Tag Archives: california

Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street, Tongue in Cheek

Now Open

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San Francisco Photograph - An abandoned toilet stands next to a Chase Bank "Now Open" sign in the Chinatown district of San Francisco.
An abandoned toilet stands next to a Chase Bank “Now Open” sign in the Chinatown district of San Francisco.

Now Open. San Francisco, California. July 15 2011. © Copyright 2011 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An abandoned toilet stands next to a Chase Bank “Now Open” sign in the Chinatown district of San Francisco.

Sometimes the world just hands you things that you couldn’t come up with on your own if you tried.

The opportunities for bad puns are so tempting here, but I’ll struggle to resist, and instead simply offer a few words about the location and the, uh, scene. On this summer day I was wandering around San Francisco to do street photography, and walked up Grant Street. Grant is such a tourist place that I often instead head off to some nearby streets that are a bit less geared to the tourist trade, so I picked up a cross street and wandered up toward Stockton Street. At one point as I walked past a busy area of markets and other small businesses I happened to notice this odd (and perhaps unfortunate, if you are the bank) juxtaposition of sidewalk “decorations.”

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: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: Sports

Kitesurfer, Pacific Ocean

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Kitesurfer, Pacific Ocean - Kitesurfer on the Pacific Ocean coast south of San Francisco, California.
Kitesurfer on the Pacific Ocean coast south of San Francisco, California.

Kitesurfer, Pacific Ocean. Highway One, California. © Copyright 2011 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Kitesurfer on the Pacific Ocean coast south of San Francisco, California.

In the right weather conditions you can find people engaged in a range of water sports along the California coast in locations like this one a few miles north of Santa Cruz (and not far south of San Francisco.) In addition to the classic and iconic surfers, there are windsurfers and, as in this photograph, kiteboarders or kit surfers. It is difficult to not stop and make a few photographs when I catch the sight of a line-up of colorful sails just off the shoreline.

On this July day, a group of people were “playing” not far from the shore, alternately heading straight out into the ocean, only to return close to the shoreline where they could do some wild airborne maneuvers by picking up speed and then flying off the tops of waves. This fellow seems to be going for speed as he made a traverse of the area just beyond the beach.

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.
Blog | 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.

Photographs: San Francisco

Pier, San Francisco Bay, Morning

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Pier, San Francisco Bay, Morning - An old pier along the Embarcadero, San Francisco Bay, with structures of the Port of Oakland, California across the water.
An old pier along the Embarcadero, San Francisco Bay, with structures of the Port of Oakland, California across the water.

Pier, San Francisco Bay, Morning. San Francisco, California. July 8, 2011. © Copyright 2011 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An old pier along the Embarcadero, San Francisco Bay, with structures of the Port of Oakland, California across the water.

I wonder how long it will take for me to feel that I have exhausted the possibilities of this walk along San Francisco’s Embarcadero? Here is (yet another!) morning photograph made it this area, once again with what is perhaps my favorite light in this location – the early morning glow of backlit fog/haze over the waters of the Bay.

I made this photograph on a very calm summer morning when there waters of the Bay were almost completely smooth, at least until a bit of boat traffic began to come by and a breeze came up. Interjecting itself into the left side of the frame is one of the old piers along this section of the waterfront. In the far distance, all the way on the other side of the bay and muted by the morning haze, are giant cranes used at the Port of Oakland.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

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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

Pipe Covered Wall, Fire Extinguisher Sign

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Pipe Covered Wall, Fire Extinguisher Sign - A very worn and peeling wall with pipes, conduit, a fire extinguisher sign, and shadows - The Embarcadero, San Francisco
A very worn and peeling wall with pipes, conduit, a fire extinguisher sign, and shadows – The Embarcadero, San Francisco

Pipe Covered Wall, Fire Extinguisher Sign. San Francisco, California. July 8, 2011. © Copyright 2011 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A very worn and peeling wall with pipes, conduit, a fire extinguisher sign, and shadows – The Embarcadero, San Francisco.

This is a more or less random bit of wall in a small alley leading from the Embarcadero to some old buildings on one of the old piers along the east shoreline of San Francisco. (I need to get back up there soon. There was a recent fire in the area and now I’m wondering if it affected any of these little spots I photograph.)

I am a bit of a sucker – and who isn’t? – for old worn walls, especially when they are crisscrossed by pipes and conduit and when they hold various valves and meters of the sort that in more modern structures might be hidden from view. In this case, I made the photograph in relatively “harsh” light – it was still morning, but no longer the very early soft, warm light. In fact, it was that very light that created another element of this scene that attracted me, namely the very wide shadows from the very narrow pipes. I liked other small details too – the “FIRE EXT” sign, worn and now covered by conduit, with no fire extinguisher to be seen; what must be a much older “sign” about a third of the way in from the right, which now seems to be completely blank; that interesting interruption of the wall near its base but a chunk of steel covered with rivets.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


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