Tag Archives: cart

Food Cart, Fifth Avenue

Food Cart, Fifth Avenue
A food cart vendor on 5th Avenue, near Central Park, Manhattan.

Food Cart, Fifth Avenue. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A food cart vendor on 5th Avenue, near Central Park, Manhattan.

This photograph comes from the second of our two recent visits to Manhattan, this one about a week into the month of October. The previous visit was in August. (I can just hear the New Yorkers: “What!! You went to New York City in August? Are you nuts?”) Let’s just say that the weather on the first trip was different than on the second. In October it was quite pleasant, and there was a hint of autumn. Things seemed to be slowing a bit, and the light was different. In fact, in the urban canyons of Manhattan, the later sunrise meant that many places were still in shadow later in the day, including this street corner along the east side of Central Park.

We were staying a few blocks west of Central Park, and on this morning we went out for a walk through the park. I came upon this food cart when we reached the far side of Fifth Avenue. Two things catch my attention about this cart. First, it sure isn’t very busy! Second, because of those shadows the cart’s lights almost make it look like evening. It also occurs to me that something about the colors of light and shadow and the empty streets creates a sort of autumnal feeling.


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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Hats and Cashmere Scarves

Hats and Cashmere Scarves
A sidewalk vending cart on a winter day in Manhattan.

Hats and Cashmere Scarves. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A sidewalk vending cart on a winter day in Manhattan.

This photograph comes from our last big travel adventure in the Before Times, a week in New York City — mostly Manhattan, but also the Bronx and probably a bit of Brooklyn as well. New Yorkers will either laugh or think we’re nuts — or perhaps both — but somehow the two times of year that we almost invariably visit are in August and late December. Yeah, I know. Not ideal. But by now this has almost become a tradition. Even now — it is August! — I’m thinking about New York again.

This trip, as you may guess from the items being offered for sale here, was the December visit. Street vendors are common all over the world, especially in urban areas, but those in Manhattan seem to have their own special culture. I’m continually amazed at how the products vary by season and even — almost instantly — by weather. Rain on the way? Everyone is suddenly offering umbrellas. Snow and cold? Hats and cashmere scarves.


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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The Back Door

The Back Door
The rear entrance to a local market.

The Back Door. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The rear entrance to a local market.

So, can we imagine that this is the, uh, “urban wilderness?” It does contains some relatively very wild areas, and there is wildlife of a sort. If you look around carefully enough at the right time you can find a degree of solitude.

This is a back entrance to a grocery store, photographed across a deserted parking lot. Someone has abandoned their cart next to the door, perhaps expecting the store employees to discover it there and reclaim it.


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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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.

Gelato and Cannoli Cart, Night

Gelato and Cannoli Cart, Night
Passers-by stop at a gelato and cannoli cart on a Manhattan evening

Gelato and Cannoli Cart, Night. New York City. July 3, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Passers-by stop at a gelato and cannoli cart on a Manhattan evening

By chance, on our recent trip to New York City we ended up in a Manhattan hotel more or less on the boundary between the Chinatown and Little Italy districts. Little Italy these days seems to be more of a tourist proposition than a real Italian neighborhood, though I wouldn’t say the same about Chinatown. In any case, we were obviously in an area with a lot of people and quite a few potential photographic subjects. (While we stayed in this area, we spent the majority of our time in the city elsewhere.)

Some of the tourist-oriented areas actually have advantages for night street photography, with the main plus being that there is often a lot of commercial lighting to make the scenes and people more visible. This little stand (or pair of stands?) selling gelato and the ubiquitous Little Italy cannoli is a prime example. The bright lights inside the cart spill out onto the passers-by and the sidewalk, and there is enough additional ambient light to allow me to work without flash. And, in case you were wondering, I resisted the lure of the deserts on this evening – though we eventually gave in the night before we left New York. (I might have had a few desserts elsewhere though. Might. Maybe. I’m not saying for sure…)


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.