Tag Archives: architecture

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

Sortie de Garage

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Sortie de Garage
Garage, doors, windows, and wall along a narrow Paris street.

Sortie de Garage. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Garage, doors, windows, and wall along a narrow Paris street.

I am hopeful that you’ll indulge my recent and continuing thread of photographs from one small area of Paris, photographs made on a single walk about a half-dozen years ago. A return to one photograph from this day led me to reconsider a bunch of photographs that I had almost forgotten, and I’ve been enjoying this “virtual trip” back to that day in Paris.

I understand that a traditional notion of street photography is that it focuses on catching people doing what they do “in the streets” of an urban area. My idea of street photography is a bit broader, encompassing not just human activity, but also architecture and the overall urban landscape. I’m fascinated by doors and windows and walls, and there are always little unexpected details to see. In this photograph, one of them is the small sign that provided the title. Another is the contrast between the simple, square forms on the main building and the elaborate decoration on the visible bit of the building to the left.

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

Blue Door, Wall, and Sidewalk

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Blue Door, Wall, and Sidewalk
A quiet street scene with a blue door, Le Marais, Paris.

Blue Door, Wall, and Sidewalk. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A quiet street scene with a blue door, Le Marais, Paris.

As I worked on this photograph I had a bit of an odd experience. I rarely mention it here, but my academic training is in music and I was s a college music faculty member. But it is difficult to understand, much less explain, the relationships between my audio and visual lives. The entire subject is too big and complex to cover here. The odd experience? I was listening to music as I worked on this photograph and a few others from the same source. Perhaps surprisingly, I don’t usually do that.

Why do I mention this? I usually consider photographs almost exclusively from a visual perspective — the nature of the subject, the quality of light, the composition and relationships among elements, color, texture, and so on. But the particular music I was listening to as I worked on this photograph changed my perspective on it in a way that is difficult to describe. (The music included some work by the composer Max Richter, which often moves slowly and quietly.) The scene took on a quiet and a stillness that I had not thought about before, and I began to think about the age of this building and what might be behind that door and those windows. Music can do that 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, 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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Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: France, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Travel

Hallway, The Louvre

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Hallway, The Louvre
“Hallway, The Louvre” — Light filtering through windows into a hallway, the Louvre, Paris.

One of my little secrets is that when I visit museums, the collections are not the only reason I’m there. Among other reasons, I like to photograph them. They are compelling spaces in so many ways. Although not evident in this photograph, they are great places to observe people individually and in groups, and the buildings themselves are often visually interesting. That’s no surprise since they are created from a perspective that gives great importance to visual effect and to light.

I’m betting that this is far, far from the most photographed thing at The Louvre! It is just a section of hallway near, if my memory is correct, an escalator. But the light coming through these windows was lovely, so I made a photograph. Here’s a secret: I shared a much different interpretation of of this scene previously. That version is in black and white and in it I took greater liberties with the qualities of the light and shadow.

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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. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: New York City

The Oculus

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The Oculus
The central skylight of the Oculus, World Trade Center, New York City.

The Oculus. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The central skylight of the Oculus, World Trade Center, New York City.

Almost exactly two years ago we were in New York City for a week spent visiting relatives, making photographs, eating out, and generally wandering about as we pleased. Yes, this was before the Great Transition that came in March of 2020. (We recently visiting New York City again in the post-transition world, and it isn’t the same experience at all. I’m looking forward to a time when it is once again.) To be precise, we were there for most of the period between about Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

At some point — perhaps while on a long walk or possible at the termination of a subway ride — we ended up in Lower Manhattan in the vicinity of the World Trade Center, where this fascinating Oculus structure is located. It is a combination of shopping area and transit terminal, but it is also an arresting architectural presence. Its organic, rib-like structure contrasts with the cubic forms of most of the surrounding buildings. Inside, especially if you lift your eyes above the lower floor shopping area, it is a remarkable interior space that, in many ways, suggest some sort of light-filled cathedral.

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.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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.