Walking Couple, Brick Wall. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A couple walks along a brick wall at a Manhattan church on a winter afternoon.

There is, for this non-native, a feeling that is evoked by New York City in the winter — compared to California (where it is the green season) the place seems very gray, at least in its exterior and outdoor spaces. There aren’t many hours of daylight, the direct sun is blocked by tall buildings during most of the day, and winter weather amplifies the effect. As an aside, I’m also struck by how much different the interior spaces are — even in a cold, drab building with the obligatory garbage sacks sitting on the curb, the interiors are often warm and inviting.

On this afternoon walk from roughly Midtown to Lower Manhattan on a late-December afternoon these qualities were plain to see. There isn’t a green thing in this scene, only some winter-bare trees. Everything is made of bricks or concrete, and in this scene three colors predominate — the reds and browns of bricks, the gray of the sidewalk and the sky, and the bits of black of the doorway and, of course, the attire of the passing figures.

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

Three Guys, Crosswalk. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Three men crossing a Manhattan street, looking into the light.

One thing I like about photographing in New York City — or, for that matter, in any really busy urban area — is that challenge of picking subject out in the very dynamic environment. Once you tune it to it there are things happening all around you, often so fast that you barely have time to react… and you are absolutely certain to miss a good number of them. It requires a very different approach to photographing than one might use for, say, landscape photography. Not only that, but honing this alternative and fast approach, actually has benefits for other kinds of photography like, say, landscape photography!

There are so many potential angles that one can focus on when shooting street. It could be the people themselves. It might be the light. It may be color and texture. It could be compositional interest. Sometimes it is spontaneous relationships between elements that suddenly appear and this disappear. That was the case here. I already had the camera out and was photographing passing people when, for a brief instant, the three men in the cross walk glanced to the side at the same moment.

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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 | 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.

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! :-)

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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 | Facebook | Email

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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