Tag Archives: french

Photographs: Music & Musicians, Photographs: People

Meredith Brown, French Horn

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Meredith Brown, French Horn
Meredith Brown, French Horn

Meredith Brown, French Horn. San Jose, California. June 5, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Symphony Silicon Valley principal French hornist Meredith Brown

This weekend I am sharing two more photographs from my ongoing project photographing professional classical musicians, a three-year project during which I have the opportunity to attend many rehearsals and concerts and generally spend a lot of time learning to see and understand this world. (I already understood more than most since I’ve been part of it in several ways for many years.) Both of these photographs are casual shots made during rehearsals. Such photos remind us of several things, I think. First, it is possible to get some odd ideas about who the musicians are if your only experience is seeing them in formal concert situations — but backstage and during rehearsals… they are “regular people” just like all of us. Second, and from the same perspective, it is easy to overlook that fact that the vast majority of the work necessary for a live performance is actually done outside of the performance, with often intense and lengthy periods of individual practice and preparation and significant time spent on group rehearsal. And, finally, in both of these photographs I think you will see the intense focus of these musicians. Meredith Brown is the principal French hornist of the Symphony Silicon Valley.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Music & Musicians, Photographs: People

Wendell Rider, French Horn

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Wendell Rider, French Horn
Wendell Rider, French Horn

Wendell Rider, French Horn. San Jose, California. May 17, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Wendell Rider, French Horn, performing with Symphony Silicon Valley

Today, another photograph of musicians. Anyone seeing a theme here yet?;-) This is a recent photograph from my three-year project photographic classical musicians. I virtually always work in low light, backstage, and during rehearsals and concerts. While working to be discreet, I often photograph through gaps in the orchestra shell, between music stands and instruments, and in very dark backstage areas.

Over time I have found some ways to accomplish this often challenging photography. I use long lenses to isolate subjects against a blurred version of the often complex backgrounds of the orchestra environment. I look for juxtapositions of performers, instruments, and perhaps other on-stage objects. I almost always shoot wide open, allowing backgrounds to blur. And much of the shooting is work of opportunity—I see a momentary opportunity and then I work quickly to capture it. Here I found that I had a decent view of the French horn section through a gap in the orchestra shell wall. A long lens allowed by to isolate the main subject and a large aperture threw the background out of focus.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are 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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High Line Park and IAC Building

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High Line Park and IAC Building
High Line Park and IAC Building

High Line Park and IAC Building. New York, New York. August 14, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

People taking a summer evening walk along the High Line Elevated Park in Chelsea with the IAC Building and the 100 11th Building in the background, New York City.

I only spent a short time on one evening walking along the High Line Park, but I certainly found it to be an intriguing place, and one that I intend to visit again. I first stopped to photograph this spot when I saw a couple of musicians performing on the bench just beyond the people walking and standing in the foreground. But the “urban landscape” of buildings beyond is obviously very striking, especially in the evening light. I cannot identify all of the buildings in the photograph – my first attempts to find them via Google maps failed because the buildings are so new that you only see empty space and construction sites there. I finally determined that the building on the left with the “swooping” lines is the IAC Building, designed by Frank Gehry – which is obvious in retrospect. The taller building in the background (which I had taken to calling the “Mondrian building”) is the “100 11th” building, designed by a French architect named Nouvel.

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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