Tag Archives: cement

Photographs: Still Life, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Concrete Wall Detail

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Concrete Wall Detail
Shadows from nearby branches fall across a crached and weathered concrete wall.

Concrete Wall Detail. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Shadows from nearby branches fall across a crached and weathered concrete wall.

The garden where we recently photographed — where I made my recent flower photographs — is on the grounds of a historic San Francisco Peninsula estate that was once the home of some very wealthy people. Today the facility is open to the public and features tours of the mansion and the extensive gardens. This detail photograph was made in a patio area at the mansion.

Like many photographers I am fascinated by patterns, forms, and textures. I’m sure that this section of concrete wall was once, long ago, a new and perfect thing. But it has weathered in the intervening years. There are patched cracks, a few missing edges here and there, and it appears that lichen is starting to grow in places. The darker slanted lines are shadows of branches above the wall.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Structures and Objects

Crack in the Wall

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Crack in the Wall
A matrix of cracks in a very old cement wall.

Special Note: Patty and I are presenting a Silicon Valley Open Studios event on May 21 and 22. Look us up (Dan | Patty) or contact us for information. Visit us and see our prints!

Crack in the Wall. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A matrix of cracks in a very old cement wall.

This is (yet another!) photograph of a subject that was not my primary target when I went out to make pictures. That seems to be a theme recently. To recap, when I go to photograph some particular subject, I keep my eyes open for other subjects that may be lurking nearby. There’s almost always something else interesting in the vicinity waiting to be discovered.

We were photographing spring flowers at an extensive public garden surrounding a historic mansion. We entered, following our usual path along a walkway that skirts the perimeter of a large semi-enclosed area. Stairs led me into this place, and as I poked around I became interested in the weathering of the old concrete wall — now covered by moss in places and filled with cracks. Among other things, I was intrigued by the dissonance between the nearly random form of the crack and the linear interruption of the horizontal edge.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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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: Abstract, Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Concrete Steps

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Concrete Steps
Concrete steps with water stains.

Concrete Steps. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Concrete steps with water stains.

The simple story behind this photograph is that the steps are located at a formal garden where we had gone to photograph tulips and other spring flowers in April. As I photograph those subjects I also had my eyes open for non-floral photographs, too — in fact, sometimes my favorites from such places are not the flower pictures. On one level, this is just a photograph of steps. It is up to you how far beyond that you want to go.

I’m thinking of an insightful Minor White quotation: “One does not photograph something simply for ‘what it is’, but ‘for what else it is.” You miss out if you look at a photograph merely as “what it is.” Sometimes the photographer intends the “what else” and hopes that the viewer sees it. But in many situations the photographer may not fully see what is in the image at the time of exposure, and only discover it later. Sometimes the viewer may find things that the photographer doesn’t recognize. I’m going to leave it to viewers to consider this photograph from that perspective.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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: Pandemia, Photographs: Urban/Street

Shuttered

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Shuttered
A snack vending stand, shuttered for the pandemic.

Shuttered. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A snack vending stand, shuttered for the pandemic.

This is one from the “Postcards from Pandemia” series of photographs that I occasionally make while out walking through and around my semi-locked-down world. The subject here is a building that I pass regularly as I walk through a nearby park. Typically this would be the busy snack bar for the local Little League fields, with parents working inside and kids and families lined up outside to buy candy, sodas, and other snacks. (Gummy Worms, anyone?)

But not this year. I still see the occasional small group of kids with a parent or two playing catch or practicing batting, but no games and no crowds. It is a bit less so now than it was back in late-March and early April when the world shut down around here. At that point I could walk and see virtually no one — I often just walked in the streets since there was no traffic.

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 | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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