Category Archives: Photographs: San Francisco

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Turret Bridge, SFMoMA

January 29, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The bridge across the turret atrium at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA) is a fascinating architectural structure, in addition to being the home for a large collection of modern art, including that in the possession of the museum and addition work that travels there for exhibits. Since the recent remodel and expansion, the facility combines two components, the newer galleries and the shorter original building with its central open area. This atrium is the most prominent element of that space, extending from the ground floor to the iconic rounded skylight feature.

A pedestrian bridge crosses the upper reaches of the atrium. Its semi-transparent floor provides a bit of excitement — or terror! — for visitors who have the courage to look straight down. I’m fascinated by visual elements of the bridge and the space it inhabits, with light spilling down into the atrium’s well from that round skylight to flow over and around the curves and angles of the structure.

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

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

Three People, Gallery, Elevator Door

January 16, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Three people in an art gallery with a freight elevator door

I suppose that if you are camera-shy and you see me in a museum that you may want to run for cover. (Or just wait for me to become interested in the exhibits — I’m notorious for taking forever to work my way though museums. Family members have been known to just give up and go find a restaurant to wait for me to finally finish!) In any case, I like to photograph in museums, for the interesting architectural details and light and for the opportunity to watch people doing interesting things and assembling themselves into various compositions.

We were at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA) where we had seen a lot of very interesting stuff. (My favorite was the installation on the top floor by William Kentridge, “The Refusal of Time. I walked into it prepared to be unimpressed, but ended up being very moved by it.) Along the edge of a gallery on a lower floor there was a giant freight elevator door taking up almost all of one wall. One thing about museums is that almost anything seen in such a place has the potential to take on meanings beyond the ordinary, and for some reason this door caught my attention. I did as I often do with such subjects — I waited for people to populate this “intimate urban landscape” so that I could make a few photographs.

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

Detail, Atrium

January 12, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Architectural details of atrium of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

When I visit museums I often photograph them. I don’t usually photograph the displays, but I do photograph the architecture, people, and sometimes the structural abstractions I can locate. The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is a favorite museum — for its collection, its temporary installations (Right now go see William Kentridge’s “The Refusal of Time!”)

The museum was recently remodeled and expanded, with a new wing added to the original structure. The original centerpiece of the interior architecture was the atrium, a tall central open space topped by a “turret gallery” with a catwalk. The atrium remains following the remodel, and the light in this space is often spectacular, ranging from shade to bright sunshine. During this visit the light was softened by rainy conditions outside, and the colors ranged from the warmth of electrical lighting to the cool blues of the cloud-muted light coming in through the windows.

Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Storefronts, Reflections

September 19, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Sidewalk shops and window reflections, San Francisco

Near the end of May I did one of my San Francisco walking street photography trips, heading up to The City on the train and then following a large loop through downtown San Francisco. San Francisco is a great walking city, and I’m able to cover a lot of ground and see a lot of diverse urban landscape on these walks — from the waterfront to business districts to industrial areas.

I saw a lot of interesting and possibly unexpected things in this little street side vignette. Oddly, there are no people in the photograph — more typically I line up an urban landscape like this one and then wait for subject to enter the frame. The colors, of the structures and of the shadow light, caught my attention — primarily we’re looking at the greenish awnings and the intense reds found in several places, with everything subject to the blue light of the shadows. And, of course, for this photographer it was frosting on the cake to be able to include the words on the awning in this photograph.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Category Archives: Photographs: San Francisco

Turret Bridge, SFMoMA

Three People, Gallery, Elevator Door

Detail, Atrium

Storefronts, Reflections

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.