Tag Archives: architecture

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Urban Geometry

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Urban Geometry
A study in shapes, colors, and textures, Manhattan

Urban Geometry. New York City. July 2, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A study in shapes, colors, and textures, Manhattan

When I photograph urban/street subjects I am usually looking for quite a range of different things: individual people doing interesting things, masses of people, odd little vignettes, color and line, and sometimes the urban landscape itself. It is, I think, possible to regard the city as a kind of landscape, and even to photograph it in ways that are similar but perhaps not identical to how we photograph the so-called natural landscape.

On this day I was on foot (hiking?) through Manhattan, on my way to meet people, when we passed through the area around Washington Square. The stark and angular architecture of this bit of a building caught my attention, and some of the colors and textures brought to mind a sort of idealized representation of the red rock canyons of the Southwest.

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: New York City

World Trade Center and Oculus

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World Trade Center and Oculus
One World Trade Center flanked by building and part of the Oculus structure

World Trade Center and Oculus. New York City. July 3, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

One World Trade Center flanked by building and part of the Oculus structure

Any commentary on a photograph from this location could easily expand to a chapter or more of text, but I’ll attempt to keep it to my usual two paragraphs. If you take the MTA E line spur to the WTC you emerge to more or less this view, one that has changed continuously for the past decade and a half — beginning with the events of September 2001, continuing in the aftermath of clean-up, followed by a long period of monumental construction work, and now beginning to look relatively complete. We did not visit the site for some time after the towers were destroyed, but I recall that our first visit was still a powerful experience — most of all I recall turning a corner and seeing a wall of photographs of FDNY victims.

Today the site, while still carrying the memories of the 2001 incident, begins to feel more and more like it is becoming a finished place and less like it is a perpetual construction zone. The huge Oculus structure now houses the PATH terminal and plenty of businesses. In this photograph its striking, skeletal form intrudes into the frame from the left, and dramatic clouds from another New York summer day are behind the new Trade Center 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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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Night, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Doorway, Windows, Stairs

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Doorway, Windows, Stairs
A San Francisco doorway with an interior stairway, night

Doorway, Windows, Stairs. San Francisco, California. April 30, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A San Francisco doorway with an interior stairway, night

For me street photography is not just about people — though I photograph that subject, too. It is also about what I might call “street landscape,” and I’m as intrigued by this landscape as I am by any other. Even when my subjects are the people in the urban world, I’m virtually always considering them at least partly in the context of where they are. I’m no less away of this landscape background in the urban world than I am when photographing birds in flight against the background of their landscape. And sometimes here, as in the natural world, I like to photograph that landscape without its “wildlife.”

The urban world especially fascinates me at night, and simple things can take on a new appearance. This was almost a “grab shot” as I walked back toward my car from where I had spent an hour photographing with friends along the San Francisco waterfront. If such things appeal to you, there might be a lot to find and consider in this image. Or not. You decide.

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

Courtyard, The Louvre

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Courtyard, The Louvre
A mask and the feet of a statue overlook the main courtyard at the Louvre, Paris

Courtyard, The Louvre. Paris, France. August 11, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A mask and the feet of a statue overlook the main courtyard at the Louvre, Paris

This photograph intends to combine views of the grand and the intimate scale of the Louvre, Paris. We spent about a week there in the summer of 2016 — one stop on a five-week trip that took us to New York City, London, Paris, Heidelberg, and areas of Italy including Chianti, Florence, Siena, and Bologna. (For those who wonder, no, this was not an organized tour. We were mostly on our own, though we met up with family members at various points.)

In Paris we spent a lot of time just wandering (and eating, but that’s another story), but we also made a point of visiting a few iconic locations. We had a day at the Louvre, which anyone who has been there knows is not remotely enough time to “see the place.” We managed on wing of one floor of one building, plus some shorter visits to a few other areas. I made this photograph when we stopped for a bite to eat and sat outside above the courtyard. This spot allowed me to photograph very close to a few of the statues that line the ledge along the upper floors facing the inner courtyard.

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.