Category Archives: Photographs: Urban/Street

Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

Abandoned Glove

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Abandoned Glove
An abandoned glove in a gutter between red and white lines

Abandoned Glove. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An abandoned glove in a gutter between red and white lines.

From my point of view, this is one of those photographs that is about what it is and about what else it is. (Admittedly, it is also a photograph whose capture may have led a few people around me at the time to… wonder.) The objective facts are straightforward. I had paused at the curb to wait for a green crossing light. I looked down into the gutter and saw this scene, in particular the plastic white glove between the red and yellow spaces. I made a few exposures before continuing as the light turned green.

You can make what you want of such a photograph. It is partly a reflection on finding things of visual interest everywhere, even in gutters. In addition, perhaps you may see some interesting graphic, abstract quality to it that goes beyond the literal objects in the frame. If you look closely you can see a bit of a reflection. Beyond that… I’ll leave it to you.

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

Smoke Shop

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Smoke Shop
Night photograph of a man approaching the Millennium Smoke Shop in Lower Manhattan.

Smoke Shop. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Night photograph of a man approaching the Millennium Smoke Shop in Lower Manhattan.

Something a bit unusual happened regarding this photograph. I originally post “it” a couple of week ago, but it a version that used a different aspect ratio, in “portrait” mode. In my initial way of seeing the photograph, that is what I had in mind, partly because I wanted the figure to look very small by comparison to other features and partly because there was something in the upper part of the frame that I thought I wanted to include. But literally within minutes of sharing the image I reconsidered and began to feel that a square crop would be more effective. It allows the figure to be a bit larger, removes a unnecessary distraction that dominated the removed upper frame, and generally seems to produce a more effective composition.

These things happen! And because one of my reasons for sharing daily photographs is to reveal the ongoing “practice” of making my photographs, I willing to be a bit open about my thinking and its evolution. First choices are often good choices… except when they aren’t. The particular trap I originally fell into is one that I’m usually on guard against, namely getting so attached to some marginal element of a photograph (in this case it had been a sign in the upper portion of the frame) that I failed to see past it and recognize that the image would be stronger by removing the subject of my focus.

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: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

Pedestrian, Painted Wall

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Pedestrian, Painted Wall
A pedestrain walks past designs painted on a brick wall, Manhattan

Pedestrian, Painted Wall. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A pedestrain walks past designs painted on a brick wall, Manhattan

Photographing street art almost always raised an ethical question or two for me. At one end of the spectrum, when photographing what might be regarded as graphic vandalism I wonder if I’m contributing to defacement by potentially sharing it. Sometimes I forego the shot and on one or two occasions I have intentionally altered “tags” in post so that they are no longer recognizable. (Most often I leave them as they are.) At the other ends of this spectrum lies what I refer to as “street art” — work that stands on its own merits as a completed concept. At times it seems a bit strange to be making photographs of someone else’s art, yet these pieces figure in a few of my favorite photographs, just as my “je sui bleu” photograph from Paris.

This bright and colorful display, contrasting with the rather gritty Manhattan surroundings, fit into the second category. It is visually interesting on its own, but just photographing someone else’s visually interesting creation seems like a less than creative act. So here, as in some other photographs of mine, I treat it as part background and part subject. It becomes, in my view, part of a visual geometry in the scene and also one element of a set of contrasting components. It also becomes the stage for passing pedestrians, such as the fellow in this image. (I have one other photograph of this scene, but with a small group of passers-by. That one may also eventually see the light of 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.

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

Mirrored Street Scene

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Mirrored Street Scene
Manhattan winter street scene mirrored in building windows.

Mirrored Street Scene. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Manhattan winter street scene mirrored in building windows.

One thing I enjoy about street photography is that often — though not always, believe it or not — tends to work quite differently than my landscape photography. When things start to happen, they often happen very quickly, and there can be so much to sort out quickly that it may almost be overwhelming. And there are plenty of missed opportunities — despite the fact that I know that I often can’t wait for a thing to happen. That would be too late, so often I have to photograph almost speculatively, preparing for what may happen as much as responding to what is happening.

There’s a lot of those things in this photograph, made on a recent winter visit to Manhattan. When I’m in “”photographer mode” there I usually have a small rangefinder-style camera out and held down low in one hand, ready to quickly raise it and make a photograph. Sometimes there isn’t even time to bring the viewfinder to my eye, and I photograph blind. That wasn’t the case with this photograph, though I did have to work pretty quickly. I think that I noticed the colorful umbrella on the food cart at almost the same moment that I realized the the windows produced an almost-mirror image of the scene, and then I had just time to start photographing as the two colorfully-dressed people walked toward me. It wasn’t until after the shot that I started to see other interesting form and color relationships and more.

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.