Category Archives: Photographs: New York City

Lady Liberty Of The Sidewalk

Lady Liberty Of The Sidewalk
A familiar statue in a perhaps-metaphorical location on a Manhattan sidewalk.

Lady Liberty Of The Sidewalk. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A familiar statue in a perhaps-metaphorical location on a Manhattan sidewalk.

As I have described before, we like to walk when we visit New York… and by “walk” I mean that we only use the subway or other forms of Manhattan urban transportation if walking will do. As Manhattanites know, New York City is mostly a very walkable place, and it lots of circumstances it is the better way to get around. From our perspective, as visitors and as photographers, walking has even more pluses. I almost always have a camera out (attached via a wrist strap) or close at hand when I’m there, and I try to grab little quick vignette like this one while I’m on the move.

As with so many such photographs, there are many ways that you could consider this one. I would understand if you took a quick look and asked, “Why would Dan want to make a photograph of a scene like that?,” especially if you mostly think of me as someone who likes to photograph beautiful landscapes. This is not that!. If you like to look for meaning beyond the pure visual quality (which may actually reveal something about the visual quality that you would otherwise miss), I think there are quite a few possibilities here. Do you like metaphors? Have at it! :-)


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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Manhattan Food Cart, Night

Manhattan Food Cart, Night
People walking past or stopping at a Lower Manhattan food cart on a winter evening.

Manhattan Food Cart, Night. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

People walking past or stopping at a Lower Manhattan food cart on a winter evening.

This photograph ties together several things that interest and fascinate me about photographing in the urban environment, particularly at night. One feature is how the night can transform subjects that would look quite different in the daytime — and now that modern cameras are good enough in very low light to permit us to do street photography at night we can more readily work with these transformed subjects. At night the light of cities, which some sometimes be almost as fascinating as state lighting, highlight particular aspects of the scene and can create a kind of mystery that isn’t there in the day time. After all, how much attention might you pay to a couple of people being a quick meal from a food cart during the day?

The initial subject here was the two individuals standing at the cart and placing an order with the fellow who works there. They are the center of the image for compositional reasons, for narrative reasons, and because they are in the light! But that reflective sidewalk is interesting to me, too, and having it broken up by passing figures makes it more so — and the two dark figures frame the central focus.


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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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.

Brandon In Manhattan

Brandon In Manhattan
Brandon Mitchell on the streets of Manhattan

Brandon In Manhattan. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Brandon on the streets of Manhattan.

This is, technically speaking, a family photograph. This is the oldest of our three “kids,” in a photograph I made near the end of December, along some street somewhere between Midtown and Lower Manhattan as we took a very long afternoon and early evening walk in New York City.

He has been in Manhattan for, well I’d have to look it up so let’s just say “a long time.” Could it have been a decade now? Because our two sons and their wives (along with Patty’s brother and his family) live in New York City, we are fortunate to have an excellent excuse to visit the place at least once per year or so. While it is impossible for visitors like us to really know the place, we feel comfortable with great swaths of this city now, and it is among my favorite places to photograph.


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.

Blog | About | Flickr | FacebookEmail

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.

Balloon Vendor

Balloon Vendor
A Manhattan street vendor selling balloons.

Balloon Vendor. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A Manhattan street vendor selling balloons.

There was a lot going on in the vicinity of this colorful little Manhattan scene. It was a few days after Christmas, during the period between then and New Year’s Day when it seems that tourists and other visitors take over the sidewalks and streets of New York City, at least in the most popular areas. This is one of those areas, right near Rockefeller Center. Basically, the sidewalks were packed with people and at times it was difficult to move forward.

Along this block there were many street vendors, selling the usual assortment of Manhattan items: cheap knock-off watches, umbrellas and warm hats, food, souvenir shirts, and balloons. The balloons, leaning into the passing crowd, were quite a colorful diversion. That aside, as I see the street vendors I always wonder who they are, how they make a living doing this, and what sort of lives they must lead… and how all of that fits together in a place like Manhattan.


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.

Blog | About | Flickr | FacebookEmail

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.


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