Tag Archives: lane

Amsterdam Bike Lane

Amsterdam Bike Lane
Cyclists on a bike lane on a cloudy day in Amsterdam

Amsterdam Bike Lane. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Cyclists on a bike lane on a cloudy day in Amsterdam

This photograph is partly about bicycles and Amsterdam, partly about that interesting and dark sky, partly about Amsterdam architecture and buildings that lean, and partly about that guy in the foreground. This summer was our first visit to Amsterdam. We stayed just outside of the central city and walked a few blocks to get to the well-known areas each day. For many years I was a very active cyclist in the US, but this is an entirely different scene. Almost no lycra, dropped handlebars road bikes, few mountain bikes… and lots of people in street clothes riding very utilitarian bikes… and parking them everywhere. Somehow the intersecting types of traffic — foot, transit, canal, bicycle, car — seem to coexist here, though it can be quite confusing at times for a first-time visitor.

This day’s light was remarkable. There was thin sunlight, but there were also some lovely dark clouds in the sky. If memory serves, we were in light rain later that evening as we ate dinner outside. We ended up talking to a couple who live in Amsterdam about many things. I confessed that I had initially been mildly disappointed to find the cloudy weather when we arrived, expecting it to be sunny. They more or less laughed and pointed out that this was the more typical sort of conditions. (They claimed that I would not see blue sky. That turned out to be wrong… but only by a little bit!)


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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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The Way (To San Jose)

The Way (To San Jose)
San Francisco freeway entrance

The Way (To San Jose). San Francisco, California. August 14, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

San Francisco freeway entrance

OK. How to explain this photograph, especially to people who think of me as a “landscape” photographer? Let me start with the basic facts. I made the photograph on one of my regular walks in The City, which almost always start at the Caltrain station and the head off in various directions. On this morning I headed straight north towards Market Street. But “straight” doesn’t mean fast, and I mostly walked slowly and looked a lot — at things that I might not otherwise see. The light was beautiful, with the early morning sun beginning to break up the San Francisco fog and cast soft light on the urban landscape. At one point I passed this freeway on-ramp, with its obvious potential for puns based on an old popular song

Yes. I’m putting off trying to explain this photograph. I’ll just drop a few hints. First, think in terms of landscape, but “urban landscape.” There is no clear line between the landscapes of people and the landscapes of what we call the natural world, and this is just a bit closer to one end of the spectrum. Then, there is that beautiful light and the lovely Bay Area summer morning sky — the same sky that might appear in a natural landscape not more than a few miles away. And I think if you look closer you might possibly find a few little surprises in the photograph that demonstrate that perhaps there is more there than you might first think. Isn’t that a beautiful curve from lower right and up toward the sky? And how in the world is it that the street and the freeway are empty of cars on a weekday morning in downtown San Francisco. Beyond that, I’ll leave you to figure the rest of it on your own…


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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Maiden Lane, New York City

Maiden Lane, New York City
Maiden Lane, New York City

Maiden Lane, New York City. New York, New York. August 19, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of narrow urban canyon that is Maiden Lake, in the financial district of New York City.

This street scene is in lower Manhattan, not far from the site of the World Trade Center towers. The morning light seems especially interesting on this curving street as the sun manages to penetrate all the way to the street level and the illuminated fronts of the buildings lining the “concrete canyon” are visible due to the curve.

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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Urban Canyon, Maiden Lane

Urban Canyon, Maiden Lane
Urban Canyon, Maiden Lane

Urban Canyon, Maiden Lane. New York, New York. August 19, 2010. © Copyright 2010 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning light strikes buildings above the curving urban canyon of Maiden Lane in Lower Manhattan.

We were in this area of lower Manhattan for several reasons on the morning of the last full day of our New York City visit. We made a stop at the nearby World Trade Center site – it is difficult to explain all of the reactions that I had to this. The last time I visited (close to New Years Day 2000) we stood on top of one of the buildings to see the nighttime view – and now there is a void in that place.

We were also there to visit our oldest son who was working that day in an office on Maiden Lane – and, later on, to join the throngs walking out onto the Brooklyn Bridge. (This was our first day of clear, blue sky weather.) I made this photograph as we approached that street a bit early, giving us some time to look around a bit. Oddly, when I visit the very narrow and twisty “canyons” of this part of Manhattan, with the very tall buildings towering immediately above and following the curves of the old streets, I always think of different sorts of canyons, for example the sort that I frequently visit in the Sierra. It occurred to me that the same light falls on both types of canyons. You can bet that I would have my camera out if light like that shining on the front of these curved buildings appeared in “my” Sierra!

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