Tag Archives: people

Photographs: Night, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Tourists, Evening, San Francisco Bay

May 28, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Tourists pause in the evening at the end of a pier on San Francisco Bay

I was in San Francisco to meet up with a group of fellow (mostly) street photographers, first for dinner along the fringe of Chinatown and then out to make photographs afterwards. We finished dinner and headed out before sunset, beginning by photographing in the long shadows cast by early evening light in the downtown canyons. Since many in the group wanted to photograph the waterfront we headed that direction. I was geared up more for night street photography — typically done handheld rather than with the tripod I might choose to use for architectural or urban landscape photography — but I hung in with the group anyway.

At the waterfront, after wandering in and around some buildings, the group was of a collective mind to head out on one of the pedestrian piers that juts out into the Bay. Again, this was a bit different from what I had in mind, but there is no denying the attractions of being out over the surface of the Bay as the evening comes on and things quiet down. I photographed some fishermen, a few passing boats, bridges, and back towards the urban waterfront buildings.Eventually, as it became quite a bit darker, I took a moment to photograph a small group of what I assume must have been friends, sitting out near the end of the pier and conversing in the fading light.

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

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: France

Courtyard, The Louvre

May 23, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A mask and the feet of a statue overlook the main courtyard at the Louvre, Paris

This photograph intends to combine views of the grand and the intimate scale of the Louvre, Paris. We spent about a week there in the summer of 2016 — one stop on a five-week trip that took us to New York City, London, Paris, Heidelberg, and areas of Italy including Chianti, Florence, Siena, and Bologna. (For those who wonder, no, this was not an organized tour. We were mostly on our own, though we met up with family members at various points.)

In Paris we spent a lot of time just wandering (and eating, but that’s another story), but we also made a point of visiting a few iconic locations. We had a day at the Louvre, which anyone who has been there knows is not remotely enough time to “see the place.” We managed on wing of one floor of one building, plus some shorter visits to a few other areas. I made this photograph when we stopped for a bite to eat and sat outside above the courtyard. This spot allowed me to photograph very close to a few of the statues that line the ledge along the upper floors facing the inner courtyard.

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

Photographs: France, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Urban/Street

Cafe, Montmartre

May 19, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Evening scene at a cafe in Montmartre, Paris

This photograph was made on a warm summer evening last summer in Paris, on the day that we arrived by train from London. I’m almost embarrassed to say that this was our first ever visit to Paris — it is a long story — but I’m also very happy that we did get there, spending a beautiful week in the city. As first-time Paris visitors, we had little idea what we were doing, an issue perhaps compounded by the fact that I generally don’t like to do too much research about a place before arriving. Oh, and we don’t speak French. All of that aside, we made it from the train station to our hotel, and set out on foot in the early evening to try to get our bearings.

We had virtually no idea where we were going. We understood that we were in Montmartre, which we had selected at least in part because our son and daughter-in-law had stayed in the area recently. I won’t recount the entire story of our random wanderings through areas that we began to understand a bit better by the end of our visit, though in another post I may share the tale of our “discovery” of a rather well-known place. In any case, we were hungry, and it didn’t take us too long — though longer that it took on the following evenings — to figure out that finding a place is not a problem in Paris. In fact, we ate at this place…

Photographs: England, Photographs: Urban/Street

Bubble Man

May 14, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A man making soap bubbles for the crowd in London

We were out on foot on the first day of this trip to London and, if I recall correctly, we must have traveled across the Millennium Bridge over the River Thames to the Tate Modern in the gray drizzle. We had no specific plans on this day, and I think we were just sort of getting our “London legs” by getting out and about, no matter where our whims took us. (That said, one place that the walk took us was a pub, for breakfast!)

Coming back across the bridge the view points straight toward the St. Paul’s Cathedral, and once over the bridge the walkway travels between some modern buildings as it approaches. This is, obviously, prime tourist territory, so it is a likely place for street vendors and performers. (It is also a fine place for street photographers.) The black-dressed fellow was spreading a mess of soapy water on the sidewalk tiles and lots of big bubbles into the air.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: people

Courtyard, The Louvre

Cafe, Montmartre

Bubble Man

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.