Category Archives: Photographs: Architecture

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Architectural Detail

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Architectural Detail
Architectural details, New York Botanical Gardens

Architectural Detail. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Architectural details, New York Botanical Gardens

We began our recent trip with a short visit to New York City. This gave us a chance to visit with relatives there and to break up the jet-lag-inducing flight to Europe. Because the visit was short — we were only in New York for three nights before we flew on to London — we took it easy and didn’t try to see too much this time. We hung out near our Manhattan hotel, walked a lot, went out to eat, and made one longer trip to the The Bronx to visit the New York Botanical Garden.

The Garden is spectacular, very large, and full of interesting things to see. Unfortunately, we were there on a typical August New York Day… which many of you may know means 90+ degrees and near-100% humidity. Our first stop was indoors, to see a small exhibit devoted to O’Keeffe paintings from her visit to Hawaii. In the building shown in this photograph there was a companion presentation that featured some of same plants and flowers that were the subjects of her work on the Islands. Needless to say, inside this greenhouse-like structure on a hot humid New York day… it was even hotter and more humid! We stuck it out for a while, but we eventually had to go back outside. As we did so, we got a bit of light-softening overcast, and I made a few photographs of the forms and textures of this remarkable building

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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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Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Blue Stairway

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Blue Stairway
A blue stairway in a softly lit alcove

Blue Stairway. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A blue stairway in a softly lit alcove

In contrast to much of what I have recently shared, this photograph is not a landscape. Or perhaps it is. OK, it is. I think of photographs like this, at least to some extent, as being “urban landscapes.” In many ways (but not all) I see them in ways that are similar to how I see landscape. I’m looking for form and composition, color, effects of light, some sense of the feeling of the place, and often a quality of stillness. I also think that these photographs, like some of my personal favorite landscape photographs, attempt to look at a familiar place in an unfamiliar way. For example, there is almost nothing in this photograph to tell you that it was made in San Francisco, not far at all from some rather iconic views.

Despite the similarities to my landscape photography, there are also some obvious differences. The distinctly non-natural subject is one obvious clue. Perhaps less obvious is that these photographs are not made in the usual natural landscape manner, relying on tripods, remote releases, and sometimes plenty of time to think and consider. Instead, these are virtually always shot handheld with a small camera. I’m generally on the move when I photograph these subjects, typically pausing only long enough to frame and trip the shutter, and then I continue along. In fact, I barely broke my stride as I passed this scene and made this photograph.

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

Tortaria

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Tortaria
A woman walks past a Manhattan tortaria with a red pickup truck parked in front.

Tortaria. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A woman walks past a Manhattan tortaria with a red pickup truck parked in front.

I made this photograph about four years ago, and the brief tale of how emerged now is perhaps worth telling. Recently I was involved in a discussion of tilt/shift lenses. Part of the discussion drifted to image changes that could be made in post-processing rather than by using shift to correct converging perspective lines. I went looking for example files I could use, especially those that might have been shot with a very wide lens and in need of correction. I figured that urban photographs would provide good examples, so I started digging into my New York raw files. Eventually I ended up back in 2014… and to my surprise I found a group of images that I had almost completely forgotten about and which I never finished reviewing and processing.

Four years later I don’t even remember making this photograph, nor do I remember the location. (I could figure it out easily enough.) I’m betting that the initial attraction was to the contrast between the bright red pickup truck (and all of the things that it can symbolize) and the teal-colored front of the Tortaria. It may have been good fortune that the woman walked into the left side of the frame at this moment. I like the juxtaposition of the red and green-blue colors and the potential cultural and other symbolism of the big, red pickup truck.

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: Architecture, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Southern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects

St. Madeleine Church, Trona

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St. Madeleine Church, Trona
The stark architecture of St. Madeleine Sophie Barat Catholic Church, Trona, California.

St. Madeleine Church, Trona. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The stark architecture of St. Madeleine Sophie Barat Catholic Church, Trona, California.

I have a bit of history with the California town of Trona, but it has mostly been superficial. I may need to consider changing that. The town is in the far reaches of San Bernardino County, in the desert region between Ridgecrest, California and Death Valley National Park. The entire reason I even know of the place is that it is on the route that I almost always follow into the park. The town has roots that go back to the 1800s, and it seems to be supported almost entirely by the mining/extraction operations that go on there. To this outside, Trona has that utilitarian, dusty, sad, potential ghost town look of so many remote Western towns. I’m sure that some of that impression is the result of my own ignorance, but still…

I’ve passed through Trona annually for about two decades. However I rarely stop, mostly because Trona is either the last step on a very long drive to Death Valley (and I just want to get to DEVA and get to work without delay) or the first step on the long drive home (and I feel little need to stop yet). There isn’t much there for travelers — a drive-in, a restaurant on a side street, a market, a gas station or two. However, with each visit the feeling grows that there is something worth looking at and photographing here, especially in an increasingly urbanized age where fewer people have any experience with such places. So this time, on the way out of the park, we paused briefly and drove around just a bit. I noticed things that I have missed before. (For example, not all of the homes here are abandoned or unloved.) Our final stop before moving on was the parking area next to the St. Madeleine Church. In fact, this was one of the features that first suggested photography here to me some years ago, even though I had not previously stopped. It is a remarkable building, and its brutalist concrete construction and unadorned square shape somehow seem appropriate in this stark desert landscape.

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.