Tag Archives: shop

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

Noodle Shop

December 1, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A single nighttime diner in a Manhattan noodle shop on a dark street

I suppose it is because I plan to be there again soon, but I’ve been going back through some earlier photographs from New York City this week, and especially focusing on photographs I made at night there last July. While staying in a busy part of the city (yeah, I know, all the parts are busy…) where there are lots of small business and lots of people I managed to get out frequently and wander with my camera. Most of the neighborhood tended to be quite crowded and busy, with lots of light. However, a few of the side streets included quieter spots where there were no crowds, especially late at night, including this street where there was only one person still eating in this noodle shop.

With photographs like this, especially when rendered in black and white, there is a lot of creative latitude when it comes to deciding how to interpret the scene. I’m generally not a big fan — with some exceptions — of allowing highlights to completely blow out, so the brightly lit areas set a sort of limit on how light I can go. I want to see at least some detail in almost all areas of the photograph, even in the deep shadows, so I often have to do some careful work during the post processing stages to get what I want from these dark area. It is tricky — too dark and all detail is lost, but too light and the shadows end up gray and the mystery is gone. In this photograph I wanted most of the image to feel very dark, with only the three brightly lit areas standing out.

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

Photographs: Pacific Northwest, Photographs: People, Photographs: Urban/Street

Storyville Coffee

October 30, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Patrons sitting at the window of a Seattle coffee shop

As you may have noticed — at least if this isn’t the first time you have seen one of my posts — I like to photograph a rather wide range of subjects. Some know me as a “landscape” or “nature” photographer, but my subjects include many other things: night photography, street photography, urban landscapes, musicians, and more. One line of thinking holds that this is not a good thing — that it dilutes one’s photographic identity and fails to produce a recognizable style. Yet, it turns out that I’m not alone, and lots of other photographers are fascinated by multiple subjects. (Last weekend I ran into a couple of fine photographers and friends high in the Yosemite Sierra, people who have a reputation for photographing the natural world. When I met them they were just finishing up photography of peeling paint on an empty building…) Once they have been typecast, they tend to accept that — since being recognized for a type of photography is a good thing — but they occasionally admit to being frustrated when their other work isn’t understood.

So this is from my “other photography” — the work I do when I spend time in urban environments. It is hard for me to explain the fascination of “street photography” to those who don’t get it, but I’ll try. First, I think we can regard this world as a kind of “urban landscape” — and some of the same attractions of light and texture and color and form are found here. Second, it can be an incredibly dynamic “landscape.” When things are going well, I often feel that I’m in the midst of a continuous flow of people and compositions and their collisions and that there is almost too much to see. The trick is often (though not always) to stay tuned in and to be read to see and photograph quickly. Third, the human layer is something found much less in landscape photography, and it fascinates me. Here I just happened to spot one of the little vignettes that are everywhere in the city — an interest group of people in different poses and likely with different attitudes.

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

Photographs: England, Photographs: Urban/Street

Barber and His Shop

May 31, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A barber takes a break on the steps of his shop, London

We spent a few late afternoon and early evening hours wandering around this area of narrow streets and small shops, killing time before a scheduled evening event. It was a warm evening, and this fellow was sitting on the steps in the doorway of his shop, probably getting a bit of fresh air, when we walked past.

From time to time I’ve read about people with some strict “rules” about what street photography is and is not. They often involve the equipment used, a preference for black and white, a challenge to get in the faces of subjects, and the desire to produce a certain “raw” look. There is nothing wrong with any of that, but I have my own notions about street photography — what it can look like, how it can be done, and even the boundaries around the subjects that qualify as street. It can be and up close, black and white image of a person doing more or less nothing special. But it can also be an urban landscape in which the wildlife is human. It can be in color. People do not necessarily have to be included. It can be produced in a slow and methodical manner or spontaneously while in motion. To make this photograph – notice the very low camera position — I held the camera down at my side and “shot blind” as we walked past.

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

Storey’s Ltd

March 27, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The Storey’s Ltd shop, with prints and maps displayed, London

If I recall the circumstances correctly, I quite possibly made this photograph on the evening we attended a ballet performance in London. In any case, this scene is in the neighborhood, and my recollection is that we may have been walking a bit before we went into the theater, first for dinner and then the performance.

I’m not absolutely certain of what attracted me to this little shop, one of many booksellers and similar establishments on Cecil Court off of Charring Cross Road. I’m fascinated by what they sell — old books and, especially, old maps — but we did not go inside. However, from in front of the tiny shop we could look in and see the walls covered with all sorts of fascinating documents.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: shop

Noodle Shop

Storyville Coffee

Barber and His Shop

Storey’s Ltd

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