Reflections in new windows during reconstruction at the World Trade Center site, New York City, 2011.
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.
Detail of a wall next to sidewalk on Rue de Braque, Le Marais, Paris.
I photographed this little vignette while walking around Le Marais in Paris during our visit last summer. We stayed on the edge of this historic district of old buildings and very narrow streets, and we had lots of opportunities to walk everywhere. I’m happy to simply wander here, looking and seeing what shows up.
The street name caught my attention, of course, and to my eye (which is not profoundly sophisticated when it comes to art history) the color palette and the shapes brought to mind the work of the artist himself. I would usually choose to photograph in earlier or later soft light, but I’ve learned to like the start summer light here, too.
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.
A study in right angles, MOMA courtyard, Manhattan.
This is a photograph from nearly a decade ago, made on one of our semi-regular visits to New York City. For some reason I ended up in the archive of raw files from that visit recently and I ended up working on this photograph. It turns out that it is quite similar to another I made at this same spot, but there are some subtle but important distinctions that convinced me to work on this version.
The camera position is a window facing this courtyard, a spot that most people probably walk right past on their way between floors at the Museum of Modern Art. I think I may first have been attracted by the elevated viewpoint, looking down into the courtyard where people may sit or walk. I also was fascinated by the dense cubic forms of the buildings and the strong perspective lines that they form.
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.
The corner of Nassau and Ann Streets, Manhattan. (Charles Ives fans may get the reference.)
Anne Street
Quaint name Ann street. Width of same, ten feet. Barnum’s mob Ann street, Far from ob-solete.
Narrow, yes, Ann street, But business, both feet. (Nassau crosses Ann Street) Sun just hits Ann street, Then it quits–some greet! Rather short, Ann Street.
– Maurice Morris
Fans of the work of American composer Charles Ives may “get” this. Not long ago I finally worked out the location of theManhattan street that gives the song its name, found it, and looked for the parenthetical cross street. Located on the fringes of the financial district it still has connections to this rather old poetic description. (Those who are inclined to find and listen to the song should look for some wonderful musical puns in Ives’ treatment.)
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.