Tag Archives: downtown

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

Concrete Building and Reflective Windows

March 21, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Tall concrete building covered with reflective windows, San Francisco, California.

This photograph is an urban landscape made in the darkened canyons of streets not far from Union Square in downtown San Francisco, California. The crazy perspective angles and lines caught my attention as I walked along this street, as did the contrasting blue of reflected sky and other strange colors, shapes, and textures reflected in the many windows in this scene.

There is a bit of an optical illusion effect in this image. I don’t know if others see it the same way, but to me the lower left section of the photograph almost seems to drop down as if the margin is narrower on that side. But it isn’t, and I think the effect is produced by the crazy angles confusing my sense of perspective.

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.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
ISO 200, f/8, 1/60 second

keywords: san francisco, california, usa, north america, downtown, union square, street, urban, city, architecture, structure, window, reflection, glass, light, concrete, cement, building, columns, perspective, lines, converge, stock

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

Windows and Reflections, Union Square

March 20, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Reflections and other subjects in a wall of windows at the Macys’ store, Union Square, San Francisco.

While busy trying to see closer “street” subjects – usually quite a few here – in San Francisco’s Union Square on a Saturday afternoon I looked up and saw these absolutely wild reflections in the wall of windows of this downtown Macy’s store. If you just glance at the image you see the front of a store covered with lots of windows. However, if you start looking more closely – especially at a large print – you begin to see an astonishing and almost hallucinogenic level of strange details. A few “normal” people appear faintly in some windows – in one a person sits at a table and is perhaps reading or eating. In the middle row of windows you can see hot pink pants, some strange fluorescent green item… and the reflected point of the Transamerica Tower. Along the sides bizarrely warped forms of reflected building windows appear.

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.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
ISO 200, f/8, 1/250 second

keywords: san francisco, union square, macy’s, department, store, california, usa, north america, shop, windows, curved, reflection, people, building, architecture, structure, pattern, abstract, merchandise, restaurant, sign, people, distort, warp, downtown, urban, city, street, transamerica, tower, wall, stock

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

Wall, Door, Handrail, and Shadows

March 19, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Photograph of architectural elements and shadows at Union Square, San Francisco, California.

This is a photograph of an interesting (to me, anyway!) juxtaposition of the texture and lines of the concrete wall, the smooth surface and slight coloration of the metal door, the angled shadows from a trellis structure above, and the countering angle of the shiny hand rail. I just happened to notice this as we briefly walked across busy Union Square on this weekend afternoon.

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.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
ISO 200, f/8, 1/800 second

keywords: San Francisco, California, USA, north america, union, square, downtown, urban, abstract, street, cement, concrete, metal, wall, texture, line, diagonal, shadows, hinge, door, handrail, pattern, shape, structure, street, light, stock

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

Worn Windows and Shadows

March 18, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

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.

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

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