Monthly Archives: January 2009

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Hub Cap City

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Hub Cap City
“Hub Cap City” — The Hub Cap City store in San Jose, California

The Hub Cap City has been a landmark of sorts on old San Carlos Street west of downtown San Jose for many years. I think it is easy to see why… :-)

(Update 2026: Sadly this storefront is no more. “Hubcap City” lives on, but in a different location, where it is now more or less a lot full of old stuff on a nondescript street corner.)

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Front Yard After Rain

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Front Yard After Rain

Front Yard After Rain. San Jose, California. January 2, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of an urban home and front yard after rain, San Jose, California.

Continuing with the “urban landscape” theme – and there are quite a few more of these in the pipeline – this is the front of an older home in a San Jose neighborhood, photographed in the early evening after rain had just cleared.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: san jose, california, usa, willow glen, neighborhood, urban, suburban, street, home, house, residence, yard, front, lawn, sidewalk, steps, entry, door, window, arch, light, address, plant, garden, roof, blinds, reflections, shadow, architecture, stock

Ideas, Morning Musings

What the Heck is Dan Shooting!?

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Some of you who like my landscape/nature work may wonder what the heck I’m doing with the “urban photography” that I’ve posted here during the past few weeks. Get ready for more – there are currently about 10 photographs of similar subjects in the pipeline. Perhaps some explanation is in order.

This isn’t really a new thing for me – I’ve posted urban and “industrial” photographs in the past. (See the night photography section in my Gallery for some obvious examples, and also take a look at some of the “City” photographs while you are there.) Quite a few of them are what I think of as urban landscape photography, and to some extent I approach making these photographs much the same way I approach nature and landscape shooting. I wander about looking for stuff that appeals to me, often looking for effects of light, pattern, or color – and then I photograph it.

Besides the obvious subject differences – yes, I do realize that dilapidated buildings are not the same as aspen forests – I shoot differently, at least for some of this photography. While I do sometimes cart a tripod into urban environments, more often I travel light – ironically perhaps, usually lighter than I do when I go out for a weeklong pack trip! I generally do not use a tripod, I virtually never carry all of my lenses, and sometimes I just go out with a prime or two.

I hope you enjoy this change of pace, and that in some way you can see connections to my photographs of the natural world. (There is actually a long philosophical discussion I could have about that very topic, but I’ll spare everyone…) In any case, I’m sure that the flow of landscapes and nature photographs will resume in a week or so.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: Urban/Street

Loading Dock Sign

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Loading Dock Sign

Loading Dock Sign. San Jose, California. December 26, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Detail of a very worn and scraped red and yellow sign painted on an industrial loading dock in San Jose, California.

This very bright but very worn sign is painted on the front of a loading dock in a light industrial area of downtown San Jose, California.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: detail, worn, scraped, gouge, chipped, concrete, cement, steel, paint, yellow, red, sign, rust, industrial, urban, street, letters, a, d, i o, weathered, downtown, san jose, california, usa, stock, 5th, keyes, loading, dock