Tag Archives: outdoor

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

Black Star, Tiles and People

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Black Star, Tiles and People
People standing on tile near Frank Stella’s “Black Star” at the Whitney Museum

Black Star, Tiles and People. New York City. December 27, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

People standing on tile near Frank Stella’s “Black Star” at the Whitney Museum

On our December 2015 visit to New York City we had a chance to visit the new Whitney Museum for the first time. We see the early construction phases on several earlier visits when we went to Chelsea and were pleased to find that it is now open. We went there one morning, began on the top floor, and started to work our way down. (I’m a bit notorious for being able to spend what some regard as far too many hours wandering slowly through museums. Eventually the others in my party left. I stayed and finally joined up with them again hours later.)

The museum’s collection is, of course, fascinating. But the building itself also fascinated me — as a structure it its own right, its placement in its Manhattan surroundings, how it is used to display art, its outdoor areas, and the opportunities it gave me to include people in photographs. I did virtually no photography inside the building, but on the outdoor terraces and walkways it was an entirely different situation. These areas were perhaps the most attractive parts of the architecture for me, with upper levels thrusting out over the Chelsea landscape, and lower levels spreading out horizontally. From below it created a sort of industrial landscape of metal angles, and from above the views downwards were quite something. This photograph looks over one of the upper balconies and straight down onto a tile-covered terrace where Frank Stella’s “Black Star” resides and was being photographed and contemplated by visitors.

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: Austria, Photographs: Urban/Street

Salzburg Cafe

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Salzburg Cafe
Salzburg Cafe

Salzburg Cafe. Salzburg Austria. July 17, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

People sit at an outdoor cafe on a sidewalk along a narrow street in Salzburg, Austria

This is sort of a photograph of nowhere in particular in Salzburg, Austria. A ways off from the busy downtown area around the touristy shops and other old buildings, things seem to quiet down a lot. There are few or no cars on many of this very narrow streets – barely wide enough for a single car anyway, and the tightly packed multistory buildings create a sort of canyon effect. There do not appear to be any gardens here, and every plant I recall seeing on most of these streets was growing in a pot. The buildings are not all the same color, but they do all seem to be pastel shades.

As we walked in this area we came to a t-intersection, with this little cafe occupying the middle of the upper bar of the “t.” I photographed it straight on from the other street on the intersection. I was fascinated by the almost complete lack of “branding” on this business – it was only by looking very closely at the photograph that I could make out a name for the place. The most obvious sign simply says “cafe & restaurant.” I was also interested to see that the seating, of which there must not be enough inside the building, not only spilled onto and across the narrow sidewalk, but extended right into the street, where its boundaries were defined by the large potted plants! A couple sits in the green chairs on the right with a very young child. They seem to perhaps be the grandparents – and grandpa is catching a smoke while grandma tends to the child. The colors in the seating area contrast with the pale, pastel colors of the buildings (and the matching umbrellas), and include a green that is brighter than that of the plants and lemon yellow back near where two men talk on the right.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Publications, Reviews

Exposure for Outdoor Photography, by Michael Frye

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Exposure for Outdoor Photography by Michael Frye

Craft and Vision has just released Michael Frye’s new ebook, Exposure for Outdoor Photography. The book seems to be directed at the many folks who own DSLRs or non-DSLR cameras and are striving to advance beyond the point and shoot approach to their photography. The book takes a straightforward approach to some of the most important topics related to exposure. It begins with a basic description of, well, the basics of exposure – shutter speed, aperture, and ISO and some of the important terminology and concepts related to these factors. Michael keeps the level of detail to a minimum, but the basics are all there, including an explanation of the how and why of using the histogram display – which is probably just about exactly the right approach for his intended audience.

After getting the basics out of the way, the book moves to a series of ten “cases studies,” each of which uses one of his photographs to explore a particular aspect of exposure. The subjects of the case studies include using the histogram, dealing with both large and small depth of field, freezing motion or controlling motion blur, the tradeoffs of moving to higher ISO, recovering highlights in bright scenes, how to handle extremely bright highlights such as direct sun, and a nod to the zone system (in very simplified form) and HDR and exposure blending concepts. Rather than presenting the concepts in theoretical form, he uses his one photographs to provide practical examples for the case studies.

There are a number of things I appreciate about the book, and I think many readers may also agree:

  1. Rather than presenting rules that you must follow, Michael presents the concepts and explains/demonstrates the effects of some of the choice under discussion. He is careful to point out that there usually is no “perfect” exposure, and that there are different ways to get the result you have in mind. (Near the end of the book he even provides some examples of photographs that intentionally “violate” the exposure rules.)
  2. He strikes a good balance between too little and too much detail. He avoids the pitfalls of trying to make things so simple that they end up being simple-minded and of trying to cover all possibilities to the extent that many readers simply end up confused. This is probably an ideal balance for photographers who are taking first steps towards fuller understanding and control of exposure in their photographs.
  3. The case study photographs effectively illustrate the concepts that he covers. In addition, many of them are just plain fine photographs. (Two of my favorites are the Tuolumne Meadows photograph and one of geese in beautiful morning light.)

The ebook concept seems to be catching on quickly and there are plenty of good reasons for this. The visual quality of the text and illustrations is excellent. The books can be read on a laptop or a tablet. They are easy to purchase, and the cost is very low.

The book is now available from site affiliate Craft And Vision, and I understand that there may be a discount price during the first few days of availability.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: People, Photographs: Sports, Photographs: Textures

Zip Line

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Zip Line - A person flies through forest trees on a zip line.
A person flies through forest trees on a zip line.

Zip Line. Woodinville, Washington. June 21, 2009. © Copyright 2009 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A person flies through forest trees on a zip line.

There probably isn’t a whole lot to say about this photograph, so instead I’ll just say…

Happy New Year, 2012!

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.