Tag Archives: urban

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Beneath the Parkway

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Beneath the Parkway
Support structures under the Henry Hudson Parkway, Manhattan.

Beneath the Parkway. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Support structures under the Henry Hudson Parkway, Manhattan.

While things in New York City are not as grim as they were during the height of the pandemic, nor as bad as when we visited during the Omicron surge last winter, things are not yet completely back to normal. A lot better, yes. But when we visited in August the effects were still clear. People were back in the streets, but the crowds weren’t nearly as dense as before. And we still hesitated to go to some of the more crowded places that we enjoyed previously. So, on this afternoon we found ourselves killing time between a couple of planned events, so we took a walk over to and along a section of the Hudson River shoreline.

In this location sidewalks, paths, and stairs can take you down from the city itself of a riverside walkway and park, so we headed on down to join the others out for a walk, a run, or a bike ride. As the path descended it approached the base of this old structure that supports the parkway running along the waterfront. In a world of modern, sweeping and curving reinforced concrete structures, it is fun and interesting to come across older steel structures like this one.

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: Urban/Street

Stripes

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Stripes
A woman wearing a striped outfit uses a cross walk in Manhattan.

Stripes. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A woman wearing a striped outfit uses a cross walk in Manhattan.

This photograph comes from a long, looping walk in Manhattan. We were staying at an Upper West Side hotel last month, and there were good walking opportunities all around — Central Park a few blocks to the East, down Broadway and into that maelstrom of human activity a bit to the south, across the park and into the Upper East Side, walking along the waterfront on either side. On this walk we ended up near the UN Plaza, which is where I made this photograph.

Stuff happens quickly in the street, and I often have to simply react immediately using whatever lens is on the camera — taking too long to fiddle with lenses or frame the perfect shot and there’s a good chance the opportunity will be gone. I had just a few seconds to photograph this slightly unusual character in the long striped dress as she stepped out on the striped crosswalk.

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 | Twitter | 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: People, Photographs: Urban/Street

A Family

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A Family
A passing family group on the street in Manhattan.

A Family. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A passing family group on the street in Manhattan.

As scheduled, it is back to more street photography today. This photograph comes from our late-August visit to Manhattan, which provided us with opportunities to simply go out on walks and observe/absorb the Manhattan vibe. That is, of course, a complex thing, being composed of lots of people, lots of motion, the urban canyons, occasional bits of quiet and stillness, and a lot of things that happen quickly and are gone. The latter, of course, is part of the appeal of street photography.

I recommend urban and street photography to all photographers, including those of you who like think of yourselves and landscape or nature photographers. As a general thing, I think it is good for you and for your photography to step outside your primary genre and to be aware of good photographic work done with subjects quite different than your own. On a very practical level, shooting street forces you to see, think, and react really quickly. Quite often subjects coalesce and disappear in seconds or even fractions of seconds. You don’t have much time to carefully consider, so you work on the basis of instinct. And that is a useful skill to develop, even if you usually work at a more sedate pace. Street also reminds us of how we make photographs of things that we don’t have time to fully evaluate or understand. For example, while I call this photograph “A Family,” I can’t know that it is a family group. And while I might make be tempted to make other assumptions about this trio… I have no way at all of knowing whether I’m right or wrong. It is better, I think, to just ask questions.

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 | Twitter | 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: Urban/Street

Woman on Telephone

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Woman on Telephone
A woman sits against a Manhattan brick wall to talk on the telephone.

Woman on Telephone. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A woman sits against a Manhattan brick wall to talk on the telephone.

Yesterday’s photograph came from the same trip that produced this photograph. Before we headed off for a family event in the green mountains of Vermont we spent four days in the concrete “mountains” and canyons of Manhattan. New York City is definitely not back to normal yet, but it feels far less oppressive than when we visited last winter during the height of one of the covid variants. Back then the streets were largely empty; now there are people out and about once again. We took advantage of this to wander the areas around the lower half of Central Park and some distance south of the park, where I made this photograph.

To some people it seems strange that a supposed “nature photographer” would want to spend time in a busy urban center like Manhattan, much less take a small camera into the street and make pictures of that life. But I like the contrast — the speed and immediacy of street photography, the necessity of making quick and intuitive decisions, and more. I grabbed two frames of this woman crouched against a brick wall and talking on the phone as we walked by, barely breaking stride to make the exposure.

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 | Twitter | 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.