Tag Archives: square

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

Wall, Window, Garden

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Wall, Window, Garden
Light shines across a wall with a lighted window

Wall, Window, Garden. San Francisco, California. December 3, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Light shines across a wall with a lighted window

In a way, I would almost prefer to not identify this location, even the city — but since it is my habit to provide some information I will confess that I made the photograph in San Francisco. I joined up with a few of my fellow Studio Nocturne SF photographer to head out into the San Francisco night to do some night photography. We stopped at two locations. This first one is actually a fairly well-known location, but I decided to mostly not photograph the familiar subject but instead wander around and look for other things.

Recently I have been doing a lot of my night photography, especially the part of it done in cities, using a small, handheld camera. I’m essentially able to do street photography in the (near) dark, which means that I can often work quickly and without drawing as much attention as I would with a larger camera and a tripod. This photograph, which seems more like something that would warrant the use of a tripod, was made in this way.

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

Red Shirts, Fountain

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Red Shirts, Fountain
Two brightly clad people face a fountain in Washington Square

Red Shirts, Fountain. New York City. July 2, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two brightly clad people face a fountain in Washington Square

Manhattan’s Washington Square holds, along with many other places in this city, lots of opportunities for people-watching and for photography. On this visit we meandered through the park late on a Sunday morning as we walked to a destination further uptown. There was a lot going on: A pianist was set up on a walkway to give a recital, jazz combos played here and there, groups were doing aerobics, folks were playing in and around the fountain, people sitting on benches read the morning paper quietly, and much more.

When it comes to explaining what a photograph “means” or what it attempts to accomplish I would generally leave the determination to the viewer than offer too much explanation. I have my reasons! One is that, at least in most cases, I tend to think that a photograph that requires explanation may be a photograph that doesn’t speak strongly. Another is that I believe that multiple understandings of a photograph are possible, and that the photographer does not have a monopoly on the correct interpretations. But here I will give a few hints about what I was thinking when I made this. First, I was working quite quickly — there was definitely not enough time to pre-conceive this image. (That is not to say that pre-visualization was not possible, but that is a different thing.) I think the red shirts, which stand out from most of the other elements of the scene, initially caught my attention. The geometry of the scene also interested me — I confess that I think about composition quite a bit, even when shooting street. There is also something about the anonymity of these two people as they stand and look at a fountain while others are swimming in it or sitting on the steps that lead to the water. There’s more, but I’ll leave it 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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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

Sunday Morning, Washington Square

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Sunday Morning, Washington Square
People sitting on a bench and reading on Sunday morning, Washington Square

Sunday Morning, Washington Square. New York City. July 2, 2017. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

People sitting on a bench and reading on Sunday morning, Washington Square

On Sunday morning we walked uptown from our hotel, heading for a rendezvous with others. We could have taken a subway, but instead we decided to walk. Eventually we passed through part of the NYU campus and out into Washington Square. While it was morning, it was no longer particularly early by the time we got there, and park life was in full swing. There were many people everywhere, someone had a grand piano set up in a walkway for an outdoor recital, and several jazz groups were playing elsewhere in the park.

Around the edges, particularly near the northeast corner, things seemed a bit quieter, though there were still plenty of people. Here many of them were sitting quietly on benches, alone or in small groups. As we headed toward the park exit near this corner I passed this group of people quietly reading on one of the benches.

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: Italy

Sidewalk Cafe, Near Midnight

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Sidewalk Cafe, Near Midnight
A Bologna, Italy sidewalk cafe a few minutes before midnight on a warm summer evening.

Sidewalk Cafe, Near Midnight. Bologna, Italy. August 18, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A Bologna, Italy sidewalk cafe a few minutes before midnight on a warm summer evening.

Our August trip took us from Germany, where we spent five days in Heidelberg, south toward Italy. We drove, stopping for the first night in Munich, and then continuing on the Bologna for a night. Because we got a late start from Munich we didn’t arrive in Bologna until around sunset. We made our way to our (somewhat unusual — but a story for another time) hotel, got settled, and then decided it was time to find some dinner and look around a bit.

So we emerged from our abode onto a darkened street and soon realized that Bologna was, at least at this time on this evening, nothing at all like the northern European places we had come from. (An experienced ex-pat with how we traveled explained that Bologna isn’t exactly on the same travel map as a lot of other Italian cities.) The streets were dark, as most of the meager street lights had not yet come on. The area we were in seemed to have no vegetation at all. The streets were virtually deserted. I said that it had a kind of post-apocalyptic feeling. We found a nice restaurant (on another virtually deserted street) and sat down almost alone to have dinner. The experienced member of our group said to wait a bit, that at 9:00 or so it was still too early for many people, and that big groups would soon appear, trying to get out after the heat of the day. He was right. Soon others came to the restaurant, and when we visited a nearby square after eating we found lots of people, including this group at a cafe, just a few minutes before midnight.

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+ | LinkedIn | Email

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