Child, San Francisco Bay. San Francisco, California. July 15, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
Sticks and Columns, Palace of Fine Arts
Sticks and Columns, Palace of Fine Arts. San Francisco, California. July 15, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
My Non-Review of the Symphony
On an almost but not quite entirely unrelated subject…
Although I actually am qualified to offer critical commentary on the San Francisco Symphony concert that I attended earlier this week (my wife the blogger and musician was invited as part of “bloggers’ night” at the symphony, and I was invited as her camera carrying guest), I’ll only say a few things:
-
- I enjoyed the concert, even though I recognize that the program was perhaps intended for a different audience than the normal subscription series gang…
- … but I’m still no fan of Rachmaninoff, who I respect but don’t “get…”,
… despite which I felt the soloist did a fine job under the circumstances, and…… it struck me that the orchestra, even with a lot of subs, often plays tutti with a great deal of passion, but…
- … some of the orchestra solos seem somewhat thin and timid, but…
- … a good horn section is a wonderful thing, and…
- … enjoying art and being willing and able to simply say so is a Good Thing – and often better for the soul than highlighting every tiny increment by which it falls short of the reviewer’s personal expectations.
And thank you to Luisa (sp?) at the Symphony for making it possible for us to attend!
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.
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Hands, San Francisco
Hands. San Francisco, California. July 18, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
This is a bit of a different photograph for me. Earlier this week I was invited to a performance of the San Francisco Symphony – actually my wife (oboeinsight) was among a group of bloggers invited to attend, and I got to tag along and bring a camera.
I tend to minimize the amount of gear I carry when shooting in urban environments, but this time I was truly minimalist. I took my Canon 5D with only a 50mm f/1.4 prime – partly because I didn’t want to be lugging around a bunch of photo gear at the symphony, and partly because I could carry this stuff inconspicuously in a very small bag. To be honest, it was actually fun to shoot with a single prime lens.
Oh, another fun thing about this shot… The person is an anonymous Bay Area arts blogger. So I guess I could lead with something like “Blogger’s Identity Revealed – See the Photo!”
But I won’t.