Tag Archives: usa

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

At The Door

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At The Door
Patricia Emerson Mitchell opens the door to a snowy Lower Manhattan street scene

At The Door. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Patricia Emerson Mitchell opens the door to a snowy Lower Manhattan street scene

We frequently visit New York at about this time of year. Our sons and their wives live in the area and we can often open up about a week of travel time. It is a fine time to visit — there is a lot of holiday stuff to see, if that is your interest, and it seems like the subways are a bit less crowded during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Plus, by comparison to our mid-summer visits, the potentially cold weather actually seems attractive… and a welcome change from “California winter,” with its 50-60 degree temperatures. But the timing of these visits often has us there just a bit too early for snow.

This year was different. Shortly after we arrived the weather turned cold — extremely cold by our California standards — with daytime temperatures barely (and not always) making it into the lower 20 degree range. We persisted, however, and did a lot of walking all over Manhattan, always carrying cameras and making photographs. For most of the week we saw weather forecasts predicting a chance of snow on the last two days of the visit, but those forecasts gradually reverted to merely “cloudy.” So we were pleasantly surprised when we opened the hotel blinds on our final morning and saw snow falling! We headed out, mainly to find breakfast and coffee, and enjoyed the transformed landscape. As you look at this photograph, try to also imagine that moment when you move between the snowy, cold, and windy street and the warm, inviting space of a restaurant, coffee shop, or the home of friends/family.

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

On Alert

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On Alert
A flock of Ross’s geese raises their heads in response to a distraction

On Alert. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A flock of geese raises their heads in response to a distraction

We started 2018 with a New Year’s Day visit to wetlands to photograph migratory birds and engage in a few other fun activities. Among these were: arising hours before dawn, driving long distances in pre-dawn darkness, sharing a champagne toast to the New Year well before noon, and much more. To be honest, I’ve had been photography days out there at this time of year… but I haven’t had a better time.

This photograph shows a behavior that I’ve learned to watch for when photographing geese. Much of the time when they are settled in they are fairly passive, perhaps with their heads down to feed. But when anything worthy of attention happens — a raptor flies over, a plane passes by too low, someone gets too close or starts a vehicle engine — the flock’s sound changes and all of the heads rise with necks vertical. If the threat passes or is deemed unimportant the heads quickly drop. But if it is seen as serious, this might be an indication that the entire flock is about to dramatically take flight.

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Night

San Joaquin Valley Moonrise

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San Joaquin Valley Moonrise
Winter full moon rises over San Joaquin Valley utility lines

New Year’s Moonrise. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Winter full moon rises over California utility lines

I have to admit that one reason I made this photograph was simply because I could. Such a photograph likely could not have been made just a few years ago, and certainly not in the way I made it. The photograph is, believe it or not, handheld… using a 300mm focal length on a 100-400mm zoom lens. Because this technical capability is so wonderful, I think it is worth mentioning it in this case. The moon is relatively bright, producing about as much light as daylight on our planet. However, it does not shed much light on the landscape, yet here I was able to retain some color in the sky and even make the details of the very dark utility lines and poles visible.

The genesis of the photograph is also significant. I was not here to photograph the full moon, and I actually was unaware that it had risen. I was focused on another subject, a large flock birds assembled in twilight in front of me, when someone said, “Look over there!” I turned around and saw the moon rising through the thin clouds above the valley. I could not take time to use a tripod — I photograph the birds handheld — so I simply took a chance that I might be able to hold the camera still enough and come up with the right exposure. I grabbed a few shots, then turned my attention back to the birds.

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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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

Soda Candy Luncheonette

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Soda Candy Luncheonette
Street scene in winter light on the Upper East Side, Manhattan

Soda Candy Luncheonette. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Street scene in winter light on the Upper East Side, Manhattan

Today’s photo takes us back to the urban world again, and away from the world of winter migratory birds that I have shared more recently. The photograph is from our weeklong visit to New York City between Christmas and (almost) New Year’s Day. It was a cold week! As we usually do, we went out and wandered Manhattan quite a bit — hard to do street photography without going into the street! Daytime highs made it (barely, and not always) into the low 20 degree range, but we fought back by layering up and by stopping frequently for refreshments in warm places. Not that the latter is a bad thing!

I made this photograph on one of those cold days. We had queued up to get into the Guggenheim, but the line wasn’t moving at all. Standing there in the bitter cold and strong wind, the thought of finding a place with warm soup suddenly occurred to us, and we left the line and found food. Feeling warmer now, we headed back out onto Lexington and walked south. When I first spotted this place, somewhat interesting in its own right though not quite unique as a structure, the words on the sign caught my attention: “Soda Candy Luncheonette.” Then I noticed the nice light coming up Lexington and the interesting arrangements of pedestrians as they walked past.

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 | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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