Tag Archives: brass

Photographs: Music & Musicians, Photographs: People

Meredith Brown, French Horn

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Meredith Brown, French Horn
Meredith Brown, French Horn

Meredith Brown, French Horn. San Jose, California. June 5, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Symphony Silicon Valley principal French hornist Meredith Brown

This weekend I am sharing two more photographs from my ongoing project photographing professional classical musicians, a three-year project during which I have the opportunity to attend many rehearsals and concerts and generally spend a lot of time learning to see and understand this world. (I already understood more than most since I’ve been part of it in several ways for many years.) Both of these photographs are casual shots made during rehearsals. Such photos remind us of several things, I think. First, it is possible to get some odd ideas about who the musicians are if your only experience is seeing them in formal concert situations — but backstage and during rehearsals… they are “regular people” just like all of us. Second, and from the same perspective, it is easy to overlook that fact that the vast majority of the work necessary for a live performance is actually done outside of the performance, with often intense and lengthy periods of individual practice and preparation and significant time spent on group rehearsal. And, finally, in both of these photographs I think you will see the intense focus of these musicians. Meredith Brown is the principal French hornist of the Symphony Silicon Valley.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Music & Musicians, Photographs: People

Wendell Rider, French Horn

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Wendell Rider, French Horn
Wendell Rider, French Horn

Wendell Rider, French Horn. San Jose, California. May 17, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Wendell Rider, French Horn, performing with Symphony Silicon Valley

Today, another photograph of musicians. Anyone seeing a theme here yet?;-) This is a recent photograph from my three-year project photographic classical musicians. I virtually always work in low light, backstage, and during rehearsals and concerts. While working to be discreet, I often photograph through gaps in the orchestra shell, between music stands and instruments, and in very dark backstage areas.

Over time I have found some ways to accomplish this often challenging photography. I use long lenses to isolate subjects against a blurred version of the often complex backgrounds of the orchestra environment. I look for juxtapositions of performers, instruments, and perhaps other on-stage objects. I almost always shoot wide open, allowing backgrounds to blur. And much of the shooting is work of opportunity—I see a momentary opportunity and then I work quickly to capture it. Here I found that I had a decent view of the French horn section through a gap in the orchestra shell wall. A long lens allowed by to isolate the main subject and a large aperture threw the background out of focus.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Music & Musicians

Trombone, Detail

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Trombone, Detail
Trombone, Detail

Trombone, Detail. San Jose, California. January 9, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The upper section of a trombone against the background of house lights

This is another photograph from my ongoing project photographing musicians and elements of the world they live and work in that might not be seen so frequently by the general public. For the most part, this project has me photographing people, but I am also interested in the objects in the environment of the performing arts musicians, which include things such as their instruments, the back-stage environment, theater lighting, vignettes of moments when they are not performing, and so on.

At times I have very close access to the stage during rehearsals (and during rehearsal breaks) and before and after concerts. I was able to make this and some similar photographs during one of the times when I could move around the perimeter of the stage and look across it and the objects filling it towards the lights of the “house” – the main audience area of the theater.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.