Tag Archives: people

Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

City of New York

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City of New York
City of New York historic subway car

City of New York. New York City. December 27, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

City of New York historic subway car

I’ve used the subway system in New York as much as any out-of-town visitor, enjoying the fact that I can get to so many places all over the city on the subway plus a little bit of walking. But I don’t give the system all that much thought beyond trying to get on the right time at the right time at the right place. But when you stop to think about what it is and what it does it is quite an amazing thing. Hidden away beneath the surface of the extraordinary busy city is an entire transportation system and only rarely comes to the surface, and then mostly as it leaves Manhattan or heads out into more distant areas.

On our recent visit to New York we managed to go visit the subway museum in Brooklyn. (Hard to avoid this, since it was literally walking distance from where we stayed this time.) The museum holds many things, but perhaps most intriguing is the collection of historic rolling stock, going way back to the beginning of the system. A visit got me to take the system a bit less for granted. We saw this car at the museum, but then again a few days later on one of the “nostalgia” train days, when the old trains run once again and subway fans turn out by the thousands. By framing this photograph so tightly and from a direct point if view, I hoped to “see” the train a bit more for what it is as a shape, and a bit of an odd one at that.

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: 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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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: Urban/Street

Terraces, Stairways, Sky

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Terraces, Stairways, Sky
People arrayed on terraces and stairways at the Whitney Museum

Terraces, Stairways, Sky. New York City. December 27, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

People arrayed on terraces and stairways at the Whitney Museum

This is another of my December 2015 photographs from the New York Whitney Museum, and perhaps yet one example of my idiosyncratic approach to visiting museums. I love visiting museums, especially art museums, and I can easily spend many hours or even a full day wandering around and slowly taking things in. It is enough to drive other people who go there with me crazy! (On this visit, the rest of our group finally gave up, left without me, headed to a nearby tavern, had lunch and drinks, and waited for me to finally show up hours later.)

I love to look at the art, the people, and quite often the architectural spaces as well. This was my first visit to the new Whitney Museum, so there was a lot to see. I started on the top level and explored galleries, but soon was distracted by the outdoor terraces, which extent from each of the floors in delightful and interesting ways. On the top floor narrow terraces project out into space above the Chelsea district. On lower levels the terrace areas become larger, and afford urban landscape views of the surrounding city and back upwards toward the exterior of the museum. When I looked up at this mass of windows, terraces, stairways and more I knew there was a photograph (or several) here, and I spent some time with the subject.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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

Four Figures In Doorway

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Four Figures In Doorway
Four people stand in front of the doorway of a Manhattan store

Four Figures In Doorway. New York City. December 24, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Four people stand in front of the doorway of a Manhattan store

I suspect that this photograph is going to perplex more than a few folks who watch my landscape and nature photography. In fact, this is one in a large string of very urban photographs made in New York in late December 2015. For those of you who “get” and like this work, thanks! For those who don’t, the more familiar kinds of photography will return before too much longer, and I’ll try to intersperse more of that photography with the urban/street/night stuff.

I’m endlessly fascinated by the way in which seemingly formless and virtually random patterns of motion in the urban environment can suddenly coalesce into something that has structure and which may even be mysterious and suggestive. Capturing this stuff requires me to be “on” all the time — and this can make me not at all fun to be with in these places when I’m carrying a camera! I made this photograph on a very crowded Christmas Eve in Manhattan, and it is one from a short sequence I photographed of this group standing in front of the entrance to a closed store — and for this instant the group miraculously assembled themselves into a fascinating tableaux of individual poses, especially the woman on the left.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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