Tag Archives: men

Photographs: Germany, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Blue Shirts, Wall

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Blue Shirts, Wall
Two men in blue shirts at the East Side Gallery, Berlin

Blue Shirts, Wall. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two men in blue shirts at the East Side Gallery, Berlin.

Berlin’s “East Side Gallery” is a section of the Berlin Wall — which has been entirely removed in almost all other areas — that was turned into a sort of street art exhibit, with all sorts of artists adopting sections of the wall and creating a kaleidoscope of wildly diverse imagery. We were in Berlin for a few days in 2018, and one day we walked over this direction.

I’m often a bit confused about how and even whether to photograph street art. One problem is that making photographs of the creative work of others feels a bit shallow at times. Another problem is that with some kinds of tagging that verge on vandalism, the photographer can feel complicit by sharing the tags more widely. (By the way, tagging is rampant in areas of Berlin that we visited, and some of the familiar American ground rules — such as not tagging homes — are regularly ignored there.) But sometimes photographing the work of others makes sense, and here I decided to mostly focus on the other people there to see the work. Once I did that I began to see a lot of striking coincidences and relationships — such as this pair of men wearing blue shirts and walking in front of this wildly detailed section of the wall.

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: Netherlands, Photographs: Urban/Street

Three Men

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Three Men
Three men walk past multi-colored shutters in Amsterdam

Three Men. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Three men walk past multi-colored shutters in Amsterdam

I think I may recall where I made this photograph and the circumstances, but I’m not sure. I do know that these multi-colored sliding security shutters first caught my attention. I then did what I often do when I see an interesting street subject: I stopped and waited for interesting people to populate the scene. A few individuals walked through, then a couple with a child, but nothing seemed all that interesting. Then these three fellows came along, walking more or less in step.

The painting of the shutters surprised me a bit. First, it must have taken someone quite a bit of work to do this — it would not be easy painting all of those separate pieces in different colors! Second, in many places in many cities, these shutters are often largely covered with graffiti. But not here — respect for the colors, perhaps?

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Pedestrian With Bucket

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Pedestrian With Bucket
Two men walking, one with safety vest and bucket

Pedestrian With Bucket. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two men walking, one with safety vest and bucket

I share this in my ongoing effort to perplex those who like my landscape photography… but aren’t so sure about the other stuff! Don’t worry, my intentions are entirely positive. I’ll remain a bit circumspect, but not entirely so. I like photographing urban scenes for a bunch of reasons, ranging from aesthetic to practical. On the practical side, they are often much more accessible — I can literally step out my front door and make photographs or perhaps find them at the end of a one-hour train ridge. They also challenge me to see in ways that are not in my native comfort zone, and they hone my ability to see quickly… which is a good thing. On the aesthetic side, if you know much about the history of photography and photographers, it is obvious that good work can be done in these places.

As to what is going on in this photograph, you shouldn’t view it though the lens of landscape photography. Well, OK, perhaps you could do that. This is a kind of landscape. It even includes some native “wildlife.” When you look at photographs of natural landscape, you probably look beyond the pure “beauty” of place and subject to consider the abstractions of from and color and implied motion and so forth. It might be worth trying the same thing with other subjects!

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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 | LinkedIn | Email

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