Tag Archives: fence

Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Suburban Fence

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Suburban Fence
A weathered fence along an urban trail, San Jose, CA.

Suburban Fence. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A weathered fence along an urban trail, San Jose, CA.

This is another in the occasional series of photographs from the neighborhood, make while on one of my (almost) daily walks. The walks are not primarily about photography, though I always have a camera with me. They are mostly about “stretching my legs” (for perhaps three to eight or more miles) and clearing my mind. Few things allow the mind to wander productively more than walking.

Years ago I discovered that having a camera in hand can alter the way we (or at least I!) see the world around me. Often when I walk I don’t regard the urban landscape with any great focus, but as soon as I think of myself as a photographer and visual opportunist I start to see things that I had not noticed. I distinctly recall a winter walk years ago when I first realized this. I headed out through the same areas that I see every day… and suddenly I saw all kinds of things that I simply had not paid attention to before: the second story of downtown buildings, shadows on walls, old tiles, patterns in the sidewalk, and more. This more recent photograph features a section of fence that I probably pass once or more per week.

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: Urban/Street

Smile More

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Smile More
A Manhattan street scene.

Smile More. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A Manhattan street scene.

May I just say that I miss Manhattan? I really miss Mahattan. After a year of keeping my “social distance” from people, I would love nothing more than to be in the middle of a loud, busy, Manhattan street overcrowded with people, perhaps heading into some very small and crowded restaurant. We’re not there yet, but I’m starting to imagine a time when this will again be possible.

Oddly, this Manhattan photograph looks about as empty as one would expect during a pandemic, even though it was made on a normal New York day a few years ago. Perhaps it was the particular neighborhood or perhaps the time of day, but there was almost no one on the street when I made the photograph, aside from a young father who walked though the scene at one point with his child. “Smile more” says the sign.

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

Photographs: Pandemia, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Fence and Gate

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Fence and Gate
A gate in a fence along a trail, photographed on a neighborhood walk.

Fence and Gate. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A gate in a fence along a trail, photographed on a neighborhood walk.

As I have shared in the past, during the pandemic I have cut way back on longer photographic outings, which sadly means less time in places like the Sierra Nevada and similar. (I still go to those places — carefully! — but much less frequently.) On the other hand, initially to compensate but now because it has become habitual, I’m doing a lot of walking in a radius of a few miles around our home. Walks are very close to daily events, and they vary between a couple of miles and up to occasionally as much as eight miles. Among other benefits, these walks open my eyes to local features that I would otherwise overlook. (I have informally referred to the resulting photographs as “postcards from Pandemia.”)

This photo comes from one such recent walk. The subject is simply a gate in a fence along a trail that I probably walk two or three times each week. After months of walking past this, for some reason the gate caught my attention this time. I’ve gone with a black and white rendition here — I’m leaning towards focusing on monochrome for this series now — and a very dark interpretation of the subject. For a long time all of my photographs have tended to try to put more light into the scene. Don’t expect that to stop, however I’m also starting to consider how I can explore images that lean toward darker tones.

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 | 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: Pacific Northwest, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Bamboo Fence, New and Old

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Bamboo Fence, New and Old
A partially updated bamboo fence, Portland, Oregon

Bamboo Fence, New and Old. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A partially updated bamboo fence, Portland, Oregon

Seems like I still have one more photograph from our 2012 visit to the Japanese Gardens in Portland, Oregon. We were there on a family visit and I was traveling light when it came to photography, taking only a single camera and one lens. A bit to my surprise, it turned out that we had some good photographic opportunities, so I made the best of the minimal gear.

The garden of course features beautifully arranged and managed plant life, but it also includes a lot of structures, ranging from small buildings to bridges and fences and benches and more. The form of this fence attracted me — I do like geometry! But I was also intrigued by the juxtaposition of new and old sections of the fence, a reminder that such things are not static but rather in a state of continual change.

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 | Facebook | Email

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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