Tag Archives: street

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

Layers, Contre-Jour

February 27, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

People sitting in Metropolitan Museum windows, plus worlds on both sides

This is yet another take on the scene in this room at the New York Metropolitan Museum, on a cold day when hordes of people went to a warm museum instead of wandering outside. The window faces south, into the midday and afternoon sun, and the window sills provided an inviting and warm place for people to sit. I spend a bit of time here and observed as people passed by, came in and sat down, and moved on.

There may be more going on here than is immediately apparent. The first impression is of a half-dozen people sitting in or near the windows, with outdoor backlight providing the illumination. (Hence the “contre-jour” indication in the title of the photograph.) But there are several other layers. In the far distance Manhattan buildings near the south end of Central Park, whose trees are providing silhouetted shapes below the skyline. There are also reflections from the interior of this room in the windows — keep in mind that elements near my camera position were front-lit by the windows. There is actually quite a crowd reflected in the windows, and if you look closely you can even spot the photographer.

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

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.

Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

The Pose

February 20, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A woman stands on a sidewalk as a man and a woman photograph her and another talks on a phone

In many of my street photographs that include people, I am seeing some kind of momentary tableau — almost an arrangement that one might imagine and then pose the figures to produce it. These ephemeral arrangements constantly appear and disappear on the street, and I’m fascinated by the arrangements themselves and by the prices of trying to see them fast enough to make photographs.

This one was a bit more static than some — in fact I may have been the most active participant, as I more or less made this and a couple other photographs very quickly as I continued walking past. The primary interaction was between the young man sitting on the step with the camera and the woman with her back to my camera position. Another woman at right was making, with her smart phone, what may have been a documentation or informal photograph. To the left, leaning against a column, another woman seems unengaged with the main action, looking away and holding a cup of coffee.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: street

Layers, Contre-Jour

Strolling Couple

Great Offer

The Pose

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