Category Archives: Photographs: San Francisco

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

Path Above San Francisco

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Path Above San Francisco
A person walks on a path through a grove above the night lights of San Francisco

© Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A person walks on a path through a grove above the night lights of San Francisco

This is another of my handheld night photographs, something I’ve been experimenting with for a couple of years now. Newer high ISO small handheld cameras make it possible to work without a tripod in the urban landscape, essentially doing street photography in the (near) darkness. While there are some compromises in pure image quality — more noise to deal with in post, and greater potential for motion blur, working this way makes in possible to photograph in ways that just aren’t possible with a tripod. I can move quickly and respond to changing subjects more readily, and I’m less of an obvious intrusion on the scene.

This photograph might seem like one for which a tripod would be appropriate. I can’t argue with that on a technical basis. But I point out that between the time I saw this person walking along the path and the time I made three quick exposures was measured in seconds. With a tripod-mounted camera I simply would not have been able to make the photograph.

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

Trolley Stop

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Trolley Stop
Trolley stop lights along a San Francisco street

Trolley Stop. San Francisco, California. December 3, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Trolley stop lights along a San Francisco street

For some reason the public transit stations and stops in San Francisco have long intrigued me. I think it may be a combination of things: people often pause there and may present interesting subjects, the forms and colors of some of the shelters are interesting, and they are, of course, a part of the overall urban environment here.

I was photographing an area of buildings and walkways along the San Francisco waterfront when I noticed this stop, sitting in the middle of the road that passed by. The glow inside the shelter was the only significant source of light, with only pinpoints of light from nearby windows and street lights to supplement it.

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

Night Photography, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Wall, Window, Garden

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Wall, Window, Garden
Light shines across a wall with a lighted window

Wall, Window, Garden. San Francisco, California. December 3, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Light shines across a wall with a lighted window

In a way, I would almost prefer to not identify this location, even the city — but since it is my habit to provide some information I will confess that I made the photograph in San Francisco. I joined up with a few of my fellow Studio Nocturne SF photographer to head out into the San Francisco night to do some night photography. We stopped at two locations. This first one is actually a fairly well-known location, but I decided to mostly not photograph the familiar subject but instead wander around and look for other things.

Recently I have been doing a lot of my night photography, especially the part of it done in cities, using a small, handheld camera. I’m essentially able to do street photography in the (near) dark, which means that I can often work quickly and without drawing as much attention as I would with a larger camera and a tripod. This photograph, which seems more like something that would warrant the use of a tripod, was made in this way.

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

Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Say Hello

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Say Hello
A sidewalk display outside a San Francisco store

Say Hello. San Francisco, California. December 6, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A sidewalk display outside a San Francisco store

The journey from yesterday’s “photograph of the day” (birds in the predawn light above Central California wetlands) to today’s photograph may rightly be regarded as an example of moving from the sublime to the ridiculous. But I think that the ridiculous is also frequently worthy of a photograph — though it may not be worth quite as many descriptive words.

We were out walking in downtown San Francisco, and I was in street photographer mode. I’ve actually photographed things in front of this shop — a liquor store — in the past, so I think that slightly off-kilter advertising is part of their plan. It may be difficult to see in this small on-screen jpg image, but there are some interesting and slightly odd things inside the store window, too.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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