Tag Archives: street

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Urban/Street

Blue House, Flag, Holiday Lights

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Blue House, Flag, Holiday Lights
A house with weathered blue paint, an American flag, and holiday lights.

Blue House, Flag, Holiday Lights. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A house with weathered blue paint, an American flag, and holiday lights.

I have frequently written that I often walk out the front door carrying a camera, and during the last two years I’ve been doing a lot of walking in a several mile radius of my home. This takes me through remarkably varied areas — some very old (one might say run-down) homes, apartment complexes, one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the area, light industrial areas, new office buildings, urban trails, a small downtown, areas occupied by the unhoused, and more. Needless to say, there is a lot to see — which is fortunate, given the amount of time I’ve spent wandering around here.

It has been noted that photographs often ask questions as much as they make statements, and as I walk around and look at these surroundings quite a few questions arise for me. Take this home for example — a small, older home on the edge of a newer and much wealthier neighborhood. It looks a bit ragged around the edges, but I wonder why? Is the occupant perhaps old and unable to take care of the place? Or perhaps one of the “house rich, cash poor” who bought the place years ago and can no longer afford the upkeep? Is the flag a habit, about simple patriotic feelings, or a statement to the neighbors? What, if anything, are we to make of the holiday lights that are falling off the edge of the roof? What about the small, lonely plant next to the concrete?

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

Masked Man With Dog

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Masked Man With Dog
A man in a protective mask with his dog outside Zabar’s Market, Mahnattan.

Masked Man With Dog. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A man in a protective mask with his dog outside Zabar’s Market, Mahnattan.

New Yorkers may laugh at me for pointing this out (one already did!) but apparently “Zabars” is kind of a “thing” here. The market was located a few blocks north of where we were staying during roughly the last week of 2021, and our walks on the largely deserted streets in the area frequently took us past it. From the outside, at least to a non-New Yorker who doesn’t know what it is, the market doesn’t look like anything special — but since my visit I have heard, from more than one source, that it is “something special.”

We never went inside. Hey, there’s a pandemic. We avoided going inside much of anything besides our hotel and the places where our “kids” live plus a few outside dining spots. (For my California friends — eating al fresco in Manhattan during December is a, uh, “special” experience!) Several things about this photograph seemed to suggest the times we are in, including the masked fellow with his dog. If you had come across him in this spot two years ago, you might have and questions. Now? Just another guy on the sidewalk! The emergency orange pylons seemed appropriate here, too.

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

Stairway, Upper West Side

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Stairway, Upper West Side
A stairway with curving metal railing and gate, Upper West Side, Manhattan.

Stairway, Upper West Side. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A stairway with curving metal railing and gate, Upper West Side, Manhattan.

The story of our “holiday pandemic” visit to New York continues. In our previous episode we heard that after pondering the go-don’t-go question during a week when we carefully watched rising case reports, our decision was to go ahead and do a long-scheduled holiday visit to Manhattan to visit family, including some we had not seen in person in two years. We’re triple-vaccinated, we loaded up with N95 masks, we avoided most of the usual non-family New York attractions, so we were about as safe as we could be — not perfectly safe, since no one is, but generally fine.

Given the unusual circumstances of visiting Manhattan (and The Bronx) during a pandemic, our routines necessarily changed. Every morning began with a quick, masked trip to a downstairs bakery, where we retrieved coffee and pastry that we ate in our hotel room while waiting for the 15-minute rapid tests to complete. When we were not with family, our options for entertainment were somewhat limited, but we eventually worked out a rough walking loop that we followed a few times. It took us through some West Side neighborhoods between Broadway and Central Park, including the street where I photographed this fascinating metal stairway and gate.

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.

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

Digital Solutions

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Digital Solutions
Street scene in Lower Manhattan, evening.

Digital Solutions. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Street scene in Lower Manhattan, evening.

Considering that I have recently shared photograph from our December 2021 visit to pandemic-stricken New York City, you might think that this photograph, with its appropriately empty street and sidewalk, might come from that trip. You would be incorrect. This photograph comes from our last visit before the Great Lockdown, back in the late winter of 2019, when we spent a week wandering freely around Manhattan, stopping wherever we wanted to for food and drink, wandering into museums, and mingling in crowds. The quiet scene shown here was, at that time, the exception to the rule.

If I recall correctly, I made the photograph on a relatively long we made from Midtown all the way down to Lower Manhattan, starting in the afternoon and ending around sunset. This photograph comes from that wonderful time of day when it isn’t yet dark — and buildings are still lit by the fading ambient light — but the lights of businesses and offices have started to come on, illuminating interiors and spilling light out onto the sidewalks.

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.