Oh See! © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
An old neon sign in full sun.
I try to take (almost) daily walks in various areas around the South San Francisco Bay Area — occasionally trail walks, but more often just neighborhood walks that take me through residential areas, business districts, and locations where various companies have their warehouses and workspaces. Although I almost always bring a camera along, I usually don’t stop to photograph. But every so often I am glad that I lugged the thing along. (If nothing else, carrying a camera changes my orientation to my surroundings and forces me to see more and more clearly.)
This business sign has been at this location for a very long time. The surrounding neighborhood is rapidly changing as the area converts from older business (and, at one time, extensive cannery facilities) to more urbanized tenants: shopping centers, condominium/apartment buildings, and similar. But the history is only part of what fascinated me about this sign. It also presented a sort of visual puzzle, in which the shadows of the old neon tubes produce a sort of synthetic alphabet on top of the less-legible lettering.
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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