Tag Archives: buildings

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

In The Urban Canyon

Image September 4, 2020 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A wall of tall buildings in downtown San Francisco.

Keeping with the “canyon” theme of so many recent posts — but with an entirely different sort of canyon — this is a photograph from downtown San Francisco that I made on one of my regular walks through the City. You could find this scene if you walked down the central Market Street that connects the center of the City with the Ferry Terminal.

I have previously written about how I can connect the ways I photograph the wild landscape to how I see the urban landscape. One of the most direct relationships might be between the deep and narrow canyons of Southern Utah and these deep and narrow canyons in urban downtown areas. In both cases, there is not that much direct light in the lowest levels aside from the middle of the day or when the sun aligns with the length of the canyon. Consequently, understanding reflected light is very important in these places.( In addition to the usual diffused light in the depths of wilderness canyons, the urban versions often feature direct reflections from windows, which can sometimes light a subject from more than one angle.)

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 and Amazon.

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

Spring in the Urban Forest

Image August 30, 2020 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A tree with new spring growth in downtown San Francisco.

Here is another momentary detour away from the natural world and to the urban landscape, this time in San Francisco. I made the photograph on a spring day when I found branches with new leaves along this highly urban street, a place where it is possible to frame a photograph so that every single element is constructed by humans. But even here, spring cannot be held back.

These metal, concrete, and glass canyons are a landscape just as much as any red rock or granite canyon. It is possible to apply the same ways of seeing (at least to some extent) to both sorts of subjects. One of the features on this scene that always seems remarkable to me is the reflections. The largest area of what you “see” in the photograph does not consist of the actual objects in the frame, but rather of the ephemeral reflections of other objects on their surfaces.

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 and Amazon.

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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: Architecture, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Industrial Buildings, Night

Image July 6, 2020 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Industrial buildings illuminated by secutiry lighting, Mare Island Naval Ship Yard.

This photograph comes from a very old San Francisco Bay shipyard — its history goes way back into the 1800s when it was the first naval ship yard on the west coast of the United States. It continued to be used for its original purpose into the late 20th century, when it was decommissioned not long before the new millennium. Much of it was initially abandoned, though more recently the surrounding area has been revitalized with new construction, new tenants in old buildings, and even some ship yard projects.

I have photographed here for close to two decades — in fact this was the place where I did my first serious night photography. These old facilities (there are many all over the US) are fascinating time capsules, full of construction that is decades old and suggestive of a very different time. At night they provide a fascination combination of quiet, stillness, and mystery.

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