Tag Archives: museum

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

Autumn Chairs, Whitney Museum

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Autumn Chairs, Whitney Museum
“Autumn Chairs, Whitney Museum” — Colorful chairs and an autumn tree outside the New Whitney Museum, Manhattan.

As each season passes, the sensations of the previous season fade. But only a short time ago it was about colorful leaves falling from trees, crunching underfoot, and blowing along sidewalks and trails. I made this photograph as we passed the Whitney Museum at the end of a very long Manhattan walk in late November on one of those beautiful autumn days.

Sometimes the question arises: What is this photograph about? It is hard to be too specific about that. But here the colors are pretty important — the bright yellow of the chairs, the warm orange of the leaves, and the overall cool blue tones of the light. I think it is also “about” the juxtaposition of the constructed urban world and the organic forms of the natural world.

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: Europe, Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Woman in Museum Doorway

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Woman in Museum Doorway
A woman stands in a doorway to an empty gallery, Uffizi Museum, Florence.

Woman in Museum Doorway. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A woman stands in a doorway to an empty gallery, Uffizi Museum, Florence.

Most of this museum in Florence, Italy consists of galleries filled with some of the culture’s greatest art. There is so much of it that it is truly overwhelming, and eventually it becomes Impossible to register all of it. But then something odd happened. We walked to this door and on the other side was simple an empty room with a spot of light glowing on the far wall. I stopped to photograph the light and quickly realized that the people passing in and out of the doorway were a more interesting subject — including this woman who pauses and twisted her body around to look backwards.

In much of landscape — thought not quite all of it — we often have time to think about what we are photographing and how to photograph it. We can move the tripod a bit to improve the composition, perhaps try more than one version and multiple variations of exposure and composition. One of the things that fascinates me about photographing urban subjects is that scenes happen so quickly, often assembling themselves spontaneously and then disappearing just as quickly — and the photographer has to work quickly and instinctively

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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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Travel

Two Windows

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Two Windows
Two windows and metallic walls at the Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco.

Two Windows. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Two windows and metallic walls at the Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco.

On my photographic walks in San Francisco — part of a familiar routine that begins with a train ride to The City — it isn’t unusual to pass through the area around Moscone Center and SFMOMA. Just a bit north of here I often follow a route that takes me on sidewalks that don’t border the streets, and I end up passing the fascinating architecture of the Contemporary Jewish Museum, with its angled, metal exterior walls.

As appealing as this structure is, I’ve often found it difficult to photograph. The area around it is somewhat constrained by the proximity of other buildings, and those buildings are visually quite dissonant with the design of this one. So, at least for me, photographs of the larger scale of the building are difficult, and I still don’t have one that I really like. However, moving in closer and working the textures, reflected colors, and the angles and surfaces close up is more promising.

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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Photographs: France, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Seated at the Louvre

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Seated at the Louvre
A boy and two girls seated on benches at the Louvre, Paris.

Seated at the Louvre. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A boy and two girls seated on benches at the Louvre, Paris.

Among the members of my family, I have a problematic reputation as a museum visitor. Apparently I spend way too much time in such places and traverse them way too slowly. A ritual has developed where eventually everyone else heads off to somewhere fun, leaving me behind to wander and. ponder, and later I catch up and join the party. What can I say? I like museums.

Not only do I like them for the things they present, but I also like to photograph in and around them. The buildings usually have fascinating design and architecture and often also very interesting light. There are lots of people, individually or in groups, who populate these interesting spaces. Here I photographed outside the Louvre, in the immense central courtyard, making a photograph of two girls in enthusiastic conversation and one very small-looking boy sitting alone against the monumental scale of the building.

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.