Tag Archives: signs

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

Food Cart, Fifth Avenue

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Food Cart, Fifth Avenue
A food cart vendor on 5th Avenue, near Central Park, Manhattan.

Food Cart, Fifth Avenue. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A food cart vendor on 5th Avenue, near Central Park, Manhattan.

This photograph comes from the second of our two recent visits to Manhattan, this one about a week into the month of October. The previous visit was in August. (I can just hear the New Yorkers: “What!! You went to New York City in August? Are you nuts?”) Let’s just say that the weather on the first trip was different than on the second. In October it was quite pleasant, and there was a hint of autumn. Things seemed to be slowing a bit, and the light was different. In fact, in the urban canyons of Manhattan, the later sunrise meant that many places were still in shadow later in the day, including this street corner along the east side of Central Park.

We were staying a few blocks west of Central Park, and on this morning we went out for a walk through the park. I came upon this food cart when we reached the far side of Fifth Avenue. Two things catch my attention about this cart. First, it sure isn’t very busy! Second, because of those shadows the cart’s lights almost make it look like evening. It also occurs to me that something about the colors of light and shadow and the empty streets creates a sort of autumnal feeling.

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

Empty Lot, Paris #2

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Empty Lot, Paris #2
An empty lot with graffiti in Paris, a 2022 rendition.

Empty Lot, Paris #2. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

An empty lot with graffiti in Paris, a 2022 rendition.

Almost any time I open up an old photograph for some reason other than pure curiosity — and sometimes for that reason, too — I reconsider it and make some minor adjustments that seem like improvements. That might seem odd in today’s world of digital post-processing and inkjet printing. Back in the film era, every print was a unique rendition, the result of physical acts in the darkroom during the printing process. It was literally impossible to do what is the norm today — to make every print exactly the same as the others. All of this is a long way of saying that I don’t see why an early version of a photograph should be the final say on it.

Recently I re-opened this photograph, made a few years back on an evening walk around the Montmartre area in Paris. It was surprising to find this empty lot in a crowded area and to note that it appears to have been empty for some time. There’s a lot going on in the scene, but that blue portrait catches my attention.

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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Recovering Forest

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Recovering Forest
A recenty-burned Yosemite forest shows signs of regeneration.

Recovering Forest. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A recenty-burned Yosemite forest shows signs of regeneration.

Wildfires have recently been on our minds here on the west coast. In the San Francisco Bay Area the bad fires began about a month ago when an unusual and very active series of electrical storms set off dozens of fires and shrouded the area in smoke. Shortly after that our extremely dry summer and unusually hot August temperatures set off huge fires from California to Oregon, historic in size and intensity. (As of this date one of these fires has set a record for the largest fire ever in California, doubling the size of the previous record fire.) We’ve had a month of “spare the air” days now.

September and October are traditionally the fire season here, though not on the scale that we are experiencing this year. It is a time of hazy skies and, if you go to the mountains, active fires. Over the years we’ve moved from regarding fire as something to be avoided to thinking of it as something to be managed — it is a natural component of healthy wildlands. I’ve changed my attitude as well, at least when it comes to normal, modest fires, and I’ve been trying to see the beauty in burned landscapes. In early September I had planned a short Yosemite backpack trip, but (ironic!) I had to back out at the last minute due to smoke. I was on my way home when I stopped at this location, a place where I stop and photograph every year, especially when dogwoods bloom. Last season a fire burned over this spot and, blackening many of the largest trees and destroying undergrowth. But a few trees survived and they are now thriving.

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 | 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.

Photographs: Germany, Photographs: Urban/Street

A Dog’s Life

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A Dog's Life
A dog naps beneath the Berlin Wall at the East Side Gallery

A Dog’s Life. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A dog naps beneath the Berlin Wall at the East Side Gallery.

There is a very good chance that this is the first photograph of a dog that I have shared. I’m positive that it is the first sleeping dog photo. Who knows? Maybe it will become a thing. Or not. As always, I’m impressed by the extent to which dogs can simply ignore the tumult going on around them. There was a constant stream of people walking past and the sidewalk fronts a busy street.

There isn’t a whole lot to say about this. I photographed the critter at the base of the Berlin wall, at the section called the East Side Gallery where the remnants have been painted. (Perhaps “Dogs Sleeping At The Berlin Wall” will be a genre?)

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 | Facebook | Email

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

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