Category Archives: Photographs: People

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

A Family

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A Family
A passing family group on the street in Manhattan.

A Family. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A passing family group on the street in Manhattan.

As scheduled, it is back to more street photography today. This photograph comes from our late-August visit to Manhattan, which provided us with opportunities to simply go out on walks and observe/absorb the Manhattan vibe. That is, of course, a complex thing, being composed of lots of people, lots of motion, the urban canyons, occasional bits of quiet and stillness, and a lot of things that happen quickly and are gone. The latter, of course, is part of the appeal of street photography.

I recommend urban and street photography to all photographers, including those of you who like think of yourselves and landscape or nature photographers. As a general thing, I think it is good for you and for your photography to step outside your primary genre and to be aware of good photographic work done with subjects quite different than your own. On a very practical level, shooting street forces you to see, think, and react really quickly. Quite often subjects coalesce and disappear in seconds or even fractions of seconds. You don’t have much time to carefully consider, so you work on the basis of instinct. And that is a useful skill to develop, even if you usually work at a more sedate pace. Street also reminds us of how we make photographs of things that we don’t have time to fully evaluate or understand. For example, while I call this photograph “A Family,” I can’t know that it is a family group. And while I might make be tempted to make other assumptions about this trio… I have no way at all of knowing whether I’m right or wrong. It is better, I think, to just ask questions.

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

Patty Photographing London

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Patty Photographing London
Patricia Emerson Mitchell photographing in London

Patty Photographing London. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Patricia Emerson Mitchell photographing in London

Our opportunities for international travel have been pretty limited since the beginning of the pandemic. We had a big trip scheduled late in the first year of the event, but that had to be cancelled. We might have considered going this year, but instead extended family members decided on an American meet-up. So we’re still looking forward to future international travel, hopefully by next summer.

For a bunch of reasons, we often start in London, so we’ve been there a few times now. We like to wander, carrying cameras, looking for interesting things, and stopping for refreshments and meals whenever the urge takes us. And, yes, we sometimes photograph one another!

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: Nature, Photographs: People, Photographs: Sequoia-Kings Canyon, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Turtle Man

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Turtle Man
Turtle Dave* climbing the west side of Mount Whitney near the end of the John Muir Trail.

Turtle Man. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Turtle Dave* climbing the west side of Mount Whitney near the end of the John Muir Trail.

There are several stories behind this photograph. One is specific to this man and this place, and another relates more generally to people like him that I have encountered in the backcountry over the years. The specific story: “Turtle Dave” (or was it “Turtle Don?*”) was his trail name on the John Muir Trail when we encountered him. He was soloing the JMT, and on this day he was going to reach the summit of Mount Whitney. I was part of a group of experienced backpackers who had come all the way across the Sierra from the west side to get here, and we felt like a pretty tough group… until we met him. He wasn’t fast, but he seemed as at ease in the backcountry as anyone I’ve ever met.

Perhaps because of this photograph, and perhaps because I’m considering some trips into the backcountry, and perhaps because I’m no longer a child (well, not in most ways) I’ve been thinking about a string of similar “mature” backpackers I’ve met over the years. Decades ago as Patty and I embarked on our first long backpacking trip we camped near “Sig,” an “older woman” (at least a decade younger than my age today!) who starting her solo of the JMT. On another trip out of Tuolumne Meadows I spoke with a 75-year-old fellow who was starting out on the JMT all alone. If you meet one of these folks on the trail, I urge you to stop and chat a bit — there’s a good chance that the conversation will be memorable.

* Update: My local research department (a.k.a. Patty) found some web references to “Turtle Don” and his adventure. I’ll leave this post with the current title, but it is good to know the right name for this guy!

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: France, Photographs: People, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Je Suis Bleu: Bicycle Man

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Je Suis Bleu: Bicycle Man
A man rides past a wall covered with street art, Le Marais.

Je Suis Bleu: Bicycle Man. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A man rides past a wall covered with street art, Le Marais.

I have been writing a new installment for my “A Photograph Exposed” series, where I write in depth about one of my favorite photographs. The photograph in question, which I regard as one of my best, features a group of three women photographed in front of this street art-covered wall. As part of the writing process, I went back to view other files made at about the same time — for reasons that will make sense when I share the article. In doing so I found other photographs of this scene that I like. In fact, if the “three women” photograph had not turned out, I might well have shared this one years ago!

I am fascinated by the experience of going back to forgotten image files and “discovering” work for the first time. There is a difference in how we see photographs that we have just made (and which we associate with the immediate experience of making them) and how we see the same photographs after time has passed. I think that, in some ways, we see the images more objectively in the latter case — perhaps we can “see” them as what they are more than as what we expected them to be.

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 | Twitter | 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.