Tag Archives: light

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: New York City

The Oculus

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The Oculus
The central skylight of the Oculus, World Trade Center, New York City.

The Oculus. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The central skylight of the Oculus, World Trade Center, New York City.

Almost exactly two years ago we were in New York City for a week spent visiting relatives, making photographs, eating out, and generally wandering about as we pleased. Yes, this was before the Great Transition that came in March of 2020. (We recently visiting New York City again in the post-transition world, and it isn’t the same experience at all. I’m looking forward to a time when it is once again.) To be precise, we were there for most of the period between about Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

At some point — perhaps while on a long walk or possible at the termination of a subway ride — we ended up in Lower Manhattan in the vicinity of the World Trade Center, where this fascinating Oculus structure is located. It is a combination of shopping area and transit terminal, but it is also an arresting architectural presence. Its organic, rib-like structure contrasts with the cubic forms of most of the surrounding buildings. Inside, especially if you lift your eyes above the lower floor shopping area, it is a remarkable interior space that, in many ways, suggest some sort of light-filled cathedral.

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

Reflecting Sidewalk

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Reflecting Sidewalk
Brilliant winter sunshine on an urban Manhattan sidewalk.

Reflecting Sidewalk. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Brilliant winter sunshine on an urban Manhattan sidewalk.

This photograph comes from an earlier winter visit to New York City back in 2019. Those were the days! Despite the cold (quite severe cold, actually) we bundled up and went out on foot every day to explore and photograph and eat and drink and mingle in the crowds. When we weren’t walking we took the subway almost everywhere. The streets back then — in the before times when “covid” was not part of our vocabulary — were packed with people in the familiar New York style.

Offhand, I do not recall exactly where I made this photograph, though I do recall a bright, sunny morning and being distracted by the bright reflection of light on the sidewalk and by the combinations of lines (from the sidewalk itself and from shadows) and curves as the walkway wound into the distance in a place that was momentarily uncrowded.

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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Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Night Heron in Brush

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Night Heron in Brush
A black-crowned night heron perched in brush in morning light.

Night Heron in Brush. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A black-crowned night heron perched in brush in morning light.

In locations where there are many birds (in my cases, mostly big groups of geese and cranes) the night herons tend to lurk quietly in the background, and it would very easy to completely overlook them. They are much smaller than the lonely but attention-grabbing great blue herons. They are quiet. They tend to sit still among the plants for long periods of time. They keep their distance. I wasn’t even aware of them the first few times I went out to see the winter birds of California’s section of the Pacific Flyway.

But once I realized where to look, they were easy to spot. In good light their white breasts stand out against the darker vegetation in which they hide themselves. While I regard them as mostly stationary birds — at least where I run into them — occasionally I have seen them become more active, including on New Year’s Day when groups of them began to fly to and fro above the brush in the morning sun.

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

Oculus, World Trade Center

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Oculus, World Trade Center
The Oculus, Work Trade Center, Christmas Eve.

Oculus, World Trade Center. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

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.

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.