Tag Archives: doors

Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Walking Man, Florence

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Walking Man, Florence
A man walks past businesses in Florence

Walking Man, Florence. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A man walks past businesses in Florence.

Several years ago we concluded a long European trip by visiting Italy, where we spent a week in the hills of Tuscany with members of our extended family. The trip, in total, was about bit longer than a month, and we had about a week and a half in Italy.

Most of our time in Tuscany was in the rural area near where we stayed — that region of fields and vineyards and orchards and small towns and villages. However, at the end of that part of our visit we decided to spend a few days in Florence before flying home. It was our first visit there, and we loved the place. (Yes, it is busy and full of tourists, but if you go out at the right times… less so.) I made this photograph on one of our first walks as we headed toward the Ponte Vecchio bridge.

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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Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Red Doors

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Red Doors
Red doors, reflective panes, San Francisco

Red Doors. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Red doors, reflective panes, San Francisco.

Here is another photograph from my search for color last week in San Francisco. OK, my main purpose in taking the train up there wan’t literally to search for color — it was to do street photography in this rich urban environment. But the way I see “street” often includes color as an important element. (Sometimes I employ a little mental checklist to keep me focused and flexible when looking for subjects, and the word “color” is one of the points on the list.)

As is often the case, I don’t recall precisely where I found this pair of red doors. (It was quite possibly in the vicinity of San Francisco’s Chinatown district.) Oddly, I do have a rather specific memory of seeing the doors and making the photograph though, a process that included an answer to the question, “How do I avoid putting my own reflection in those windows!?”

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

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

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Night, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Doorway, Windows, Stairs

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Doorway, Windows, Stairs
A San Francisco doorway with an interior stairway, night

Doorway, Windows, Stairs. San Francisco, California. April 30, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A San Francisco doorway with an interior stairway, night

For me street photography is not just about people — though I photograph that subject, too. It is also about what I might call “street landscape,” and I’m as intrigued by this landscape as I am by any other. Even when my subjects are the people in the urban world, I’m virtually always considering them at least partly in the context of where they are. I’m no less away of this landscape background in the urban world than I am when photographing birds in flight against the background of their landscape. And sometimes here, as in the natural world, I like to photograph that landscape without its “wildlife.”

The urban world especially fascinates me at night, and simple things can take on a new appearance. This was almost a “grab shot” as I walked back toward my car from where I had spent an hour photographing with friends along the San Francisco waterfront. If such things appeal to you, there might be a lot to find and consider in this image. Or not. You decide.

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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Photographs: Night, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Staircase, Window, and Shadows

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Staircase, Window, and Shadows
Shadows from artificial light amplify the forms of a staircase at Mare Island.

Staircase, Window, and Shadows. Mare Island Naval Ship Yard, Vallejo, California. November 7, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Shadows from artificial light amplify the forms of a staircase at Mare Island.

I made this photograph in an area that was actually so dark that I could barely see the subject — a long exposure and a higher ISO made the photograph possible and allow the camera to see what I cannot. I could see well enough to know that there were some unusual and interesting shadow patterns, including the organic shaped shadows of nearby trees and the angular shadows duplicating the lines of the stairway railings.

With a dark subject like this the first challenge is to make a composition out of things I can barely see. The broad outlines are visible, but it was not easy to see details… and focusing can be a major issue. (I have a bag of tricks for this. One technique is to simply shine a brighter light into the scene and focus on the lit area. An alternative if the subject is further way is to place the light inside the frame, focus on it, and then remove it for the exposure.) This whole area was just a bit spooky. I got to it by ascending a dark stairway and then walking across what seemed like it may have been an abandoned parking terrace that was littered with construction (or destruction?) debris.

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.