Tag Archives: shop

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

Ice Cream Shop, Paris

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Ice Cream Shop, Paris
“Ice Cream Shop, Paris” —A couple sits at a tall table outside a sidewalk ice cream shop at night, Paris

I made this photograph on my first day (night, actually) of my first-ever visit to Paris, France. We arrived from London in the afternoon, found our hotel, took a few minutes to get our bearings, and then went for a walk — coffee first, then a bit of wandering and sight-seeing, then dinner, then more wandering that included after-dark photography in the streets of Montmartre.

We ate outside as the sun set and twilight came on, and from our table I watched this small ice cream shop across the street. The colors were wonderful, especially with lighted display cases that alternated red, green, blue, purple, yellow and other lights. I decided I would try to photograph it when we left our restaurant, and I caught it at the moment when the only remaining customers were the two people sitting at the table outside.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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

Sidewalk Shoppers, Night

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Sidewalk Shoppers, Night
Shoppers and tourists walk past Chinatown shops at night, San Francisco

Sidewalk Shoppers, Night. San Francisco, California. July 25, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Shoppers and tourists walk past Chinatown shops at night, San Francisco

Allow me to continue to indulge my (relatively) new obsession with handheld night street photography! This is yet another photograph made after dark in San Francisco, in a popular tourist area full of people, shops, and plenty of wildly colorful artificial light. This might look a bit like just a photograph of a crowd, but when I look closer I’m fascinated by the variety of faces and activities and ways of engaging that I see.

It was only perhaps a couple of years ago that I discovered that I can use small handheld mirrorless camera set to high ISO to photograph in the nighttime city environment. In the past this was sometimes marginally possible in very well-lit areas, but most such photography required a tripod and its attendant disruption of the scene — people behave very differently when they see a big camera on a tripod. But now it is quite possible to roam with a very small camera and produce viable photographs that can even be printed rather large.

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

Repairing a Shop Window

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Repairing a Shop Window
At closing time, a man works to repair a shop window.

Repairing a Shop Window. San Francisco, California. July 25, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

At closing time, a man works to repair a shop window.

On a summer walk through sections of downtown San Francisco, beginning in the late afternoon and continuing after dark, I passed a street-corner shop that was just about to close. These shops, being in an area where such things are necessary, is blocked off at night by metal shutters. An employee was standing in a display window, repairing the shutters.

The man, focused on his work and seemingly unaware that he was now the featured “product” in this display window, was my initial subject. But I quickly saw other things in this scene. On the right side of the frame the wild explosion of colorful merchandise, lights, and reflections of the street behind me is almost impossible to figure out. On the left side there seems to be no reflection and the colors are more subdued, with the open shutters placing a horizontal grid over the dark figure of the store employee. Horizontals on the left; verticals on the right; complexity everywhere.

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: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

Bleecker Street Pizza

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Bleecker Street Pizza
“Famous” Bleecker Street Pizza restaurant and bar, Manhattan

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

“Famous” Bleecker Street Pizza restaurant and bar, Manhattan

I always enjoy restaurants and similar attractions that declare themselves to be “famous” or even “world-famous.” (Many years ago a place opened up in the Eastern Sierra Nevada along a main travel route and immediately declared itself to be “world-famous,” as near as I could tell on the day they opened. They must have been able to see the future, since eventually they arguably became so.) A very quick check suggests that this place might be good but might also not be exactly the most famous attraction in Manhattan…

That aside, I love the storefront. The shouting signs are classic, but the subtler elements are also interesting, from the hand-lettered “GLUTEN FREE” sign to the “as featured on WB11” testimonial and the barely visible “Purple Haze” neon sign in the window, not to mention the inevitable Manhattan plastic garbage sacks. It was a cold winter day, and no one was sitting outside at the tables, but I’ll bet things are different on a warm summer evening.

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.