Tag Archives: new york

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

Shadow and Wall

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Shadow and Wall
The ephemeral shadow of a passing figure on a wall in Manhattan.

Shadow and Wall. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The ephemeral shadow of a passing figure on a wall in Manhattan.

One evening in Manhattan, we were out for a walk along the Highline Park. As always, I was carrying a camera. (Yes, I think I drive my family crazy that way.) I’ve been there a number of times, and I’m usually intrigued by the buildings that line this park — their textures, their windows and rooftops, the glimpses of what goes on in them as the life of the park moves past. I think I was trying to think of a way to photograph the texture of this concrete wall when I came upon this bit of light coming across the walkway and casting shadows.

It is hard to recall too many more specifics of the scene, though I have a series of perhaps a half dozen or more photographs, made as various people moved through the lower part of the scene or, more accurately, their vague shadows moved through the scene. When people ask what sort of camera I carry to places like this, my answer is that it is usually a small camera equipped with small prime lenses. This photograph perhaps illustrates why that is. I can always have such a camera with me, I can use it quickly and without much fuss, and it even works in very low light.

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

People Standing By Window

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People Standing By Window
Two people stand against a dark wall next to a window, Museum of Modern Art.

People Standing By Window. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two people stand against a dark wall next to a window, Museum of Modern Art.

This photograph comes from a Manhattan visit a few years back. We usually are there for at least a week each year — though we have not been back since before the start of the pandemic. We miss the place! We have some traditions when it comes to these visits. One is to indulge me in a lot of “museum time.” (The amount of time I’m willing to spend in such places occasionally makes me the butt of family jokes.) We visited the Museum of Modern Art on this visit, and the photograph comes from there.

I’m often a bit surprised — though by how you’d think I would not be — by how interesting I find museums as photographic spaces. They are full of interesting and sometimes unusual architecture, and they are often designed to incorporate a lot of investing lighting, especially natural lighting. In many cases there is some sort of central atrium or similar that creates a tall, vertical open area… and that provides some wild and off-kilter angles of subjects that would look quite different if photographed on their own level. Here a pair of people stands at the base of a stairway, positioned in the angle between a nearly-black wall and a window.

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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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: Night, Photographs: Urban/Street

Skylights, Manhattan

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Skylights, Manhattan
Skylights glow in the gathering darkness on a Manhattan rooftop.

Skylights, Manhattan. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Skylights glow in the gathering darkness on a Manhattan rooftop.

Given the right camera position and the right light, small and easily overlooked bits and pieces of the urban architectural environment turn out to be interesting. I’ve long noted that in dense, urban environments the exteriors of living spaces are often far from attractive — at best they are utilitarian and at worst they can be downright ugly. My theory is that people, for the most part, do not regard the exteriors of their spaces the way we might in space-filled suburban environments. They don’t use these exteriors to present themselves to the world —no gardens, no fancy paint, no cute signs… just the functional and often well-worn necessities.

I don’t know for sure what is beneath these skylights, but I suspect that it could be someone’s living or work space. I’d also bet that whoever occupies the space has little or no idea of what these skylight look like from the outside, and they may not even think about the potential that people like me walk by every day and may look at them. From inside, the skylights are a way to let light in. But at night, to the passer-by, they become a source of light themselves as they radiate outwards.

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

Windows and Shadows

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Windows and Shadows
The shadows of passing figures on a pair of windows and a wall in Manhattan.

Windows and Shadows. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The shadows of passing figures on a pair of windows and a wall in Manhattan.

This somewhat mysterious-looking photograph comes from a few years back on a visit to New York City. It was late in the day, and we found ourselves wandering along the Highline Park, the elevated park along a portion of the west side of Manhattan. The park wanders past all sorts of Manhattan features — apartments, hotels, businesses, parking, streets, and more. In such places unusual and fleeting lighting effects can occur, some of them as magical as the light I look for in the natural world. Among them is the potential for light to reflect back and forth among multiple reflective surfaces. This often softens the light and directs it into places where you might not expect it. That was the case here, as the light worked its way down into this urban canyon in the same way it does in the red rock canyons of the Southwest.

This photograph also exemplifies why I like to work with small and light cameras in urban environments — rather than using the larger, tripod-mounted gear I often use in the natural landscape. Here things happen quickly, often with little warning, and quickly disappear. Being able to respond quickly is critical, and this ability to work quickly and spontaneously often turns out to be far more important than having larger and objectively “better” gear. The ghostly shadows of the passing figures were gone within seconds.

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.