Tag Archives: symphony

Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Up The Stairs

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Up The Stairs
A woman pauses at the bottom of a staircase, San Francisco.

Up The Stairs. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A woman pauses at the bottom of a staircase, San Francisco.

This was one of those unexpected opportunities that make me operate on pure instinct, with almost no time to carefully think about what I’m doing. I saw the staircase in this fascinating light because we were at this concert hall in the daytime instead of at nighttime. I quickly whipped out the iPhone and framed a shot of the stairs. The masked woman — whose presence makes this a very different photograph than it might have been — was completely serendipitous.

We sometimes dismiss iPhone photography as not being serious. Well, some people do — but more and more folks recognize that it has its place. I wouldn’t normally carry a “real camera” to a symphony concert, but I do almost always have the phone. In this situation I was able to deploy it quickly, make a few adjustments, and capture a raw image that otherwise would have escaped.

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: Music & Musicians

Baton and Score

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Baton and Score
A musical score and baton at the ready on the conductor’s stand.

Baton and Score. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A musical score and baton at the ready on the conductor’s stand.

Today I’m changing things up a bit and posting a photograph that is not at all like what I typically share. The photograph comes from a project I worked on over the course of three years, during which time I was “embedded” with a couple of professional classical music groups, a symphony orchestra and a chamber orchestra. It was a special and, I think, unusual experience. Lots of people photograph musicians, but I was able to hang out backstage and photograph the parts of musicians’ work and lives that you don’t see from the stage.

In the photograph is the score to one of composer Kurt Weill’s compositions. Because I had fairly free rein to photograph almost anything I was able to wander onto the stage during breaks and photograph vignettes containing items associated with the work of the musicians. A musical score is a completely remarkable thing. It uses a written language that most do not understand, and it notates not text (for the most part) but instead indicates pitches, dynamics, techniques, rhythm, and more — yet it leaves a lot to the interpretation of the musicians individually and collectively. The conductor’s score contains a remarkable density of information. I used to keep a print of two pages of a score by Ravel on my office wall, and it never ceased to amaze me that those two pages, with hundreds of notes and other indications, contained only a few seconds of sound.

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 and Amazon.

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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: Music & Musicians

Classical Musicians — Four Photographs

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This post includes a set of four black and white photographs from my ongoing project photographing classical musicians.

Backstage Before the Concert
Backstage Before the Concert

Backstage Before the Concert. Symphony Silicon Valley, San Jose, California. September 27, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Musicians backstage preparing for the concert.

Musicians Backstage Before the Concert
Musicians Backstage Before the Concert

Musicians Backstage Before the Concert. Symphony Silicon Valley, San Jose, California. September 27, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Musicians backstage at the California Theater, preparing for a Symphony Silicon Valley concert

Checking the Score
Checking the Score

Checking the Score. Symphony Silicon Valley, San Jose, California. September 27, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Timpanist Robert Erlebach and conductor Karen Kamensek consult the score during a break in a Symphony Silicon Valley rehearsal

Consulting at the Break
Consulting at the Break

Consulting at the Break. Symphony Silicon Valley, San Jose, California. September 26, 2-14. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Conductor Karen Kamensek and violinist Allison “Gigi” Dang consult the conductor’s score during a rehearsal break

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Music & Musicians, Photographs: People

Violist Janet Sims

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Violist Janet Sims
Violist Janet Sims

Violist Janet Sims. San Jose, California. June 5, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved

Symphony Silicon Valley violist Janet Sims at a June, 2014 rehearsal

This weekend I am sharing two more photographs from my ongoing project photographing professional classical musicians, a three-year project during which I have the opportunity to attend many rehearsals and concerts and generally spend a lot of time learning to see and understand this world. (I already understood more than most since I’ve been part of it in several ways for many years.) Both of these photographs are casual shots made during rehearsals. Such photos remind us of several things, I think. First, it is possible to get some odd ideas about who the musicians are if your only experience is seeing them in formal concert situations — but backstage and during rehearsals… they are “regular people” just like all of us. Second, and from the same perspective, it is easy to overlook that fact that the vast majority of the work necessary for a live performance is actually done outside of the performance, with often intense and lengthy periods of individual practice and preparation and significant time spent on group rehearsal. And, finally, in both of these photographs I think you will see the intense focus of these musicians. Janet Sims is a first-stand violist in the Symphony Silicon Valley.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.