Tag Archives: decay

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Textures, Photographs: Urban/Street

Worn Windows and Shadows

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Worn Windows and Shadows
Worn Windows and Shadows

Worn Windows and Shadows. San Francisco, California. March 6, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Afternoon shadows fall across worn street-side windows in San Francisco, California.

This sort of window along the sidewalk is common in urban areas like San Francisco, where the occupants of the building want some sunlit but don’t want people walking by on the sidewalk a few feet away staring in at them. (The light glowing behind the glass in the upper left suggests that someone is inside.) I was interested in how worn and grungy the glass has become – it begins with several types of obscured glass, in some of the panes the reinforcing wire is very apparent. They it looks like layers of paint may have been added and partially removed at various times – perhaps the windows were painted out? Perhaps grafitti was partially removed? And more recently someone has added various small paper stickers.

This photograph is 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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Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
ISO 200, f/11, 1/60 second

keywords: worn, streetside, street, urban, city, building, structure, pattern, texture, light, afternoon, shadows, panes, frame, brown, paint, cement, obscured, screen, dirty, old, inside, glow, wall, sticker, grafitti, san francisco, california, usa, north america, decay, downtown, stock

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Belmar Meat Market, The Mission

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Belmar Meat Market, The Mission
Belmar Meat Market, The Mission

Belmar Meat Market, The Mission. San Francisco, California. February 20, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Photograph of street scene in the Mission with man walking on sidewalk, Belmar Meat Market sign, and other urban elements – San Francisco, California.

Another Mission District street scene – a matter of spotting an interested set of urban storefronts, composing the shot, and then watching for the right person or persons to walk through the frame. I’m fascinated by the complexity of these urban scenes and by the individuality of the storefronts in this type of place – each one seems to reflect something about the surrounding community and the people who live there. In this one certain compositional elements and color relationships also caught my attention.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
ISO 200, f/8, 1/50 second

keywords: the, mission, san francisco, california, usa, north america, street, urban, city, man, walking, trash, recycle, can, receptacle, belmar, meat market, la gallinita, entrance, corner, gate, door, window, blinds, painting, decay, wrought, iron, tile, 24th, curb, travel, stock

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Winter Ferns and Log

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Winter Ferns and Log
Winter Ferns and Log

Winter Ferns and Log. Yosemite Valley, California. February 14. 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dormant winter ferns against a decaying log, Yosemite Valley, California.

The story behind finding this little bit of landscape is perhaps best not fully told – but I’ll share little background. I had driven west along Northside Drive in Yosemite Valley in the morning looking for bits of interesting light that can crop up even in the middle of the day during winter in that deep canyon. I had just made some photographs of the Cathedral Rocks area and decided it was time to move on. As I wandered back to the car I decided to, uh, “take a short walk into the woods” on the other side of the road. While there I noticed that some interesting dry ferns were peeking up from under the melting snow, so I decide to look around a bit more in this rather nondescript bit of forest. I finally found one little cluster of ferns that were arranged against the backdrop of an old decaying log and decided to make a few photographs of it before heading back to the car and moving on.

I like several things about this photograph, but among them is the fact that it isn’t an obvious “Yosemite photo” at all. In fact, you could find a similar sort of subject in any number of places if you just look carefully enough – which in Yosemite often means looking away from those iconic and quite obvious subjects from time to time.

(And, yes, it was intentional that I posted this photographic “homage” on February 20, the birthday of Ansel Adams. :-)

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

keywords: yosemite, national, park, valley, california, usa, north america, nature, winter, fern, plant, foliage, leaf, branch, log, wood, decay, texture, black and white, monochrome, forest, stock, curve, pattern

Photographs: Night, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Ship Yard Towers and Fog, Night

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Ship Yard Towers and Fog, Night

Ship Yard Towers and Fog, Night. Mare Island Naval Ship Yard, Vallejo, California. August 30, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Night photograph of tall ship yard towers and old buildings backed by glowing fog at the historic Mare Island Naval Ship Yard, Vallejo, California.

OK, I lied. I do have more photographs from my late-August night photography shoot at the historic Mare Island Naval Ship Yard in Vallejo, California.

This one includes the view up Nimitz Street past the main ship building area and the includes the huge overhead structures apparently used to move equipment from the shops to the dry docks and the waterfront. The scene is backed by the strange glow of the ground light sources illuminating the high fog coming in from the San Francisco Bay.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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keywords: mare, island, naval, ship, yard, minsy, vallejo, california, night, nocturnal, photography, historic. brick, building, shop, window, door, roof, gable, smoke, stack, fog, cloud, overcast, glow, diffuse, rust, decay, old, dilipadated, steel, tower, structure, industrial, equipment, truss, steps, stairs, nimitz, street, road, rail, track, railroad, sky, metal, quonset, building, urban, stock