Category Archives: Photographs: People

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

Red Shirts, Fountain

July 23, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Two brightly clad people face a fountain in Washington Square

Manhattan’s Washington Square holds, along with many other places in this city, lots of opportunities for people-watching and for photography. On this visit we meandered through the park late on a Sunday morning as we walked to a destination further uptown. There was a lot going on: A pianist was set up on a walkway to give a recital, jazz combos played here and there, groups were doing aerobics, folks were playing in and around the fountain, people sitting on benches read the morning paper quietly, and much more.

When it comes to explaining what a photograph “means” or what it attempts to accomplish I would generally leave the determination to the viewer than offer too much explanation. I have my reasons! One is that, at least in most cases, I tend to think that a photograph that requires explanation may be a photograph that doesn’t speak strongly. Another is that I believe that multiple understandings of a photograph are possible, and that the photographer does not have a monopoly on the correct interpretations. But here I will give a few hints about what I was thinking when I made this. First, I was working quite quickly — there was definitely not enough time to pre-conceive this image. (That is not to say that pre-visualization was not possible, but that is a different thing.) I think the red shirts, which stand out from most of the other elements of the scene, initially caught my attention. The geometry of the scene also interested me — I confess that I think about composition quite a bit, even when shooting street. There is also something about the anonymity of these two people as they stand and look at a fountain while others are swimming in it or sitting on the steps that lead to the water. There’s more, but I’ll leave it at that.

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

Conservation/Environment, Photographs: England, Photographs: People, Photographs: Urban/Street

Pedestrian and Cyclist

June 8, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Pedestrian and cyclist on walkway in front of the Tate Modern, London

We were well into our stay in London in the summer of 2016 when we finally got around to going to the Tate Modern, where there was an exhibit of paintings of Georgia O’Keeffe. I think we waited because she is American, we’ve seen shows of her work a lot, and we probably wondered how new the work would be in a London show. Because of our (misguided!) thinking, we ended up here with only a few hours to spend — only to discover that this was the most extensive collection of O’Keeffe’s work that we had seen in one place and that we didn’t have nearly enough time to see it all.

At one point, perhaps while waiting for our turn to enter the exhibit, we stepped out onto a balcony that was open to the landscaped area between the museum and the River Thames, where there were many pedestrians and a few cyclists. If I watch long enough I find that the passers-by sometimes assemble themselves into interesting groupings and patterns, so I indulged myself in a little bit of overhead photography, looking down from my high perch. The walkway took on a striking blue color in the shadow of the building, lit by the gigantic blue light panel of the sky as a walker and a cyclist approached one another.

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

Photographs: England, Photographs: People, Photographs: Urban/Street

London Sidewalk

May 20, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

People along an urban sidewalk, London

Sometimes with street photographs I do not quite know exactly what it is that appeals to me even though I know that the appeal is there. Perhaps part of the appeal of street photography, at least with some of the subjects, is that I have to response very quickly and almost entirely on the basis of intuition — often without even enough time to immediately consider the photograph I just made. It is look, photograph, move on, look some more. I may not “see” the photograph as an image again until much later… and even then it may be hard to identify the specific appeal in the image.

I barely recall making this photograph, in fact. I think I was crossing a street and about to come up on the sidewalk, and I’m willing to bet that the dark clad fellow with the headphones on was my primary point of interest. Judging from the low camera angle, I also suspect that I was photographing quickly from the waist, without even taking the time to raise the camera to my eye. (I kind of like this angle — it suggests photographs with classic twin lens reflex cameras.) There are other things about which I could speculate… but I think I’ll just leave it here as a photograph.

Photographs: People, Photographs: Southern California, Photographs: Urban/Street

Pizza Shop

February 1, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Customers wait for pizza at a Pasadena pizza shop

Once again I interrupt the sequence of nature photographs, wildlife, and landscapes to bring you… a photograph inside pizza restaurant. I know that this range of subjects is a stretch for some viewers, but I hope it may be possible to see it all as part of my way of seeing the world. Early on the day I posted this it occurred that my background in music may offer at least a partial explanation. I’ve played (at least “played,” back when I was an active performer) in everything from bands performing in clubs, through jazz bands, to music theater, and on to symphony orchestras. I see no need to give up jazz because I may like Mahler, and I see no need to eschew photographing the city just because I also find beauty in the natural world.

So, back to our pizza restaurant. We were out walking about in Pasadena, really without any particular goal in mind — which is, I think, often a good way to make street photography. I photographed this scene through the restaurant window, and the tableaux just seemed to happen. I started out considering a piece of restaurant equipment visible in the window, but when I looked more closely I was this layout of pizza, the line-up of waiting customers, and what seems like idiosyncratic interior decoration.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Category Archives: Photographs: People

Red Shirts, Fountain

Pedestrian and Cyclist

London Sidewalk

Pizza Shop

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.