Category Archives: Photographs: Urban/Street

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

Halal Food Cart

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Halal Food Cart
Two men working a Halal Food Cart, Manhattan

Halal Food Cart. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two men working a Halal Food Cart, Manhattan.

We spent a week in (mostly) Manhattan during the holidays, visiting family and wandering around this remarkable city. I made this photograph on Christmas Day as we walked up Fifth Avenue and then by cross-streets past some iconic locations, joining the throngs there at this time of year.

While the dense urban design and tall buildings might be the first thing that comes to mind when we consider Manhattan, I think that people may be the more central characteristic. Once of the train or out of the car, most everyone seems to walk here, and the sidewalks are filled with just about every kind of person imaginable — Americans and people from all over the world. In places and a busy times, the crowds can be quite something. These days, every were you go you see these food carts, even on the coldest days.

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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Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Emergency Exit Only

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Emergency Exit Only
Two trash containers in the doorway of a San Francisco building, with “Emergency Exit Only” signs.

Emergency Exit Only. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two trash containers in the doorway of a San Francisco building, with “Emergency Exit Only” signs.

So, yes, trash bins in the doorway of a San Francisco business — photographed on one of my street photography walks in The City. I’m tempted to just leave that there with no further explanation.

OK, a few hints. You could just look at it as two trash bins in a doorway — after all, that is what you see here. But if you enjoy such things, you could look at it in a variety of other ways, ranging from the mundane (code violations?) to more metaphorical. Your choice.

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.

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

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Urban Geometry

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Urban Geometry
A woman walks past a building with a display under construction.

Urban Geometry. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A woman walks past a building with a display under construction.

One element of the urban/street world that fascinates me is the juxtaposition of “perfect” structures — geometric patterns, shiny metal, highly designed forms — with the imperfect and always-deteriorating nature of this world — peeling paint, dirty sidewalks, constant construction and reconstruction, accumulated dirt, and so forth. Long ago the fact that urban structures fell short of the theoretical perfection offered in architectural drawings bothered me, but now I find it fascinating.

This is an example of one of those little scenes that always seem to catch my eye. The facade fo this building is, from one perspective, quite boring, even though its patterned wall and metal lights depart from typical (and often rather plain) urban surfaces. But notice some interesting things about it. For example, because the sidewalk and street are inclined, the designer was faced with a question: align the metal form beneath the windows with the sidewalk or align them with one another? And if you align with the sidewalk — as is done here — what do you do about the size of the windows and about their alignment? (The sizes were kept the same, leaving the lower bank out of alignment… but they are “corrected” in the second level!) Beyond that, the contrast with the op-art nature of the under-construction window dressing is fascinating. I waited for a passer-by to enter the scene before making the exposure.

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.

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

Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

On The Phone

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On The Phone
A man leans against concrete wall to talk on his phone.

On The Phone. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A man leans against concrete wall to talk on his phone.

This area of San Francisco is a favorite of mine when doing street photography. There’s nothing remarkable about the street that would attract most viewers, but several things can give it photographic potential. Oddly, one feature is that there isn’t a lot there, at least not during the daytime, so people are either moving through quickly or else they are sort of hanging out like this fellow. There are also quite a few relatively plane and/or geometric surfaces here, plus the light is mostly soft and indirect.

The photograph is an example of how transient subjects and compositions can be in street photography. I spotted this guy talking on his phone from across the street. It was fairly easy to line up a composition that included him, but various things kept intruding on the scene. Passing cars momentarily blocked part of it, and other people walked through the scene. But after a few seconds of waiting — and a few other frames that intentionally included other passers-by — the stage was empty and I was able to make a photograph when he was the only person in the frame.

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.

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