think I was able to make it work. I wonder… is there a pair of twins like this in every big city? There were two women in San Francisco for years who went out dressed identically just like this.

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 | Flickr | Facebook | 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.