Tag Archives: door

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

San Francisco Urban Buildings

June 15, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Worn and frequently painted front walls of urban San Francisco buildings

I have a few more in this urban/street photography set from a recent day spent photographing in San Francisco. I took the train to The City, headed north along the waterfront, then cut inland at Market Street before wandering up past Chinatown (avoiding Grant) and through North Beach before heading back to where I started. There is a lot to see on such a walk on a weekday in San Francisco!

Usually when I pass through the Chinatown area I forego the walk up touristy Grant Street, and instead cut across (and uphill!) to take smaller streets and to miss a lot of the usual stuff. There are lots of little nooks and crannies here, and the buildings offer diverse and sometimes wild visual treats. These buildings, which certainly look run down from the outside, present an incredible surface of textures and colors, much of which probably evolved by accident as people painted out the ubiquitous graffiti.

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

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

Woman Walking, Brick Building

December 16, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A woman carrying a cup walks past the front of a red and white brick building

I think I made this photograph west of Central Park, but no guarantees. (I could probably figure it out by reviewing the photographs before and after this one, but it doesn’t seem too important. Let me know if you disagree!)

This is representative of one way I shoot urban subjects. I’m pretty certain that what happened here first was that I saw the interesting colors and forms of the tall building, with its red bricks and pure white trim, steps, and neat black fence. I also saw the juxtaposition of the irregular and natural forms of the two trees (and a few other bits of greenery) with the rigid and angular forms of brick and trim. No doubt, at about that point I saw the woman walking up the street — so I framed the photograph and waited for her to enter the frame, timing a quick series of three shots as she passed in front of the building carrying her cup of coffee, an iconic signifier of the new urban resident.

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: Photographers, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Detail, Wildcat Hill

December 14, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Detail of a building at Wildcat Hill

This is the third and final (for now, anyway) photograph from my visit to the historic Wildcat Hill home of Edward Weston and other members of the Weston family, today including Kim and Gina Weston. I suppose that visiting the Weston compound is something of a photographer’s pilgrimage, given Edward Weston’s influence and the work of the other photographers in the Weston family. (I believe there now may be as many as five generations of Weston photographers.)

The place is fascinating in many ways. Given its location, today not far from a very busy tourist byway, it is especially intriguing to think about what the place must have been like many decades ago. The main building is maintained in much the way it must have been many years ago, and it is a rather humble structure. Inside are many fascinating artifacts — Weston prints, paintings, sculpture, objects from the home, the small Edward Weston darkroom, and more. Over the years the place seems to have picked up a large number of small bits and pieces of “stuff” that is found everywhere — on shelves, attached to walls, scattered around the grounds. These things make fascinating subjects for almost any photographer.

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Warehouse Wall

July 12, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Warehouse wall, door, and window on a San Francisco pier

Photographed on one of my morning walks around portions of downtown San Francisco, this is a scene from one of the piers along the San Francisco Bay waterfront. I had made a looping walk from the Caltrain station over around portions of China Basin, eventually making my way to the old waterfront area where I photograph dilapidated piers that are decaying and falling into the Bay. Finishing with that subject, I started back along the waterfront and soon came to the entrance to this very large and active pier, and I decided to wander out onto it since there was a marked pedestrian walkway.

The first section of the pier has a roadway up the center, and it is lined with warehouse structures with loading docks and garage doors. The scene is spare and industrial, and the light was coming across the structures from the side and highlighting details and textures. Here I like the disembodied shapes of the window and roll-up door.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: door

San Francisco Urban Buildings

Woman Walking, Brick Building

Detail, Wildcat Hill

Warehouse Wall

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.