Tag Archives: east

Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

The Pose

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The Pose
A woman stands on a sidewalk as a man and a woman photograph her and another talks on a phone

The Pose. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A woman stands on a sidewalk as a man and a woman photograph her and another talks on a phone

In many of my street photographs that include people, I am seeing some kind of momentary tableau — almost an arrangement that one might imagine and then pose the figures to produce it. These ephemeral arrangements constantly appear and disappear on the street, and I’m fascinated by the arrangements themselves and by the prices of trying to see them fast enough to make photographs.

This one was a bit more static than some — in fact I may have been the most active participant, as I more or less made this and a couple other photographs very quickly as I continued walking past. The primary interaction was between the young man sitting on the step with the camera and the woman with her back to my camera position. Another woman at right was making, with her smart phone, what may have been a documentation or informal photograph. To the left, leaning against a column, another woman seems unengaged with the main action, looking away and holding a cup of coffee.

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: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

Woman Pushing Stroller

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Woman Pushing Stroller
A woman pushing a child in a stroller in a cross walk, New York City

Woman Pushing Stroller. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A woman pushing a child in a stroller in a cross walk, New York City

Perhaps intuitively I have been making quite a few street photographs at cross walks, either while waiting for the light to change or while crossing the street. I think I need to be more conscious of this situation and the reasons it can work. For one thing, I stop at cross walks. While I do photograph as I’m “on the move,” the pause gives me an opportunity to scan my surroundings a bit more intently. In addition, there are usually other people collecting at the corner and waiting to cross — it might be an individual or it could be a small crowd. Also, when people are crossing they tend to (at least most of the time) be focused on their progression across the street and perhaps are less aware of me. Finally, the cross walk itself can provide an interesting visual context, especially the newer striped design.

This photograph is a bit hard to fully explain. There’s something about the black-attired woman and her unusual white sunglasses, along with her position as she looks toward the right side of the frame. The child seems completely inert, almost like luggage in the stroller. And, again, there are those alternating stripes of pavement and white paint.

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: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

Soda Candy Luncheonette

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Soda Candy Luncheonette
Street scene in winter light on the Upper East Side, Manhattan

Soda Candy Luncheonette. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Street scene in winter light on the Upper East Side, Manhattan

Today’s photo takes us back to the urban world again, and away from the world of winter migratory birds that I have shared more recently. The photograph is from our weeklong visit to New York City between Christmas and (almost) New Year’s Day. It was a cold week! As we usually do, we went out and wandered Manhattan quite a bit — hard to do street photography without going into the street! Daytime highs made it (barely, and not always) into the low 20 degree range, but we fought back by layering up and by stopping frequently for refreshments in warm places. Not that the latter is a bad thing!

I made this photograph on one of those cold days. We had queued up to get into the Guggenheim, but the line wasn’t moving at all. Standing there in the bitter cold and strong wind, the thought of finding a place with warm soup suddenly occurred to us, and we left the line and found food. Feeling warmer now, we headed back out onto Lexington and walked south. When I first spotted this place, somewhat interesting in its own right though not quite unique as a structure, the words on the sign caught my attention: “Soda Candy Luncheonette.” Then I noticed the nice light coming up Lexington and the interesting arrangements of pedestrians as they walked past.

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: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Evening Storm Clouds, Mountains

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Evening Storm Clouds, Mountains
Evening thunderstorm clouds begin to break up above high desert mountains east of the Sierra Nevada at sunset

Evening Storm Clouds, Mountains. Mono Basin, California. July 27, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Evening thunderstorm clouds begin to break up above high desert mountains east of the Sierra Nevada at sunset

The Sierra Nevada, being more out of the path of the seasonal monsoonal flows that beset the Southwest, often experiences clear weather — sometimes too clear! Most photographers prefer a more interesting sky, and we can actually be heard complaining about too much nice weather at times. But periodically the atmospheric flows shift northward and westward a bit, and we do see thunderstorm weather in the Sierra. Most of us love this, and we look forward to “interesting skies” when it happens. The clouds often build up over the crest and they can then spread east or sometimes west as the day wears on. Mostly the clouds will clear out late in the day, but sometimes when they drift to the east of the range the electrical show may continue into the evening.

I experienced some of this “interesting weather” on my recent visit to the Sierra around the northeastern portion of Yosemite. It actually turned out to be more interesting than expected, when a forecast of clearing on day two of my trip morphed into a forecast to daily thunderstorm chances. On one afternoon I took a hike up an east side canyon, and on my return I was surprised to find that there was rain falling near the mouth of the canyon. Before long in rained and hailed on me, and these appeared to be the kinds of clouds that might stick around into the evening. I decided to forego dinner, instead finding a high overlook and photographing the cloud show right on through sunset and into the post-sunset blue hour.

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.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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