Tag Archives: columbus day

Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Workers at a Manhattan Parade

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Workers at a Manhattan Parade
A group of orange-clad workers along the route of New York’s 2022 “Columbus Day” parade.

Workers at a Manhattan Parade. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A group of orange-clad workers along the route of New York’s 2022 “Columbus Day” parade.

The crowd at this “Columbus Day” parade in Manhattan included just about every sort of person you can imagine – every walk of life, every ethnicity, every social class that you might encounter in Manhattan. Since this parade, also referred to as the “Italian Heritage” parade is a focal point for the Italian community, some in the crowd reminded me of people I’ve seem in Italy. (Here I’m thinking particularly of one fellow wearing some sort of ceremonial sash and hat — perhaps there will be a picture later.) Many were just there for the parade. Others, like me, were from out of town and happened to run into the event on a holiday morning.

This quartet fits somewhere into that wildly diverse crowd. They are what we might have called “hard hats,” with all that implied, in an earlier political era — except that now they comprise a more culturally diverse group. They were engaged in animated conversation when I passed and grabbed a photograph, attracted by the personalities and by the colorful attire.

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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Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Two Men, Fifth Avenue

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Two Men, Fifth Avenue
A pedestrian walks past a police officer standing in the sun.

Two Men, Fifth Avenue. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A pedestrian walks past a police officer standing in the sun.

If you have been following along recently, you may recognize the return of a familiar character in this photograph, the police officer leaning against the sunny wall. This fellow was fascinating, though I don’t know quite what to make of what I observed. Most of the officers working this Manhattan parade were close to the crowd, moving about, and engaged. But this fellow did not move from this sunny spot while I was there. Several passers-by stopped and chatted him up, and it almost seemed like he knew them. But aside from that he mostly just leaned against the sun-warmed wall.

The other fellow was approaching from the right, and part of what originally caught my attention was the color of his jacket — which you’ll have to guess at, since it is now a monochrome photograph! Initially I thought that a photograph of just him would have been my preference, but I ended up liking the juxtaposition of his form with that of the cop. Beyond that you could probably read a whole range of stories and meanings into this one. Or not.

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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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Watching the Parade

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Watching the Parade
A figure in dark clothes waits behind baricades for the 2022 Manhattan “Columbus Day” parade to pass.

Watching the Parade. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A figure in dark clothes waits behind baricades for the 2022 Manhattan “Columbus Day” parade to pass.

The light in urban areas is often special in different that what we find in the natural landscape. A feature in common among both types of landscape? The light matters. A feature that is different? The reflective surfaces in urban canyons reflect light in almost any direction to produce striking effects. Here we not only have some direct sunlight that backlights the main subject, but tons of reflected light creating fascinating patterns on the sidewalk and in the street.

A critique of this photograph could be, I suppose, that we cannot see the faces of the subjects. But in this case that is part of what makes it work. The central figure, dressed almost entirely in very dark colors, appears to be quite tall, an effect amplified by perspective and the smaller figures to the left. The person’s body language is fascinating, too, and I think I see a few parallels to that of the central figure in “The Scream” by Edvard Munch.

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.

Blog | About | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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.

Photographs: New York City, Photographs: People, Photographs: Urban/Street

On The Beat

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On The Beat
A NYPD officer leans against a sunny wall during the 2022 “Columbus Day” parade.

On The Beat. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

NYPD officer leans against a sunny wall during the 2022 “Columbus Day” parade.

Back in early October, following our New England fall color expedition, we spent a couple of days in Manhattan. The main reason was to visit family — since we were already on the East Coast it seemed like we should do so. But it was also an excuse to spend a little more time in Manhattan, and during a more pleasant time of the year than our traditional August visits. The city felt more and more like it was coming back to life. There was a street fair outside our hotel when we arrived, and since the last day of our visit coincided with a national holiday there was a parade.

It was what New York apparently still calls the “Columbus Day” parade, though that problematic naming is sometimes combined with “Indigenous Peoples Day” and/ or “Italian Heritage Day.” New York politics are fascinating. I photographed this police officer during the parade, making several photographs as he hung out by this this sunny wall, alternately chatting up passers-by, watching the parade, and maybe just enjoying the warm sunlight.

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.

Blog | About | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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.