Holiday lights in the gardens of the Filoli Estate.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
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.
From Christmas Eve 2019, this is the interior of the Oculus structure at the World Trade Center in Manhattan. As I recall, we somehow ended up there in the afternoon, perhaps late in the afternoon, and the very last of the Christmas shoppers were trying to make their final purchases before everything closed up. By this time the crowds were thinning — though there were still quite a few folks where we were standing, a spot with this elevated view of the interior of the structure.
On one hand this is essentially a glorified shopping mall. On the other hand it is at the World Trade Center site and the architecture is quite striking, both inside and out. I recall being impressed by it when construction was still ongoing, even though I wasn’t really aware at that time of what it was. Despite being surrounded by a collection of retain establishments, the space reminds me visually of the interiors of large cathedrals. At this hour of the day, some light was entering the space through the row of skylights along it spine high above.
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.
As life trends slowly back towards a more normal world, I was recently able to join my Studio Nocturne friends (a group of San Francisco Bay Area night photographers) for the resumption of our annual fall “open studio” events in conjunction with the ArtSpan San Francisco Open Studios. The group and its ancestor, The Nocturnes, has shown night photography during this event for a couple of decades. Things were more or less suspended last year, for reasons I hardly need to explain, but this year we were able to offer a very successful open studio event in North Beach, followed by a “pop-up” event in Dogpatch.
So, for the first time in a couple of years, I spent the better part of several full days in San Francisco, showing art, working with my colleagues, talking to visitors about our work. This return to something feeling a bit like the old normal was wonderful. It was also great to once again feel like the life of this city was returning — masked and socially-distanced, yes, but still. The photograph includes the “view” from my location at the pop-up event. As an aside, its composition reminds me of the ubiquitous “chyron” displays on television…
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.
Those who recall the events of 9/11 have a variety of memories of that date and what followed. The subject is too big for me to claim to address it in two paragraphs and a photograph, so I’ll simply recall a few things of my own from that date. Back then it was my habit to get up early, turn on the radio while having breakfast, and listen to news. The first report here on the West Coast lacked much detail but mentioned a plane hitting one of the towers. I immediately thought of older incidents where small planes struck tall buildings, and I assumed it was such a story. But from there began a crescendo of news that got worse and worse over the day and beyond — thousands died and America went to war and the effect still reverberate.
On a visit to New York around New Year’s Day 2000 we had ridden the elevators and climbed the stairs to venture out on the catwalks above one of the towers at night. Among other things, we had watched passing planes from that vantage point. We did not visit New York again until very close to exactly one decade after the attack. Thinking back, we somehow mostly managed to avoid the WTC site until late in the visit when we finally went there. It was an overwhelming experience, though at that point it was a construction site — a place of growth rather than destruction — but the fact of what had happened there could not be ignored. I made the photograph of the new tower under construction from the Brooklyn Bridge.
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.
Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.
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