Tag Archives: apartment

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: France, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Blue Door, Le Marais

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Blue Door, Le Marais
A blue entrance door on a narrow street in Le Marais, Paris

Blue Door, Le Marais. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A blue entrance door on a narrow street in Le Marais, Paris

This is another of the “found it while working on something else” photographs from Paris that I’ve unearthed this past week. I’m writing something about another photograph that I made on this day, and when I went back to look at the original of that photograph and others made around the same time… I was pleasantly distracted by going through a bunch of related photographs.

Like those other photographs, this one comes from Le Marais, a beautiful (and today quite popular) older section of Paris that retains very narrow streets and a time worn character, despite being somewhat gentrified now. There’s a lot to see here, and this is even more true when you carry a camera. Among other things, the beautiful soft light on this bit of old architecture attracted me.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

Smile More

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Smile More
A Manhattan street scene.

Smile More. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A Manhattan street scene.

May I just say that I miss Manhattan? I really miss Mahattan. After a year of keeping my “social distance” from people, I would love nothing more than to be in the middle of a loud, busy, Manhattan street overcrowded with people, perhaps heading into some very small and crowded restaurant. We’re not there yet, but I’m starting to imagine a time when this will again be possible.

Oddly, this Manhattan photograph looks about as empty as one would expect during a pandemic, even though it was made on a normal New York day a few years ago. Perhaps it was the particular neighborhood or perhaps the time of day, but there was almost no one on the street when I made the photograph, aside from a young father who walked though the scene at one point with his child. “Smile more” says the sign.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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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

Apartment Building, Reflections

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Apartment Building, Reflections
Against the backdrop of a black tower, an apartment building reflects the urban environment

Apartment Building, Reflections. San Francisco, California. February 3, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Against the backdrop of a black tower, an apartment building reflects the urban environment

Since I spent a day in San Francisco last week, you can expect a group of architecture and street and similar photographs over the next few day, possibly intermixed with landscapes and nature for a few weeks!. I was there to see a particular installation at SFMOMA, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. I always take my camera, partly to photograph people at the museum, partly to photograph the building itself, and partly to take advantage of photographing the surrounding neighborhoods, especially from elevated vantage points at the museum.

The recent expansion of the museum added a new wing at the rear, with seven floors of exhibits and other services. (And, as I realized on this visit, several more floors above that which appear to be inaccessible to the public, unfortunately.) Several outdoor terraces and balconies provide interesting overlooks above the surrounding urban scene, and during my visit the light was very interesting, too — ranging from cloudy and rainy to occasionally clear, but often with at least some clouds softening the light. I’m fascinated by the juxtapositions of form and color in the dense field of surrounding buildings, including the contrast between light tones and reflection of the building on the right versus the dark, slick, and vaguely ominous black of the further building.

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: Architecture, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Southern California, Photographs: Urban/Street

Apartments, Driveway, Dusk

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Apartments, Driveway, Dusk
Security lights illuminate the driveway of an urban apartment complex, Pasadena

Apartments, Driveway, Dusk. Pasadena, California. January 6, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Security lights illuminate the driveway of an urban apartment complex, Pasadena

Landscape photographers are well away of the qualities of light during the short period leading up to sunset, and with the rapidity of the changes to that light. But something similar happens for photographers of the “urban landscape,” as well, though it tends to be most pronounced immediately after sunset rather than just before. There is a short period of perhaps a half hour or less when the ambient natural light is somewhat in balance with artificial light. During this period the natural light has diminished to the point that things appear more like night than day, but there is still enough natural light around to fill shadows and illuminate areas that are not covered by artificial light. (A bit later and the artificial lighting is virtually the only light source in most cases, and the range between light and shadow can be quite large.)

It was close to the beginning of such a time when I made this photograph of a parking lot and group of apartment buildings while walking around in Pasadena during the first week of the new year. A bit earlier and the lights either would not have been on or would not have been visible. A bit later and the foreground shadows would be completely black. It is a bit difficult to say precisely what attracted me to this scene — perhaps the bit of light spilling around the corner of the wall at left, perhaps the lovely yellowing light on the garage doors, maybe the geometry of the buildings… or perhaps the sum of all these things 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 | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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