Tag Archives: pedestrians

Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

Burger Man

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Burger Man
Pedestrians waiting to cross a Manhattan street by the “Burger Man Food Court.”

Burger Man. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Pedestrians waiting to cross a Manhattan street by the “Burger Man Food Court.”

You might be starting to feel the symptoms of a case of photography whiplash if you’ve been following along recently… as I have alternated photographs from some rather diverse subjects: One day it is a backcountry Sierra Nevada photograph, then next something from New England, and after that another street photograph from Manhattan. By now you know that I don’t constrain myself to one genre or subject, and that has certainly been the case over the past month or two. I will, in fact, continue a bit longer.

This photograph comes from New York City, in case you hadn’t already figured that out. We were there for a few days in August before we headed up to Vermont for a weeklong family event. There’s obviously lots to do in Manhattan and the rest of New York City… but for me that “lots” inevitable includes street photography. The genre can focus on a lot of different things, including the wildly divergent subjects found on urban streets. I may also, as others have noted, provoke you to ask some questions about what you are seeing.

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

Crosswalk People

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Crosswalk People
Pedestrians enter a crosswalk in Manhattan.

Crosswalk People. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Pedestrians enter a crosswalk in Manhattan.

The thought process behind a photograph like this one is hard to explain, perhaps partly because such photographs are often made instantaneously and with virtually no time for careful thought or planning. They happen almost purely instinctively when I see something in the scene that I react to, but without time to ponder what that “something” is. In fact, there’s a pretty good chance that I made this photograph without even raising the camera to my eyes, or at least without time to really look. If I had waited… the moment would have been gone. I think I’m attracted initially to something in the patterns in the scene, though in retrospect I think the image is a bit more complicated to parse.

Most photography — even landscape photography, despite what some will claim — often involves split-second intuitive decisions about subjects and scenes that are completely ephemeral. It is a matter of “make the exposure now or don’t make it at all.” One thing I like about street photography is that it requires me to make these judgments quickly, and I think that hones my ability to see subjects and compositions — even when they are standing still!

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

Mural, Midtown Manhattan

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Mural, Midtown Manhattan
Pedestrians work in front of a building featuring a colorful OKUDART mural in midtown Manhattan.

Mural, Midtown Manhattan. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Pedestrians work in front of a building featuring a colorful OKUDART mural in midtown Manhattan.

Something fun to share today — a photograph of this spectacular mural-covered building in Midtown Manhattan, featuring the work of Spanish artist Okuda. It isn’t unusual for me to (selectively) include street art in my street photographs, especially when the work is interesting and fits into the larger street landscape. On the other hand, it sometimes feels a little odd to feature someone else’s art in my own photographic work. In this case, I think it is as much about an aspect of New York City as anything else… so I’m going with it.

I was initially photographing most people (and to a lesser extent buildings) as we walked around Manhattan this past August. I made several other photographs of people, often in crosswalks, as we passed through this area. But this building is so striking that I made a couple of exposures of it as I passed by. One thing leads to another, and later I looked up the building and the artist and discovered that Okuda has work all over the world.

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 | Twitter | 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: France, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Two pedestrians, Sidewalk and Buildings

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Two Pedestrians, Sidewalk and Buildings
Two pedestrians stroll past buildings in Le Marais, Paris.

Two Pedestrians, Sidewalk and Buildings. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Two pedestrians stroll past buildings in Le Marais, Paris.

I went back and forth on whether this should be a color or a black and white photograph. (We’re so lucky today that we can make this kind of choice after pressing the shutter release!) In the end, everything about the scene seemed to me to call for monochrome… though I did have to give up the colors of the flowers growing in the row of window boxes.

I think this is one of those “photographs of nothing special” that evokes the feeling of the place. I have nothing at all against specialness in a photograph — it is often something to strive for! — but that can give us a less than true sense of the subject. This photograph is also an example of how being ready to “capture” a fleeting moment is so important in street photography… and, for that matter, in many other sorts of photography too.

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 | Twitter | 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.

right 2022 G Dan Mitchell.