Tag Archives: doorway

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

Four Figures In Doorway

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Four Figures In Doorway
Four people stand in front of the doorway of a Manhattan store

Four Figures In Doorway. New York City. December 24, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Four people stand in front of the doorway of a Manhattan store

I suspect that this photograph is going to perplex more than a few folks who watch my landscape and nature photography. In fact, this is one in a large string of very urban photographs made in New York in late December 2015. For those of you who “get” and like this work, thanks! For those who don’t, the more familiar kinds of photography will return before too much longer, and I’ll try to intersperse more of that photography with the urban/street/night stuff.

I’m endlessly fascinated by the way in which seemingly formless and virtually random patterns of motion in the urban environment can suddenly coalesce into something that has structure and which may even be mysterious and suggestive. Capturing this stuff requires me to be “on” all the time — and this can make me not at all fun to be with in these places when I’m carrying a camera! I made this photograph on a very crowded Christmas Eve in Manhattan, and it is one from a short sequence I photographed of this group standing in front of the entrance to a closed store — and for this instant the group miraculously assembled themselves into a fascinating tableaux of individual poses, especially the woman on the left.

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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Photographs: Night, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Doorway, Stairs

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Doorway, Stairs
A doorway opens to a lighted passageway and ascending stairs.

Doorway, Stairs. San Francisco, California. July 25, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A doorway opens to a lighted passageway and ascending stairs.

A small group of photographers was exploring portions of nighttime San Francisco on a recent evening, making their way from North Beach through Chinatown and towards the Union Square area. As we photographed and walked the light transitioned from evening (with some sun visible in places) to dusk (as lights came on) and then to darkness — at least as dark as it gets in this City on a Friday night. Our path took us to some areas that are not as frequently visited by tourists, but it also took us straight down a section of Grant Avenue.

Grant Avenue is what comes to mind for many people when they think of San Francisco’s Chinatown. Grant is the touristy “main drag” of the area, lined with a range of shops and business and restaurants, many of which appeal to tourists. At night much of this area shuts down, though restaurants remain open — but even as things close the light remains interesting. So we walked down Grant, stopping to photograph various things along the way. At one point we passed this somewhat mysterious doorway. Most such entrances are closed up tight, usually with a locked gate in front, but this one was open and light from the stairway inside flooded out onto the sidewalk. The walls around the door are painted in many colors, and ambient lighting adds another layer of color. My first thought was to make this a color photograph, but as I looked at it in post that seemed just a bit too obvious so I went with this monochrome rendition instead.

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.

Photographs: England

Olympic Doorway, Flowers

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Olympic Doorway, Flowers
Street art in a doorway, bouquet of flowers, London street

Olympic Doorway, Flowers. London, England. July 5, 2013. © Copyright 2013. G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Street art in a doorway, bouquet of flowers, London street

It has been a very busy day and another busy day is beginning, so this will be a short post today. As we walked past this spot in London on a summer 2013 visit it seemed that perhaps not everyone had been equally enthusiastic about the Olympic Games coming to London…

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Person in Blue Shirt, Pigeon

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Person in Blue Shirt, Pigeon - A person in a blue shirt and a pigeon share a Stockton Street sidewalk in San Francisco.
A person in a blue shirt and a pigeon share a Stockton Street sidewalk in San Francisco.

Person in Blue Shirt, Pigeon. San Francisco, California. August 5, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A person in a blue shirt and a pigeon share a Stockton Street sidewalk in San Francisco.

Continuing my fascination with the walls of San Francisco buildings… this one is on Stockton Street just above China Town, and near the base of stairs descending from an overhead portion of the street under which Stockton continues through a tunnel. After I made this photograph I realized that I had also photographed it last year, from almost the same position and also with figures in front of it. But I decided that I like the subtle pigeon (perhaps hard to see in this small presentation) in front of the doorway, the guy in the blue shirt and shorts sauntering into the frame, and the fairly harsh front-lighting and shadows.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer 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.