Tag Archives: table

Photographs: Southern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Central Courtyard, Rain, Curved Window – Getty Center

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Central Courtyard, Rain, Curved Window - Getty Center
Central Courtyard, Rain, Curved Window - Getty Center

Central Courtyard, Rain, Curved Window – Getty Center. Los Angeles, California. December 30, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The central courtyard of the Getty Center on a rainy day as viewed through a curved window from the entrance rotunda.

The typical arrival at the Getter Center is via the tram from the parking area, and after leaving the tram and walk up the shallow stairs most people first enter this round, glass-enclosed space from which I made this photograph during my rainy and foggy visit to the Center near the very end of 2009. I shot this view into the wet and almost deserted courtyard through the curved windows using a wide angle lens. I was thinking about several things as I made this photograph: the angular vertical shapes of the outdoor buildings, the perspective lines of the balconies and the pool receding toward the very foggy distance, and the dissonance of the curved window and especially the curving and sweeping “lines” of the window frames.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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keywords: getty, center, los angeles, california, usa, museum, winter, travel, urban, art, rain, cloud, fog, wet, reflection, column, window, pane, curve, floor, tree, table, chairs, umbrellas, mist, building, architecture, structure, balcony, railing, stairs, person, fountain, water, sign, stock, rembrandt, his, pupils, exhibit

Photographs: People, Photographs: Southern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Dining Terrace and Columns

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Dining Terrace and Columns
Dining Terrace and Columns


Dining Terrace and Columns. The Getty Center, Los Angeles, California. December 30, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Visitors on the outdoor dining terrace among tall stone pillars with fog beyond – Getty Museum, Los Angeles, California.

I think this terrace is one of the most interesting places at the Getty Center for a variety of reasons. For one, these slender and tall columns seem to support a rather large part of the museum – being a virtual native Californian I can’t help but think about their seeming fragility here in earthquake country. But the space itself is a very interesting one. While protected from sun and rain (as on the day I made the photograph) it feels very open because of the unusually high “ceiling” and the fact that it is almost completely open along a good part of its edge. While the “back” wall is nondescript – and, in retrospect, I can’t even describe it – the front opens to the large gardens that are spread below.

Elements that attracted me to the scene on this visit included the gradual gradient from shadow at the lower right to much brighter light at the far edge of the terrace, the vertical length of the support columns and their relative placement, the very small figures of the visitors, and the diffuse and misty fog and rain beyond the terrace.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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keywords: getty, center, museum, visitors, people, men, women, chairs, table, dining, terrace, floor, shadow, reflection, tall, column, square, garden, trees, lawn, building, fog, mist, rain, weather, cloud, gray, los angeles, california, usa, travel, sit, stand, roof, ceiling, structure, architecture, tray, stock

Photographs: Urban/Street

Donut Shop, Christmas Eve

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Donut Shop, Christmas Eve
Donut Shop, Christmas Eve

Donut Shop, Christmas Eve. San Jose, California. December 24. 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of the interior of a donut shop late in the afternoon on Christmas Eve.

As in many photographs like this, I hope that there may be more to it than meets the eye. I won’t tell the whole story, but here is a bit of background. I had been involved in an online discussion of the merits of shooting “old school” street photography using primes, and specifically limiting oneself to a 50mm prime on a 35mm film camera. Though it isn’t the point of my post here, I’ll just say that I’m skeptical about the value of that sort of limitation given a whole bunch of boring photographic philosophy. In any case, as an outgrowth of that discussion I thought it would be fun to head out on foot armed only with my full-frame camera (sorry, no film camera at all these days!) and a 50mm prime and just see what I could come up with. So, I walked out my front door and did some photography.

It was late in the afternoon on Christmas Eve, so few businesses were still open, and it was late enough in the day that the last-minute shopping traffic was diminishing and things were becoming rather quiet. Few people were even out walking. I mostly walked but I also photographed some shop windows and buildings and so forth, and when I passed this tiny donut shop I first did an exterior shot of the closed business that included a weathered wooden and brick wall and some sad-looking holiday lights. Then as I passed the front of the shop I decided to put my nose against the window and peer inside. The low light from the late-afternoon sun was directly behind me and casting some very harsh and flat light into the interior, but I was intrigued by the arrangement and shapes of the tables and chairs, the shadow cast by the Christmas ornaments hanging in the window, and by the odd juxtaposition of a poster of the work of a certain photographer that is barely visible on the wall.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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keywords: donut, doughnut, shop, manley, christmas, eve, day, afternoon, light, closed, interior, shop, door, window, wall, outlet, no smoking, sign ansel, adams, mural, project, shadow, ornaments, table, chair, wood, panel, obscure, glass, handle, lock, reflection, street, urban, stock, black and white, monochrome

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

Big Star Grocery Co.

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Big Star Grocery Co.

Big Star Grocery Co. San Francisco, California. August 18, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early morning shopping for produce at the Big Star Grocery Co. in Chinatown, San Francisco, California.

In the past I’ve mostly walked past these markets in San Francisco’s Chinatown at more typical tourist times of the day, so I had missed the activity of the early morning hours when the markets are both opening and taking shipments of produce, dropped off on the sidewalks by large delivery trucks and then moved inside manually.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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keywords: early, morning, grocery, produce, big, star, co., company, store, banana, bunch, apple, orange, melon, box, rack, shelf, hang, flag, cherry, fruit, interior, light, open, chinatown, san francisco, california, usa, urban, downtown, city, street, travel, apartment, window, table, wall, sidewalk, market, stock