Category Archives: Photographs: People

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

A Moment

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A Moment
A Moment

A Moment. Getty Center, Los Angeles, California. March 28, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An unplanned tableau at the Getty Center

The Getty Center, much like similar places where a lot of people collect and do interesting things, it a great place for shoot-from-the-hip photography. You keep your eyes open and keep the camera ready, and when you least expect it something worth photographing pops up, often for only a brief moment.

I don’t know if others will see it, but for me there is something intriguing and perhaps every so slightly “off” about elements of this little scene. The glowing white walls seems like something from the future. The woman against the wall seems to have one eye covered and the fellow at the far, who is only half seen, is standing and facing that bright white wall. The colors of the shirts on the two children relate in an interesting way, and one of them tilts off-kilter. There is something a bit odd about the two guys conversing at the right — something about their stances, the distance between them, and the body language.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Music & Musicians, Photographs: People

Violist Janet Sims

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Violist Janet Sims
Violist Janet Sims

Violist Janet Sims. San Jose, California. June 5, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved

Symphony Silicon Valley violist Janet Sims at a June, 2014 rehearsal

This weekend I am sharing two more photographs from my ongoing project photographing professional classical musicians, a three-year project during which I have the opportunity to attend many rehearsals and concerts and generally spend a lot of time learning to see and understand this world. (I already understood more than most since I’ve been part of it in several ways for many years.) Both of these photographs are casual shots made during rehearsals. Such photos remind us of several things, I think. First, it is possible to get some odd ideas about who the musicians are if your only experience is seeing them in formal concert situations — but backstage and during rehearsals… they are “regular people” just like all of us. Second, and from the same perspective, it is easy to overlook that fact that the vast majority of the work necessary for a live performance is actually done outside of the performance, with often intense and lengthy periods of individual practice and preparation and significant time spent on group rehearsal. And, finally, in both of these photographs I think you will see the intense focus of these musicians. Janet Sims is a first-stand violist in the Symphony Silicon Valley.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Music & Musicians, Photographs: People

Meredith Brown, French Horn

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Meredith Brown, French Horn
Meredith Brown, French Horn

Meredith Brown, French Horn. San Jose, California. June 5, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Symphony Silicon Valley principal French hornist Meredith Brown

This weekend I am sharing two more photographs from my ongoing project photographing professional classical musicians, a three-year project during which I have the opportunity to attend many rehearsals and concerts and generally spend a lot of time learning to see and understand this world. (I already understood more than most since I’ve been part of it in several ways for many years.) Both of these photographs are casual shots made during rehearsals. Such photos remind us of several things, I think. First, it is possible to get some odd ideas about who the musicians are if your only experience is seeing them in formal concert situations — but backstage and during rehearsals… they are “regular people” just like all of us. Second, and from the same perspective, it is easy to overlook that fact that the vast majority of the work necessary for a live performance is actually done outside of the performance, with often intense and lengthy periods of individual practice and preparation and significant time spent on group rehearsal. And, finally, in both of these photographs I think you will see the intense focus of these musicians. Meredith Brown is the principal French hornist of the Symphony Silicon Valley.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: People, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Man at Crosswalk

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Man at Crosswalk
Man at Crosswalk

Man at Crosswalk. San Francisco, California. June 13, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A man at a crosswalk extends his arms as a bus passes

On Friday the 13th I spent part of my morning walking around and photographing in San Francisco, starting very early at about 7:00 AM, and making a large loop that eventually took me back to the Caltrain station and out of the city before noon. This photograph was a quick shot at a corner along Market Street.

I do this kind of shooting for may reasons, among them being simply that I’m interested in more than just “nature” photography and I am fascinated by the urban landscape, too. (There’s also a deeper philosophical question about just where boundaries between “natural” and “not natural” actually do and do not lie.) When it comes to the process of how I photograph, this work also provides a sometimes-welcome contrast. Most of the work shared here is created by going out with some amount of equipment that typically includes lenses, camera, tripod, and more and then finding more or less static locations from which to shoot. On the other hand, photography like that which I did on this day is more dynamic and fluid. I work with a small handheld camera, carrying only a rather small messenger bag with two more small lenses, and keeping the camera out and ready to shoot in an instant. Sometimes I may work a subject more slowly, but I also sometimes simply raise the camera quickly and almost without conscious thought and make an exposure. In fact, in some situations like this one, that is the only option. There was almost no time to think at all in this case. Without warning I found myself standing behind this fellow who spontaneously put his arms out, in a gesture that is open to many interpretations. The camera was in my hand, I quickly raised it and shot without looking through the viewfinder, making perhaps three quick exposures, one of which included the blurred shape of the bus beyond him, without which this would have been a very different photograph.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.