Category Archives: Photographs: Structures and Objects

Photographs: Abstract, Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Textures, Photographs: Urban/Street

Paint on Metal Wall

January 21, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

While wandering around in the DUMBO area of Brooklyn, between a walk in one direction on the Brooklyn Bridge and a walk back in the other direction on the Manhattan Bridge, we walked up some streets under the flyover at the Brooklyn end of the Manhattan Bridge. This is not what you might think of as a “special” area, being beneath a bridge and containing at least some of the expected forms of urban decay. Surprisingly though there were some interesting things to see here – nice light on this day and some urban/street subjects.

As we walked up one narrow street we passed, as I recall it, some storage yards and similar that were fenced off from the roadway and sidewalks. I think this was part of a section of metal fencing along the sidewalk. I remember looking at this very bizarre pattern of colorful paint and wondering how it got there. There were no signs on the wall at this point, but it looked like someone must have spray-painted some objects in front of the wall, and done so more than once and with a wild variety of colors – blue, hot pink, fluorescent green, several shades of hello, orange, black, and more. This accidental art seems to be the result of the creation of something else that was nowhere to be found.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

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

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Brooklyn Bridge, Lower Manhattan

January 17, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The Brooklyn Bridge and buildings of Lower Manhattan, New York

Like many of my stories, this one involves a very long hike, challenging weather, two river crossings, a landscape of beautiful light and evocative atmosphere… and New York City? Indeed. It did not quite register with me that on this day we walked from our Canal Street hotel, across the Brooklyn Bridge (in sub-freezing temperatures), around areas of Brooklyn, and then back across the Manhattan Bridge to Canal Street and back to our hotel. The whole thing evolved organically, and we did not originally intend to do so much walking. There are days when I walk less than that during back-country Sierra Nevada trips!

We were meeting people from Brooklyn, but we figured that after a morning walk in Lower Manhattan that we would likely either meet them on the Manhattan side or take the subway over to Brooklyn – but when we found ourselves near the bridge we decided to walk across, and we met them mid-span. The very cold air was also blue-gray with haze, so I think I was in black and white mode as we walked across, thinking about how to use the haze. We arrived in Brooklyn, and eventually ended up in roughly the DUMBO (look it up!) area, where we ate, shopped a bit, and wandered. From there we decided to walk back to Manhattan via the Manhattan Bridge. If you have walked the Brooklyn Bridge – and who hasn’t? – I recommend this alternative for a more “real” and a bit earthier view of things. In contrast to the typical mob scene on the Brooklyn Bridge, there was almost no one else walking the Manhattan – perhaps because it also carries very loud subway trains, has a much narrower walkway, and starts and ends in somewhat less well-known areas. But the view of the Manhattan Bridge, East River, and Lower Manhattan from this bridge is, I think, better than that from the Brooklyn Bridge. In this photograph the afternoon light was essentially back-lighting the tall buildings and the Brooklyn Bridge, and clouds gave some texture to the sky.

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: Architecture, Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Driveway, The Cloisters, Winter

January 16, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The curving driveway at the Cloisters Museum, New York City

We were in New York City during the final week of 2013, visiting family and doing the usual New York things – which, for me, always includes visiting museums and making photographs. We had visited The Cloisters, now part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art but far uptown, on a previous visit – but having not planned very well we arrived on a day when the place was closed! So we only were able to wander around the grounds outside and the surrounding park lands and then down into town below. This time we checked more carefully, and found that not only was it open but that we could use our Metropolitan of Art passes that we used the previous day.

It was a cold day, and when we got off of the long subway ride up from lower Manhattan we were a bit surprised by the wind blowing at Fort Tryon and we didn’t waste too much time in heading over to the museum. I recalled this curving, cobble stone driveway from our previous visit, when we walked up it to get to the front entrance. This time we came from the side and saw it from the top, curving away and toward the barren trees around the museum and cold scene of the city down below the hill in the distance.

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Austria, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Yellow Wall, Hellbrunn Palace

January 5, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Yellow walls, green shutters, and the ubiquitous metal street lamps, Hellbrunn Palace near Salzburg, Austria

Hellbrunn is the site of the famous water garden, including a variety of “trick” fountains. I had never heard of the place, but our family guides thought it would be a good place to visit, so there we went. It was a palace for a member of Austrian nobility at one point (there’s more to the story than that…), and the story goes that he enjoyed playing tricks on guests. As a result, the grounds feature not only the usual huge lawns, statues, manicured gardens and so forth, but also a lot of water, some used to create all sorts of tricks and oddities.

There are benches from which water may spray on the person sitting there, doorways to small buildings that can suddenly spray the visitor, water that sprays up from sidewalks, and animated scene powered by water, a water powered organ, and more. The buildings, which are quite extensive, also include more staid living quarters, places to entertain guests, and art collections. As we walked around, I noticed the same street lamps attached to the exterior walls that I had seen elsewhere in Salzburg, so I included an example in this photograph of the corner of a brightly painted building.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Category Archives: Photographs: Structures and Objects

Paint on Metal Wall

Brooklyn Bridge, Lower Manhattan

Driveway, The Cloisters, Winter

Yellow Wall, Hellbrunn Palace

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