Tag Archives: architecture

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco

San Francisco Skyline, Pre-Dawn Sky

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San Francisco Skyline, Pre-Dawn Sky
San Francisco Skyline, Pre-Dawn Sky

San Francisco Skyline, Pre-Dawn Sky. San Francisco, California. December 10, 2011. © Copyright 2011 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Pre-dawn sky begins to light the skyline of San Francisco, California.

While at San Francisco’s Crissy Field to photograph the lunar eclipse over the Golden Gate Bridge I realized that this unusual celestial phenomenon was by no means the only worthy subject at this early morning hour. Meanwhile, there was a beautiful and mysterious sunrise developing in the eastern sky beyond the City and over the East Bay, enhanced by a lot of atmospheric haze. (This was the same haze that ultimately caused the eclipsed moon to fade to invisibility shortly after the sky began to lighten.) So, while 99% of the photographers were still pointing their lenses west, I (along with a few other folks) pointed east and toward this section of the San Francisco skyline in roughly the Knob Hill and Russian Hill areas, with the familiar shape of the Transamerica pyramid partially hidden behind closer buildings and some typical San Francisco neighborhood buildings and trees up close at the bottom.

Yet again, this scene reinforced the idea that it is always important to look around at the whole scene. It is so easy to become completely focused on the single subject that you started out with – and sometimes this is a good thing! – that you may overlook other worthy subjects in other directions. I still have to remind myself sometimes to look up and scan my surroundings to see what else might be worth photographing.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Railing, Stairs, and Window – Museum of Modern Art

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Railing, Stairs, and Window - Museum of Modern Art
Railing, Stairs, and Window - Museum of Modern Art

Railing, Stairs, and Window – Museum of Modern Art. New York, New York. August 21, 2011. © Copyright 2011 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Edge of an upper landing with a railing, stairs, and windows at the Museum of Modern Art, New York City.

I think I have visited, at least briefly, the Museum of Modern Art every time I have been in New York City. (As a “west coaster” that isn’t all that often, but still…) My secret is that photographing inside and around the museum is, for me, almost as interesting as viewing the exhibits. There is a ton of interesting subject material to work with: the people, the interior (and to a lesser extent, exterior) architecture of the place, details that can be found by looking around a bit, the surrounding neighborhoods, and juxtapositions of any and all of these things.

We visited a wonderful show of photography when we were there this year, and at the end of a hallway outside the entrance to this show I saw this translucent wall of windows with a glow enhanced by, if I recall correctly, some cloudiness outside. Shooting quickly with the 50mm prime that was on my camera, I first grabbed some shots mostly of these windows. Then I tried a few that focused more on the stairway seen here at lower right. Finally, I narrowed it down to just this bit of curving railing and floor, throwing the rest of the scene out of focus by shooting at the largest aperture.

G Dan Mitchell Photography
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Fire Escape Ladder, Brick Building

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Fire Escape Ladder, Brick Building
Fire Escape Ladder, Brick Building

Fire Escape Ladder, Brick Building. New York, New York. August 24, 2011. © Copyright 2011 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

On the final morning of our August (2011) visit to New York City, we took the subway down toward the lower end of the island to meet our son – the plan being to walk though Soho and (I think) the West Village, ending up at a gallery in Chelsea. After taking care of the most pressing bit of initial business – coffee – we wandered on through Soho… and I think this photograph was made there.

New Yorkers undoubtedly know exactly is going on with this light, but for the rest of the world… the morning sun was passing through a relatively narrow gap between buildings to strike this brick wall and partially pick off this green emergency exit zigzagging down the front of this building. In a lot of ways, this isn’t totally different from shooting natural landscapes – go out early, look for interesting subjects, find good light, make photographs. It isn’t totally the same – duh! – either. Not only can you walk here from coffee, but we (my son and I) shot without tripods, and I stuck to a single 50mm prime to keep things simple.

G Dan Mitchell Photography
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Commentary

1 WTC, August 23, 2011

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1 WTC, August 23, 2011
1 WTC, August 23, 2011

1 WTC, August 23, 2011. New York, New York. August 23, 2011. © Copyright 2011 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The 1 World Trade Center (1 WTC) building under construction on August 23, 2011, New York City.

“When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.” – Ansel Adams

G Dan Mitchell Photography
About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

(Basic EXIF data may be available by “mousing over” large images in posts when this page is viewed on the web. Leave a comment if you want to know more.)