Tag Archives: state

Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

Strolling Couple

February 24, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A couple walks past a white-painted brick wall

This photograph is a bit more “in your face” than most of my street photography. I’m generally not one of those “stick the camera in someone’s face” sort of photographers, preferring to be a bit less invasive of people’s space. (However, I can’t deny that photographing people who did not go out into the urban environment intending to be my subjects is, almost by definition, always at least a little bit invasive and aggressive.)

I’m hard pressed now to recall even making the photograph, which means it was most likely made very quickly and probably while I was walking. I could not have predicted the woman’s remarkable yawn — or perhaps she is singing? ;-)

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

Great Offer

February 22, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Pedestrians on a sidewalk in lower Manhattan

A few days ago I wrote a bit about what I “see” in some of my street photography, and I mentioned that sometimes I’m watching for spontaneous and ephemeral coincidences, often involving people who inadvertently assemble themselves into interesting arrangements. To my eye there is some form of balance in the geometry of these scenes, and often at least some implied action — here it is that of persons strolling across the field of view of the camera as they traverse the sidewalk in front of this bank. You might find some other formal aspects of the photograph that are interesting if you spend a bit of time with it. If you do, you might be seeing at least somewhat the way I do. (You might also discover things that I’m yet to be aware of!)

In trying to recall the circumstances of the photograph, I believe that I was first attracted by the simple and even monumental forms of the facade of the bank building, along with the simple geometries of the sidewalk and street. As I often do, I noticed that people were about to enter the scene, so I stopped and tried to make a few exposures as they assembled themselves while moving through.

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

Woman Pushing Stroller

February 19, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A woman pushing a child in a stroller in a cross walk, New York City

Perhaps intuitively I have been making quite a few street photographs at cross walks, either while waiting for the light to change or while crossing the street. I think I need to be more conscious of this situation and the reasons it can work. For one thing, I stop at cross walks. While I do photograph as I’m “on the move,” the pause gives me an opportunity to scan my surroundings a bit more intently. In addition, there are usually other people collecting at the corner and waiting to cross — it might be an individual or it could be a small crowd. Also, when people are crossing they tend to (at least most of the time) be focused on their progression across the street and perhaps are less aware of me. Finally, the cross walk itself can provide an interesting visual context, especially the newer striped design.

This photograph is a bit hard to fully explain. There’s something about the black-attired woman and her unusual white sunglasses, along with her position as she looks toward the right side of the frame. The child seems completely inert, almost like luggage in the stroller. And, again, there are those alternating stripes of pavement and white paint.

Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

People At The Corner

February 18, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

People stand on a Manhattan corner, waiting for the light to change

I work in various ways when photographing in urban settings. Sometimes I’m somewhat slow and careful, perhaps waiting for people to populate a scene or when treating the urban environment as a sort of landscape. Other times I work more quickly and spontaneously, photographing quickly and intuitively as instants occur and quickly are gone. This photograph came from the latter approach, and my recollection is that I made a series of perhaps three photographs in quick succession, perhaps not even looking through the viewfinder.

There are, obviously, people in the photograph. But something else here links to something I was told by someone who lives and works there. In Manhattan you constantly see these scaffolds set up over sidewalks. I had assumed that it was simply the case that there is work going on all the time. My source tells me it isn’t always quite that simple — sometimes the scaffolding is left up well beyond when is needed… because it is cheaper to leave it there than to take it down and find a place to store it! I enjoy looking a bit more closely at the individuals in this photograph and not just at the group as a whole. The people have a variety of demeanors and poses, some are interacting with others, and they vary in the extent to which they are engaged in the scene verses walking through it without paying much attention.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: state

Strolling Couple

Great Offer

Woman Pushing Stroller

People At The Corner

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