Tag Archives: urban

Photographs: Germany, Photographs: Urban/Street

Time To Dance

Image Leave a comment
Street art in Berlin, Germany

Time To Dance. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Street art in Berlin, Germany

I made this photograph in Berlin, not too far from the “East Side Gallery,” which is a still-standing remnant of the Berlin Wall that was turned over to artists and which is now covered by paintings. The scene in this photograph is not part of the “gallery,” but was instead a graffiti covered wall we passed on the way to the wall. I don’t make a habit of photographing graffiti, often because I don’t want to contribute the notoriety of some folks who vandalize public and private property. But here the stuff is everywhere and seems to have become a part of the environment, so I’m making an exception.

Besides the wild colors and patterns of this street art, there was another reason for photographing it. While I don’t know “her” cultural significance, the figure in the center of the scene keeps showing up in photographs of mine. I encountered and photographed her twice on a visit to Paris two years ago. In one photograph she appears on a wall, partially obscured by ivy. In another, one of my favorite photographs, she is one of several related figures pasted onto a Le Marais wall behind a small group of pedestrians. Oddly, some of the surrounding “stuff” on this wall seems very similar to that in the Paris photographs, making me think that he appearance may not be quite random.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email

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

Photographs: Southern California, Photographs: Urban/Street

Sidewalk, Building, SpreadingTree

Image Leave a comment
Sidewalk, Building, Spreading Tree
And urban landscape scene in Pasadena, California

Sidewalk, Building, Spreading Tree. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An urban landscape scene in Pasadena, California

We had an afternoon and early evening to “kill,” so we ended up in a downtown section of Pasadena, first for a bite to eat and then for a random walk as the day came to an end. Our walk started in late afternoon light, continued through twilight, and ended after dark as we looped back to where we had started.

As we walked I had my small rangefinder-style camera out, and I photographed quickly with a single lens. There was a lot to see — some typical older Southern California urban architecture and, as the darkness came on, some interesting artificial light. This tree both contrasted with the geometry of the street, sidewalk, and building… and reminded me of similar trees and scenes in San Francisco.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email

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

Photographs: Southern California, Photographs: Urban/Street

Woman on Sunny Bench

Image Leave a comment
Woman on Sunny Bench
A woman sits on a sunny bench in winter light, Pasadena

Woman on Sunny Bench. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A woman sits on a sunny bench in winter light, Pasadena

We were in Southern California for a family event, staying in Pasadena and filling the open time with various activities — visiting other family members, looking for good places to eat, driving around, hitting a few sights, and walking around in several local communities including Pasadena.

To this Northern California native, there is something a bit strange about Southern California winter, or at least the experiences I have had with it. In my part of the state a typical winter day might be sunny or possibly rainy, with cool to cold nighttime temperatures and cool to moderate daytime temperatures. A truly warm day is a rarity, though there may be some warm hours on a day that is overall cool. But when we travel to Southern California at this time of year we often encounter weather that is actually hot. We did so on this trip, and as we walked along a Pasadena street I made this photograph of a woman in warm weather attire sitting on a bench and soaking up the sunshine… on January 6th.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email

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

Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Pedestrian With Bucket

Image 1 Comment
Pedestrian With Bucket
Two men walking, one with safety vest and bucket

Pedestrian With Bucket. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two men walking, one with safety vest and bucket

I share this in my ongoing effort to perplex those who like my landscape photography… but aren’t so sure about the other stuff! Don’t worry, my intentions are entirely positive. I’ll remain a bit circumspect, but not entirely so. I like photographing urban scenes for a bunch of reasons, ranging from aesthetic to practical. On the practical side, they are often much more accessible — I can literally step out my front door and make photographs or perhaps find them at the end of a one-hour train ridge. They also challenge me to see in ways that are not in my native comfort zone, and they hone my ability to see quickly… which is a good thing. On the aesthetic side, if you know much about the history of photography and photographers, it is obvious that good work can be done in these places.

As to what is going on in this photograph, you shouldn’t view it though the lens of landscape photography. Well, OK, perhaps you could do that. This is a kind of landscape. It even includes some native “wildlife.” When you look at photographs of natural landscape, you probably look beyond the pure “beauty” of place and subject to consider the abstractions of from and color and implied motion and so forth. It might be worth trying the same thing with other subjects!

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email

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