Tag Archives: buildings

SFMOMA, Cloud

SFMOMA, Cloud
A cloud above the new SFMOMA building

SFMOMA, Cloud. San Francisco, California. May 20, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A cloud above the new SFMOMA building

I think my landscape photographer instincts went to work on this photograph, despite its thoroughly urban subject. But imagine a valley floor, a vertical granite cliff, peaks beyond, and a cloud floating past and I think you might see the analogy. But this is a distinctly San Francisco street/architecture photograph.

I was on foot in The City, spending the better part of a day wandering around in an area bounded by the Embarcadero and the Bay, Market street more or less, and Fourth Street. I was headed south on a less crowded street, traveling more or less toward the newly remodeled SFMOMA (museum of modern art). I had been looking a the tall building on the right and the bit of the new portion of the museum poking out to its left when the solitary cloud appeared from behind the building and began to move from right to left. Having very little time to contemplate, I framed up this vertical composition and made the photograph “street” style, using the prime lens already on the camera and simply shooting handheld


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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Inflatable Urban Landscape

Inflatable Urban Landscape
Urban landscape and an inflatable object, San Francisco

Inflatable Urban Landscape. San Francisco, California. May 6, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Urban landscape and an inflatable object, San Francisco

I recently read an interview with one artist whose work is on exhibit at SFMOMA, and he commented that despite what people may read into the work, it is largely all about the composition and juxtaposition of elements. If you want to read something into this, you are welcome to do so — and, in fact, there might be something there that I have not described or which I don’t see or admit to seeing.

But composition and juxtaposition did interest me. The rounded object at lower right doesn’t really fit the rest of the surrounding environment, or does it? 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 and Amazon.
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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Buildings, Venice Beach

Buildings, Venice Beach
Venice Beach buildings in midday sun

Buildings, Venice Beach. Venice Beach, California. April 1, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Venice Beach buildings in midday sun

Finally. A photograph that is not Death Valley. Don’t worry, there are still more Death Valley photographs, and this one did come from the same trip. On our return from Death Valley we swung through the LA Basin to visit our daughter and son-in-law, replacing natural pleasures with the distinctly urban experiences of Los Angeles. On April 1 we went to Venice Beach to visit the G2 Gallery, where photographer friends exhibit from time to time. (We enjoyed the gallery quite a bit — some lovely photographs by Clyde Butcher and Jack Dykinga were featured that week.)

Out of the gallery and on the street I had an opportunity to play with a new camera, my Fujifilm X-Pro2, which had arrived shortly before we left for Death Valley. The street being the perfect place for such a camera, I pulled it out and made a few photographs. Initially I expected that this would be a color photograph, but as I worked on it in post I began to feel that it had potential in black and white.


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

Winter Day, Manhattan

Winter Day, Manhattan
Brick buildings on a gray winter day in Manhattan

Winter Day, Manhattan. New York City. December 28, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Brick buildings on a gray winter day in Manhattan

Near the end of our late-2015 visit to New York City we ended up heading over to Chelsea (which we did more than once on this trip) for various reasons, and we ended up walking along the High Line Park. This popular elevated park snakes above Chelsea, starting near the new Whitney Museum, and runs north a good distance. It is a fascinating place for a photographer, both for the people watching possibilities and for the views of the city it provides.

This Californian is fascinated by this kind of “dull” gray winter day of a sort that we don’t see that often in my part of the world. The temperature hovers in the just-above-freezing range, and the sky remains gray, and in many ways the city can look very old.


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.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | FacebookGoogle+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email


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