Tag Archives: store

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

Four Figures In Doorway

February 9, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Four people stand in front of the doorway of a Manhattan store

I suspect that this photograph is going to perplex more than a few folks who watch my landscape and nature photography. In fact, this is one in a large string of very urban photographs made in New York in late December 2015. For those of you who “get” and like this work, thanks! For those who don’t, the more familiar kinds of photography will return before too much longer, and I’ll try to intersperse more of that photography with the urban/street/night stuff.

I’m endlessly fascinated by the way in which seemingly formless and virtually random patterns of motion in the urban environment can suddenly coalesce into something that has structure and which may even be mysterious and suggestive. Capturing this stuff requires me to be “on” all the time — and this can make me not at all fun to be with in these places when I’m carrying a camera! I made this photograph on a very crowded Christmas Eve in Manhattan, and it is one from a short sequence I photographed of this group standing in front of the entrance to a closed store — and for this instant the group miraculously assembled themselves into a fascinating tableaux of individual poses, especially the woman on the left.

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

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

Tourist Shop, Night

August 30, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Front of a Chinatown tourist shop at night, San Francisco

Like any big city popular with tourists, San Francisco has its share — and then some! — of these little shops whose sole purpose seems to be to sell cheap proof that “I was there!” to folks visiting the city. This one happens to be in the densely packed Chinatown district of the City, right on Grant, but you can find the same thing alone the areas of the waterfront that are on the tourist circuit and in a number of other places.

The items included in the stock of such shops, while often sharing the same level of kitsch and cheap manufacture, are often a sort of study in the ways that cities portray themselves and in the ways they are viewed. Exhibit #1: How about those American flag tights! Wow! It was getting late when we passed through here, and many shops had already closed or were in the process of closing.

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

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

Asian Ambiance

August 13, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A man works in the display window of the Asian Ambiance shop, next to the Francisco Aquino’s Ross Alley 1889 Mural

When shooting at night — and, frankly, often when shooting during the day — I may photograph a scene, feeling that something about it “works,” but not knowing quite why in then sense that I could explain why I’m making the photograph. I frequently work quite intuitively, even though I’m very aware of my surroundings and fully engaged with them. This is one of those photographs.

I think I first simply thought the light spilling out of the colorful windows of the shop was interesting. As I walked over for a closer look I saw the man working intently on something in the window — perhaps repairing some sort of security shutter. I think I may have been aware of the pool of light on the sidewalk, and I soon noticed the mural to the left. (I later looked it up and found out that it has been there for a while and is far more than random graffiti.) As I quickly framed up a photograph, hoping the man would not move, I thought about the edges of the frame and the position of the lamp at the right become an important consideration. The title, of course, is simply the name of the shop.

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Night, Photographs: People, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Man With Flag

July 31, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A man with a flag organizes a group of tourists on a San Francisco street

I think this is another “there’s more going on here than you might first realize” photographs. Yes, there is a man marching out of this store carrying a small flag, but why? The answer to that question is pretty easy — he is apparently leading a group of tourists through this part of San Francisco, and the flag is his way of letting them know who to follow. (You’ll see this phenomenon in almost any city or other area that is popular with tourists.) But there is something else interesting — at last to me — about this photograph. Many of the people in the scene have apparently just become aware of me and are looking my direction, apparently not quite certain how to respond just yet. (I’m discreet, so I probably didn’t have the camera to my face, and it isn’t a large camera.)

Pools of light like this one are prime spots for me when shooting urban areas at night. I love the way the light spills out onto the sidewalk, creating shadows leading away from the people. I can also play with this light. I might shoot straight into it and make shadow the main subject. Or I can sometimes get just a bit between the subjects and the light, and then it can light them quite beautifully, especially when there are multiple light sources. If I recall correctly, it was the light and then the bricks that first caught my eyes here, and then when the people appeared in the doorway the photograph was complete.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: store

Four Figures In Doorway

Tourist Shop, Night

Asian Ambiance

Man With Flag

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