Tag Archives: eve

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

Oculus, World Trade Center

Image January 1, 2022 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The Oculus, Work Trade Center, Christmas Eve.

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.

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

Market, Mott Street

January 30, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A family pauses on the sidewalk in front of a Chinatown market on Mott Street on Christmas Eve.

I have been a bit surprised to find a lot of photographs of families, often with a kid in a stroller, among my street photographs from this December 2015 visit to New York. The photographs range from an adult family posing for a selfie (yet to be shared here) to families on busy downtown streets to night photographs like this one — and strollers seem to be a repeating theme. I’m not sure what this means.

While trying to figure out where we would go for dinner after discovering that our first choice and its neighbors were way to busy, I took a few minutes to wander up to the end of this very narrow street. This corner market featured a wild and colorful assortment of produce in outdoor stalls along the sidewalk, made more intense by lighting under the awning. My first thought was to photograph this colorful subject, but then I watched to see who might wander by and populate the photograph. A family stopped, father looking at his wife and child and the woman casting a glance in my direction.

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

Photographs: Urban/Street

Donut Shop, Christmas Eve

January 3, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Black and white photograph of the interior of a donut shop late in the afternoon on Christmas Eve.

As in many photographs like this, I hope that there may be more to it than meets the eye. I won’t tell the whole story, but here is a bit of background. I had been involved in an online discussion of the merits of shooting “old school” street photography using primes, and specifically limiting oneself to a 50mm prime on a 35mm film camera. Though it isn’t the point of my post here, I’ll just say that I’m skeptical about the value of that sort of limitation given a whole bunch of boring photographic philosophy. In any case, as an outgrowth of that discussion I thought it would be fun to head out on foot armed only with my full-frame camera (sorry, no film camera at all these days!) and a 50mm prime and just see what I could come up with. So, I walked out my front door and did some photography.

It was late in the afternoon on Christmas Eve, so few businesses were still open, and it was late enough in the day that the last-minute shopping traffic was diminishing and things were becoming rather quiet. Few people were even out walking. I mostly walked but I also photographed some shop windows and buildings and so forth, and when I passed this tiny donut shop I first did an exterior shot of the closed business that included a weathered wooden and brick wall and some sad-looking holiday lights. Then as I passed the front of the shop I decided to put my nose against the window and peer inside. The low light from the late-afternoon sun was directly behind me and casting some very harsh and flat light into the interior, but I was intrigued by the arrangement and shapes of the tables and chairs, the shadow cast by the Christmas ornaments hanging in the window, and by the odd juxtaposition of a poster of the work of a certain photographer that is barely visible on the wall.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: donut, doughnut, shop, manley, christmas, eve, day, afternoon, light, closed, interior, shop, door, window, wall, outlet, no smoking, sign ansel, adams, mural, project, shadow, ornaments, table, chair, wood, panel, obscure, glass, handle, lock, reflection, street, urban, stock, black and white, monochrome

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Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.