Holiday lights in the gardens of the Filoli Estate.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
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.
A house with weathered blue paint, an American flag, and holiday lights.
I have frequently written that I often walk out the front door carrying a camera, and during the last two years I’ve been doing a lot of walking in a several mile radius of my home. This takes me through remarkably varied areas — some very old (one might say run-down) homes, apartment complexes, one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the area, light industrial areas, new office buildings, urban trails, a small downtown, areas occupied by the unhoused, and more. Needless to say, there is a lot to see — which is fortunate, given the amount of time I’ve spent wandering around here.
It has been noted that photographs often ask questions as much as they make statements, and as I walk around and look at these surroundings quite a few questions arise for me. Take this home for example — a small, older home on the edge of a newer and much wealthier neighborhood. It looks a bit ragged around the edges, but I wonder why? Is the occupant perhaps old and unable to take care of the place? Or perhaps one of the “house rich, cash poor” who bought the place years ago and can no longer afford the upkeep? Is the flag a habit, about simple patriotic feelings, or a statement to the neighbors? What, if anything, are we to make of the holiday lights that are falling off the edge of the roof? What about the small, lonely plant next to the concrete?
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.
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.
A man on a cell phone outside a coffee shop with holiday decorations
Hand to Heart. Brooklyn, New York. December 24. 2015. Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
A man on a cell phone outside a coffee shop with holiday decorations
I made this photograph on Christmas Eve day, 2015 in Brooklyn, when we went out to find coffee in the morning. If I recall correctly, we ended up at this Starbucks — though it is possible that we might have just walked past here on the way to another place. The man was probably not the main subject. The wild patterns in the windows were what first caught my attention.
Initially I thought of the photograph as a color image, but the more I looked at it the more the various holiday colors began to distract from the pattern itself, so I decided to go with the monochromatic rendering. Inside there were many people, sitting on chairs and at tables, drinking coffee and checking their laptops. Outside on the cold sidewalk and alone, one man waited for something and checked his phone.
Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.
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