Tag Archives: sidewalk

Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

San Francisco Tree

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San Francisco Tree
A few new leaves sprout from a nearly-bare tree on an San Francisco street.

San Francisco Tree. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A few new leaves sprout from a nearly-bare tree on an San Francisco street.

After the recent string of wilderness photographs I’m going to change things up and move — at least briefly — to some urban photography. The first few in this series will come from San Francisco… a different sort of wilderness at times!

These trees are found all over San Francisco, squeezed onto sidewalks between multi-story buildings and the busy streets. In most cases the lower limbs are bare, revealing the trees’ interesting, twisted shapes — shapes that contrast with the more regular and geometrical forms of the city’s architecture.

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: England, Photographs: People, Photographs: Photographers, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Patty Photographing London

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Patty Photographing London
Patricia Emerson Mitchell photographing in London

Patty Photographing London. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Patricia Emerson Mitchell photographing in London

Our opportunities for international travel have been pretty limited since the beginning of the pandemic. We had a big trip scheduled late in the first year of the event, but that had to be cancelled. We might have considered going this year, but instead extended family members decided on an American meet-up. So we’re still looking forward to future international travel, hopefully by next summer.

For a bunch of reasons, we often start in London, so we’ve been there a few times now. We like to wander, carrying cameras, looking for interesting things, and stopping for refreshments and meals whenever the urge takes us. And, yes, we sometimes photograph one another!

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

Blue Door, Wall, and Sidewalk

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Blue Door, Wall, and Sidewalk
A quiet street scene with a blue door, Le Marais, Paris.

Blue Door, Wall, and Sidewalk. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A quiet street scene with a blue door, Le Marais, Paris.

As I worked on this photograph I had a bit of an odd experience. I rarely mention it here, but my academic training is in music and I was s a college music faculty member. But it is difficult to understand, much less explain, the relationships between my audio and visual lives. The entire subject is too big and complex to cover here. The odd experience? I was listening to music as I worked on this photograph and a few others from the same source. Perhaps surprisingly, I don’t usually do that.

Why do I mention this? I usually consider photographs almost exclusively from a visual perspective — the nature of the subject, the quality of light, the composition and relationships among elements, color, texture, and so on. But the particular music I was listening to as I worked on this photograph changed my perspective on it in a way that is difficult to describe. (The music included some work by the composer Max Richter, which often moves slowly and quietly.) The scene took on a quiet and a stillness that I had not thought about before, and I began to think about the age of this building and what might be behind that door and those windows. Music can do that to you.

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.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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

right 2022 G Dan Mitchell.