Tag Archives: architecture

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: France, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Reflecting Pool, Structural Components, Skyline

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Reflecting Pool, Structural Components, Skyline
A pool and exterior components of Le Centre Pompidou, Paris

Reflecting Pool, Structural Components, Skyline. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A pool and exterior components of Le Centre Pompidou, Paris

The Centre Pompidou in Paris is a fascinating place in many ways. To start with, there’s a lot going on in the surrounding neighborhoods, the large courtyard in “front” of the building, and inside. The art collection is quite wonderful. And, of course, the building itself is unusual and something of a marvel. It also provides plenty of opportunities for photography.

Many of the components of the building are on the exterior instead of being hidden behind a shell. Architectural structures, stairways, ventilation systems and more are right there for the observer to see. This photograph incorporates some of those structural elements, which form the main criss-crossing form in the image. It may not be immediately obvious, but the photograph was made outdoors and many floors above the ground level. Here a shallow pond reflects the structural elements and a bit of Paris sky, with the upper floors of surrounding buildings filling in the middle of the scene in the distance.

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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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: France, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Travel

Courtyard at the Louvre, Evening

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Courtyard at the Louvre, Evening
In the evening a shadowy figure walks across the courtyard in front of the Louvre.

Courtyard at the Louvre, Evening. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

In the evening a shadowy figure walks across the courtyard in front of the Louvre.

Close to the end of our time in Paris this past summer we had a magical evening. As I recall, we had no particular plan at this point, but it was a warm late afternoon so we decided to walk. We headed towards the Seine and crossed at Pont Neuf right at sunset. There were thousands of people everywhere — walking, looking at the view, sitting along the river bank, dancing along the walkways, making music, riding bicycles, you name it.

Eventually, shortly after the actual time of sunset, we walked across a bridge and entered the courtyard of the Louvre. Still there were people everywhere, though things seemed to be slowing down — more of them were standing or sitting, watching the sky. I wandered into this courtyard at twilight, just after the lights on the building had come on, and I paused to make a few handheld photographs of the scene. In this one, a blurry figure seems to be exiting the scene to the right.

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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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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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: France, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Travel

Stairs, Le Centre Pompidou

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Stairs, Le Centre Pompidou
Outside stairs at Le Centre Pompidou, Paris

Stairs, Le Centre Pompidou. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Outside stairs at Le Centre Pompidou, Paris

We had previously walked past the Pompidou Center museum but had not stopped, instead visiting other museums on our list. The structure is famous (or infamous, depending on your aesthetics) for its unusual architecture, which exposes lots of things that would usually be hidden beneath the skin of a more traditional building — ventilation ducts, stairs, escalators, structural reinforcements, and more. While the art inside the building was fascinating, the photographer in me was attracted to the structure itself.

I made this photograph from the ground level before we went inside. The simple “x” shape is superimposed on some of those exposed structural details, in this case a bunch of outside stairways. The color scheme of the building in this area is almost purely monochromatic — at first I thought I was looking at a black and white image, until I noticed a bit of yellow color along a margin. Since it was already monochromatic I decided to eliminate even that bit of color and go with a black and white rendition.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information 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.
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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, Photographs: Urban/Street

Blue Stairway

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Blue Stairway
A blue stairway in a softly lit alcove

Blue Stairway. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A blue stairway in a softly lit alcove

In contrast to much of what I have recently shared, this photograph is not a landscape. Or perhaps it is. OK, it is. I think of photographs like this, at least to some extent, as being “urban landscapes.” In many ways (but not all) I see them in ways that are similar to how I see landscape. I’m looking for form and composition, color, effects of light, some sense of the feeling of the place, and often a quality of stillness. I also think that these photographs, like some of my personal favorite landscape photographs, attempt to look at a familiar place in an unfamiliar way. For example, there is almost nothing in this photograph to tell you that it was made in San Francisco, not far at all from some rather iconic views.

Despite the similarities to my landscape photography, there are also some obvious differences. The distinctly non-natural subject is one obvious clue. Perhaps less obvious is that these photographs are not made in the usual natural landscape manner, relying on tripods, remote releases, and sometimes plenty of time to think and consider. Instead, these are virtually always shot handheld with a small camera. I’m generally on the move when I photograph these subjects, typically pausing only long enough to frame and trip the shutter, and then I continue along. In fact, I barely broke my stride as I passed this scene and made this photograph.

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