Category Archives: Photographs: San Francisco

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

Four Frames

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Four Frames
Reflections, San Francisco

Four Frames. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Reflections, San Francisco

For me, one result of carrying a camera around is that I often realize that things we barely notice often turn out to be unbelievably strange. Urban buildings can take on an entirely different look if you start to pay attention to the reflections in their windows — the abstract patterns of shapes and colors, the hallucinogenic distortions, and the bizarre juxtapositions. This is yet another example of seeing things for “what else they are.”

I think that writing too much about the background of this photo risks ruining its effect — so I won’t. I will say that it contains quite a few of the “juxtapositions” I mentioned above. Refusing to give in to temptation, that’s all I’m going to say!

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco

South Beach Harbor, Morning

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South Beach Harbor, Morning
Sailboats docked at San Francisco’s South Beach Harbor on a foggy summer morning.

South Beach Harbor, Morning. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Sailboats docked at San Francisco’s South Beach Harbor on a foggy summer morning.

On occasion I gloat about how fortunate we are to live in the San Francisco Bay Area. (It isn’t perfect, but still…) One of the pluses is proximity to San Francisco, itself. By the “baby bullet train” or by car I can be there in about an hour, at least outside of rush hour. I’ve long enjoyed taking the train up there and then wandering through the city and photographing. I vary my walking routes, but I almost always begin by heading toward the waterfront and past this harbor, where boats lie quietly at anchor in the morning.

Summer in San Francisco (as many tourists discover too late) is not generally a warm and sunny time. Fog is common, especially in the morning, and being surrounded on three sides by water the place can be windy and cool. But all of this produces special atmosphere and light. Here I’m looking past the boats and toward the other side of the Bay, where morning sunlight begins to thin the fog.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Boba Tea Shop, Night

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Boba Tea Shop, Night
A San Francisco Chinatown Boba Tea shot at night.

Boba Tea Shop, Night. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A San Francisco Chinatown Boba Tea shot at night.

This is another San Francisco night street photography photograph, made possible by the advent of very good, very small digital cameras that can now make good images in very dark conditions. Places like this one, with narrow streets, bright interiors, and a fair amount of ambient light from business signs, become viable subjects for the photographers working with handheld cameras and no electronic flash. In this sort of photography I often work quickly, pausing only long enough to frame up an interesting urban landscape and look for people to populate it.

As a person who frequently photographs on foot in San Francisco and who has lived reasonably close to The City for decades, I know some parts of San Francisco pretty well at this point. I’m frequently in and around Chinatown when I’m up there — because a friend suggests it, because I pass through on my way to another destination, or because it is my destination. For the most part I eschew the busy, commercialized stretch of Grant Street that most think of when they hear “Chinatown” in San Francisco. But at night it becomes more interesting to me, and the larger number and variety of ambient light sources are both interesting and helpful. The bright interior of this shop contrasts with the dark world on the sidewalk, and it is hard for me to say what is actually going on in the shop.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

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

Three Women, Grant Street

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Three Women, Grant Street
Three women stand in front of a Grant Street storefront at night, San Francisco.

Three Women, Grant Street. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Three women stand in front of a Grant Street storefront at night, San Francisco.

At this point I’m not sure I recall the exact circumstances that had me in this part of San Francisco after dark, but from the group of photographs that I have in my archive I can tell that I had made my way to the Chinatown district by evening, and after photographing there headed south past the Moscone Center, all of which suggests I had gone up there and back on the train. Taking the train to San Francisco for a day of street photography has long been a favorite activity, though I think it has now been about two years since the last attempt, aside from a few brief forays when I was up there this past fall for a couple of shows.

This San Francisco district, and others like it, are great places to photograph after dark, especially if you can work quickly, in street photography style, using a small handheld camera. There is often a fair amount of light from the combined sources of street lights, passing traffic, and the often-colorful lights spilling from commercial storefronts. With a small camera, especially at night, I can photograph without being so obvious that I intrude on the scene myself. One theme in my night street photography is people doing seemingly unusual things in a very normal human fashion. This appears to be a group of three friends passing through this area, but pausing to look in an unusual direction for just a moment.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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