Tag Archives: steel

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Under the Highway

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Under the Highway
“Under the Highway” — The steel structure supporting NY 9A along the west side of Manhattan.

This photograph comes from one of our frequent August visits to New York City. New Yorkers reading this are perhaps shaking their heads and wondering about my sanity. There is a reason that people who live there take there vacations in August — heat, humidity, thunderstorms, and all the rest. But over the years we have regularly made August visits — in the early days because that is when I wasn’t teaching, but now out of (arguably perverse?) habit.

But this August visit, as I recall, was relatively pleasant. It certainly was on this day as we walked from our hotel down to the Hudson River, passing beneath this remarkable structure as we approached a riverside park. This supports the highway running down the west side of the city and, I think, it is still more attractive than modern concrete construction that is used today for such things.

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: Architecture, Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Consonance and Dissonance

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Consonance and Dissonance
Structural elements at the High Line Park, Manhattan

Consonance and Dissonance. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Structural elements at the High Line Park, Manhattan

Taking a cue from the music-related title of this photograph, I suspect you may have noticed that my photographs cover a wide range of subjects. When people ask me “what I photograph,” probably expecting a short answer like “landscapes” or “portraits” or “street,” there can be an awkward moment while I consider how to answer. I don’t photograph just one thing… any more than a composer would choose to write only, say, minuets. There is more than one thing to express, so more than one approach is necessary. If anything, my photographs are about… how I see the world photographically.

I won’t try to explain the entire “consonance and dissonance” connection here, except to point out that these terms have multiple meanings. One basic idea is that something is consonant in music if it “sounds nice” and “dissonant” if it doesn’t. But a more interesting idea relates to something that seems static and “settled” (consonance) versus something that seems restless and striving (dissonance). Taken one step further, the tension created by dissonance often propels us toward consonance… and consonance can resolve that tension.

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

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Beneath the Parkway

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Beneath the Parkway
Support structures under the Henry Hudson Parkway, Manhattan.

Beneath the Parkway. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Support structures under the Henry Hudson Parkway, Manhattan.

While things in New York City are not as grim as they were during the height of the pandemic, nor as bad as when we visited during the Omicron surge last winter, things are not yet completely back to normal. A lot better, yes. But when we visited in August the effects were still clear. People were back in the streets, but the crowds weren’t nearly as dense as before. And we still hesitated to go to some of the more crowded places that we enjoyed previously. So, on this afternoon we found ourselves killing time between a couple of planned events, so we took a walk over to and along a section of the Hudson River shoreline.

In this location sidewalks, paths, and stairs can take you down from the city itself of a riverside walkway and park, so we headed on down to join the others out for a walk, a run, or a bike ride. As the path descended it approached the base of this old structure that supports the parkway running along the waterfront. In a world of modern, sweeping and curving reinforced concrete structures, it is fun and interesting to come across older steel structures like this one.

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

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

West Coast Rebar Company

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West Coast Rebar Company
The “West Coast Rebar Company” building, San Jose

West Coast Rebar Company. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

The “West Coast Rebar Company” building, San Jose

This photograph probably makes this subject look a bit nicer than it is in reality. It is an old industrial building in an area of such things, these days mostly occupied by auto body repair shops and similar. I’m not at all certain that it is still an actual rebar company — for example, it appears that parts of the facility now house gigantic pots containing young trees.

I have walked past this place many times. (In fact, I’ve known the small street on which it is located for decades.) I’ve also thought about photographing it many times. I’m intrigued by these old metal shop buildings, a type that used to be very common around here and, I would imagine, elsewhere in the country. I see them in older towns and in older areas of more modern communities here in Silicon Valley, but they are gradually being replaced by fancy new office buildings and urban housing developments.

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 | 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.