Category Archives: Photographs: Structures and Objects

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

Blue Stairway

May 6, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A blue stairway in a softly lit alcove

In contrast to much of what I have recently shared, this photograph is not a landscape. Or perhaps it is. OK, it is. I think of photographs like this, at least to some extent, as being “urban landscapes.” In many ways (but not all) I see them in ways that are similar to how I see landscape. I’m looking for form and composition, color, effects of light, some sense of the feeling of the place, and often a quality of stillness. I also think that these photographs, like some of my personal favorite landscape photographs, attempt to look at a familiar place in an unfamiliar way. For example, there is almost nothing in this photograph to tell you that it was made in San Francisco, not far at all from some rather iconic views.

Despite the similarities to my landscape photography, there are also some obvious differences. The distinctly non-natural subject is one obvious clue. Perhaps less obvious is that these photographs are not made in the usual natural landscape manner, relying on tripods, remote releases, and sometimes plenty of time to think and consider. Instead, these are virtually always shot handheld with a small camera. I’m generally on the move when I photograph these subjects, typically pausing only long enough to frame and trip the shutter, and then I continue along. In fact, I barely broke my stride as I passed this scene and made this photograph.

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

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Southern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects

St. Madeleine Church, Trona

April 12, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The stark architecture of St. Madeleine Sophie Barat Catholic Church, Trona, California.

I have a bit of history with the California town of Trona, but it has mostly been superficial. I may need to consider changing that. The town is in the far reaches of San Bernardino County, in the desert region between Ridgecrest, California and Death Valley National Park. The entire reason I even know of the place is that it is on the route that I almost always follow into the park. The town has roots that go back to the 1800s, and it seems to be supported almost entirely by the mining/extraction operations that go on there. To this outside, Trona has that utilitarian, dusty, sad, potential ghost town look of so many remote Western towns. I’m sure that some of that impression is the result of my own ignorance, but still…

I’ve passed through Trona annually for about two decades. However I rarely stop, mostly because Trona is either the last step on a very long drive to Death Valley (and I just want to get to DEVA and get to work without delay) or the first step on the long drive home (and I feel little need to stop yet). There isn’t much there for travelers — a drive-in, a restaurant on a side street, a market, a gas station or two. However, with each visit the feeling grows that there is something worth looking at and photographing here, especially in an increasingly urbanized age where fewer people have any experience with such places. So this time, on the way out of the park, we paused briefly and drove around just a bit. I noticed things that I have missed before. (For example, not all of the homes here are abandoned or unloved.) Our final stop before moving on was the parking area next to the St. Madeleine Church. In fact, this was one of the features that first suggested photography here to me some years ago, even though I had not previously stopped. It is a remarkable building, and its brutalist concrete construction and unadorned square shape somehow seem appropriate in this stark desert landscape.

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

Photographs: Structures and Objects

Metal Building, Distressed Paint

April 2, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Metal industrial building with marks from patched paint

This is another of the pre-dark twilight photographs I made on my recent visit to the Mare Island Naval Ship Yard to do night photography. A group of us assembled bit by bit, some starting close to the middle of the day and others, like me, arriving shortly before dark. About a half hour before sunset I headed out, beginning with some daylight photograph around some industrial buildings I had noticed on my way to the meet-up. By the time I got there and got set up I was only able to make a few photographers before the sun set far to the west over San Francisco, but the twilight light is also interesting to work with.

In this photograph I was interested in the objective qualities of the old building with its weathered and patched metal walls, especially in the random nature of the patched paint along with the juxtaposition of the warmer colors on the walls and the cool, blue tones on the roof, with all of the colors altered in the blue twilight. At the same time, I went with the wide and narrow landscape orientation of this photograph in an attempt to treat the colors and forms as abstract elements, too.

Photographs: Night, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Alley, Arrow, Windows

March 31, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A directional arrow in a narrow alley outside of a windowed industrial building

Night photography is, perhaps ironically, truly all about the light. There isn’t that much of it in most cases, so we resort to very long exposures (or perhaps very high ISO values) and we seek out places where there is just enough of it to make photographs. Night illumination is often from artificial sources, and frequently it comes at least partially from inside the subject rather than falling on its exterior. Subjects that may be mundane in normal daylight can take on new qualities in the light of the night — they may stand isolated from their backgrounds, take on unusual colors, and even become mysterious and moody.

This building is one of those subjects that glows from within. When I first saw it my initial idea was to get very close to some of the windows and simply photograph the interior of the empty building. For various reasons, ranging from practical to aesthetic, I gave up on that idea. Instead I stepped back a bit, included the windows and building interior, but also worked with the light spilling out into this alley, where a variety of patterns are produced on the pavement.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Category Archives: Photographs: Structures and Objects

Blue Stairway

St. Madeleine Church, Trona

Metal Building, Distressed Paint

Alley, Arrow, Windows

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