Category Archives: Photographs: Architecture

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Bridges, Mission Creek Channel

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Bridges, Mission Creek Channel
Bridge structures over the Mission Creek Channel, San Francisco

Bridges, Mission Creek Channel. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Bridge structures over the Mission Creek Channel, San Francisco.

This is (yet another!) part of San Francisco that is undergoing a rapid transformation as the real estate costs skyrocket and a new generation of quite wealthy people move into the City… and developers and businesses do what they do in response to these changes.

It wasn’t all that long ago that the location from which I made this photograph was not exactly a high rent district. It is along the CalTrain commuter track right-of-way at the end of a long inlet, the Mission Creek Channel. There are still a few house boats docked along the inlet but everything else around here is new or about to be new — with the exception of the freeway whose supports form the vertical component of this scene. In the distance along the left edge fo the frame many new condos and apartments are visible. Out of sight to the right is the Mission Bay Area, where in a few years empty lots disappeared and were replaced by — you guessed it! — more apartments and condos, plus various business and related concerns. If you want to see what San Francisco was… go soon!

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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Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Silo Walls

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Silo Walls
Metal silo walls, California Central Valley farm land

Silo Walls. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Metal silo walls, California Central Valley farm land.

On the first day of November I made my first bird photography foray of the fall season. In a way it was almost an accident. I had to deliver three prints to the Sandhill Crane Festival in Lodi in the morning, and since I was getting on the road quite early anyway I figured that I could try to be at one of the crane locations by dawn on my way there. Arriving more or less as the first sunlight came over the horizon, I opened my car door and heard that amazing and wonderful sound of the migratory birds. There’s nothing quite like it!

I photographed just a bit — the photography wasn’t going to be an all-day affair this time. Then I continued on the narrow backroad, heading further away from the main highway and on into the agricultural country. I stopped at this collection of silos, which I have photographed in the past, and this time thought I’d move in close and photograph details and juxtapositions rather than the larger scene.

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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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.

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Window Maze

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Window Maze
Cubist patterns of color, reflections, and perspective in the windows of a San Francisco builiding

Window Maze. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Cubist patterns of color, reflections, and perspective in the windows of a San Francisco builiding.

Continuing with the theme of “windows,” here is another photograph I recently made while walking in San Francisco. My San Francisco ambling typically has a general structure — I usually arrive at the Fourth Street Caltrain Station early in the morning, then typically start walking north (often along the waterfront, though not on this visit). I photograph as I go, and eventually reach a turn-around point, where I start back towards the train station on a different route.

I made this photograph on that return walk, and I was actually in a bit of a hurry — I had just enough time to get to the station and board before my train was to leave, and missing it would have meant an hour wait. These windows caught my attention and I paused very briefly to make two exposures. The objective reality of the scene is simple — a couple of “window walls” joining at a corner — but the subjective effect is quite complex and wild, with confusing combinations of elements (the windows themselves, what lies inside, and things behind me in the reflections), perspective lines, and color.

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.

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Window, San Francisco

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Window, San Francisco
A window covered with security bars

Window, San Francisco. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A window covered with security bars.

If this were my window — on this particular street, in this particular position, in this particular city — I suppose that I would install a security system like this, too. (It isn’t exactly a “bad” area, but it is one where many thousands of people walk past daily, and the window is right along the sidewalk.)

But that’s not really why I made the photograph. I thought the gently suffused lighting was attractive, and I liked the combination of colors, shapes, and light and shadow. Aside from whatever intrinsic value or meaning this photograph may (or may not) have, it is another example of the fact that there are things to see everywhere, and that, in my view, photographing them is a useful way to “tune up” your ability to see things that not everyone might notice.

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.