Category Archives: Photographs: San Francisco

Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

The Crosswalk

July 10, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

People in a crosswalk, San Francisco

There is not a whole lot to say (or is there?) about this photograph, except that I like it. I made it on a walking day in downtown San Francisco a month and a half ago. In some downtown areas of The City, especially along sections of Market Street, there is a combination of interesting and diverse people doing a wide range of things and some very interesting light at times.

The light was perhaps part of what triggered the choice to make a photograph here. It was a relatively sunny day, but down in the urban canyon there isn’t a lot of direct light. However, there is a lot of reflected light which arrives by bouncing back and forth among the tall buildings in a manner not unlike that by which canyon light arrives in the Southwest.

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

Pedestrian, Bus Stop, Street

July 8, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A pedestrian walks past a bus stop along a San Francisco street

Living a short train ride away, I get to photograph in the streets of San Francisco on a fairly regular basis. The street is always a laboratory for exploring color and shape, light, people, architecture, urban landscape, and more. One of the benefits, in my view, of this kind of photography is that it almost forces one to think and respond quickly and intuitively, sharpening the instincts of seeing in ways that are useful for any kind of photography.

Despite the appearance, I made this photograph along a very busy street — Market Street — in downtown San Francisco. In fact, it took a great deal of good fortune to be able to place the walker in this exact spot at the instant when no cars, trucks, buses, rail cars, or other people were in the frame! The person is one subject, but the light is another – dappled light coming from behind, reflected by buildings and passing through sidewalk trees. Color is a bit significant, too, but you probably already figured that out…

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

Village People

July 5, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Pedestrians waiting for the light to change, San Francisco

A photograph like this one may or may not make sense to you. If it does, I probably don’t need to write much about it. If it doesn’t, I’m not sure that I can write enough to explain. But I’ll try. A little bit.

Walking around any large city, and especially in San Francisco, I’m on the lookout for various things: a scene, light, collections of people, individual people, color, architecture, shapes, you name it. I think the light first caused me to pause at this corner. Here much of the light is reflected from the windows of surrounding building, and it comes from almost all directions. Then, for just a moment, this collection of people, most of whom are unconnected with the others in the scene, assembled themselves into this pose, one that almost seems staged. The arrangement of the group intrigues me, but even more the contributions of the individuals is interesting.

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

Pedestrians, Night

July 2, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Nighttime pedestrians at a Chinatown street corner

I’m back with another colorful night street photograph this time. This one is from last summer, when a group of us met up to wander around parts of downtown San Francisco on a lovely evening. We eventually ended up in the Chinatown area, some photographing the environment there and others — like me! — photographing the people who were visiting.

This is more or less just a photograph of people walking by at a street corner. However, there are bits and pieces that I think are interesting. In the larger scale, the scene is a wild and complex arrangement of colors and patters, made more intense but he effect of the electrical lighting at night. There are several lines and planes of interest in the photograph, at least the way I look at it. And line extends from the back of the foreground figures, though the family on the corner (with the young girls in their interesting jackets), and on through the man walking away behind them. I’ll leave it to you to find others…

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Category Archives: Photographs: San Francisco

The Crosswalk

Pedestrian, Bus Stop, Street

Village People

Pedestrians, Night

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