Category Archives: Photographs: Urban/Street

Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

Waiting For The Light

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Waiting For The Light
A crowd queues up for the green light at a busy Manhattan interection

Waiting For The Light. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A crowd queues up for the green light at a busy Manhattan interection.

Perhaps you thought that I was finished with the photographs from our December visit to Manhattan. You’d be wrong! As I’ve written in the past, I love photographing in the dense urban world of Manhattan. In many ways it is the opposite of what I do most often when I head out to photograph in California and the west, where I tend to focus on the more-or-less natural world (though not entirely!) and work at a generally slower and more contemplative pace. Manhattan is intense, with people everywhere, and tons of stuff to see. Much of it happens so quickly that it is “shoot now or miss it!”

I made this photograph in a busy part of Manhattan — Broadway not far below Central Park if I recall correctly — and during the busy holiday period when tons of people are on the streets. I love the great American diversity of Manhattan, where you rub shoulders with just about everyone — rich and poor, locals and tourists, young and old, every language and ethnicity.

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

La Churreria, Dusk

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La Churreria, Dusk
La Churreria cafe at dusk, Nolita, Manhattan.

La Churreria, Dusk. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

La Churreria cafe at dusk, Nolita, Manhattan.

On this afternoon we met up with our oldest son, who works in Manhattan and lives a subway commute away, and we took a long, wandering walk south from Grand Central Station to near the southern tip of Lower Manhattan. Along the way we steered clear of the more major streets and often ended up on what pass for side streets. (Though most north-south streets in Manhattan or fairly well-traveled.) As we walked on this winter afternoon the light gradually shifted over toward evening, and by the time I made this photograph it was twilight.

Logically, the scene is perhaps nothing special and probably not all that different from a thousand other similar scenes throughout Manhattan — a somewhat grimy (at least to those of us from other places) street lined with lots of interesting little shops, where evening lights were coming on and casting an inviting glow onto the sidewalk. I regret not stopping here to grab a churro after reading about the place a bit after we returned home — it turns out that they had a take-out window, so we could have paused on our walk.

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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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: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

In Storage

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In Storage
Casts of antiquities stored in Manhattan.

In Storage. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Casts of antiquities stored in Manhattan.

While visiting Manhattan in last December we ended up in an older, somewhat nondescript building not far from Grand Central Station where, among other things, an organization focused on classical architecture has offices. On a day when the place was mostly closed we were able to visit the building and, of course, we made a few photographs.

This room was fascinating. It is full of casts of various bits and pieces of statues and (I think) elements taken from various architecture. It is my understanding that the institutions from which these specimens come now may have originals in their place, so exhibiting the casts is no longer so attractive. But walking through a room full of them in storage on a cold winter day is an unusual experience. Here the warm interior light on the objects contrasts with the very blue outdoor light of a winter Manhattan day.

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

Iconic Magazines

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Iconic Magazines
Mulberry Iconic Magazines at Kenmare and Mulberry Streets, Manhattan

Iconic Magazines. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Mulberry Iconic Magazines at Kenmare and Mulberry Streets, Manhattan.

When I travel I often try to figure out what factors give a place its “quality,” that sometimes vague sense of the place that sets it apart from other locations. Sometimes, of course, certain aspects are pretty obvious — only one city has an Empire State Building, there’s only one Eiffel Tower, no other bridge is quite like the Golden Gate Bridge, not every city is filled with canals, and so on. One factor that I notice in quite a few large cities, but in a particular way in Manhattan, is the difference between the objective grittiness and even ugliness of many exteriors versus the often warm and inviting quality of personal interiors — people’s homes, many eating places, certain stores, and more.

Those worlds aren’t complete disconnected though, and especially in winter I feel that spots where light spills out from those interiors into the public space can connect them. This one happens to be on a street corner that might not otherwise seem particularly special, but it contrasts greatly with the rather grim exertion of the upper floors and with the street in front. (For the record, I do realize that my description above is not quite air-tight…)

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.