Tag Archives: pandemic

Photographs: Pandemia, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Benches

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Benches
Unused benches at a school closed by the pandemic.

Benches. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Unused benches at a school closed by the pandemic.

One of the regular features of my life during the pandemic has been my daily (with almost no exceptions) walks around the neighborhood. They range from “gotta’ at least do the minimum” 30-minute walks that barely get the blood-pressure up to longer walks that can be six or seven miles long — sometimes on out and back routes and other times on giant loops. By necessity, these tend to take me through some combination of residential neighborhoods, minor “downtown” areas, and some light industrial districts.

I always have a camera with me, carried in a small over-the-shoulder bag that holds a few other necessities — a bottle of water, a quick snack, phone, etc. Most often I don’t make any photographs, but every so often the urge strikes — sufficient reason to carry the camera on all those other walks. (The camera is minimal — a rangefinder-style mirrorless body with one very small prime lens.) This particular walk took me past a school closed by the lock-down, where benches that might normally be the center of a lively teenage social world were scattered forlornly.

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: Architecture, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Mondrian Wall

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Mondrian Wall
A wall of a school building closed during the pandemic.

Mondrian Wall. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A wall of a school building closed during the pandemic.

Why, yes, this is from the “Postcards from Pandemia” series of photographs made on my almost-daily walks in the greater neighborhood, an area including a range of subjects in suburban neighborhoods, apartment complexes, closed schools, nearly empty parks, a largely shuttered business district, and light industrial zones.

This is a detail of a wall at the front of a school that is became deserted at about the time when students would have been pushing through the last part of the academic year and looking forward to summer. If you are like me, you might find more than one way to look at this scene.

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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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: Urban/Street

Exit Only

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Exit Only
An “exit only” sign attached to a wall that has not been painted recently.

Exit Only. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An “exit only” sign attached to a wall that has not been painted recently.

Postcard from Pandemic #2. I made this photograph on one of my SIP neighborhood walks a few weeks ago. If nothing else, the current travel restrictions are encouraging me to discover nearby things that I had not paid attention to before.

This wall is in the back of an urban business district. I’ve been around this area for decades, and I have watched it change a lot — from a quiet residential business district, to a place of fading and dying businesses, to a newly popular, somewhat upscale area with lots of restaurants and other signs of Silicon Valley wealth. For someone who has been here for a while and who recalls what was in this location in the past, this wall is a bit of a historical record.

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 | 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: Pandemia, Photographs: Utah

Postcard From Pandemia #1

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Postcard From Pandemia #1
A bench, a wall, a warning sign, and a door in sunlight.

Postcard From Pandemia #1. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A bench, a wall, a warning sign, and a door in sunlight.

Photography is perhaps low on the list of the world’s priorities during a pandemic, when millions are infected and tens of thousands have died so far. But the world doesn’t stop for this, and we go on doing what we do as best we can — there is really no other choice, in my view.

My ability to make photographs of the subjects I would normally focus on right now has been extremely limited since I cannot travel more than a few miles and mostly on foot. So I have been using this as an opportunity to review my archives of old images, many of which might otherwise have been permanently left behind. But I’ve also pondered how in the world to photograph this event and its effects. I’m finally starting to see some general outlines of how this might be possible. We’ll see where this leads. Stay tuned.

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 | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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