Tag Archives: downtown

Detail, Contemporary Jewish Museum

Detail, Contemporary Jewish Museum

Detail, Contemporary Jewish Museum. San Francisco, California. August 18, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Detail of the Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco, California.

I’ve been watching this structure since the time it was under construction, and I have frequently walked past it, thought about making photographs… and not quite been able to figure out what to do with the subject. The building is an intriguing and slightly confusing combination of old-style (not shown here) and rather modern architecture, and it is embedded in a visually busy location surrounded by tall buildings and an old Catholic church. I actually have some earlier photographs of this same portion of the building (though shot from a different angle) that I haven’t posted, as I’m still pondering how to handle them.

On this visit, during a long “photography walk” across a good portion of The City, I passed by here and was intrigued with the juxtaposition of stark angles and different colors and textures.

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: san francisco, california, usa, travel, scenic, urban, city, contemporary, jewish, museum, cube, blue, modern, art, culture, window, pattern, structure, architecture, building, tower, perspective, downtown, urban, new, design, shadow, texture, stock

Painted Brick Wall

Painted Brick Wall

Painted Brick Wall. San Francisco, California. August 18, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A painted brick wall with a grated alcove near Chinatown, San Francisco, California.

This is the person-less version of this scene that I was shooting when the man walked into it and I created the photo I posted earlier. I suspect that this interesting pattern is the result of someone painting out the rampant graffiti found all over Chinatown, but the color choice seems a bit odd for something so prosaic. The wall is just a few yards down a side street off of Grant.

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.

Web: G Dan Mitchell Photography
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keywords: san francisco, california, usa, travel, scenic, urban, city, sidewalk, wall, brick, painted, orange, beige, green, olive, red, white, window, arch, alcove, grate, metal, fan, texture, structure, urban, city, street, chinatown, downtown, travel, landscape, detail, stock, building

Tree and Windows

Tree and Windows

Tree and Windows. San Francisco, California. August 18, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Bare branches of an urban tree with a few green leaves against a gray San Francisco building with white-framed windows.

I had the chance to spend a morning and part of an afternoon wandering around San Francisco on foot on the mid-August day. As I usually do, I took a 6:00 a.m. train to The City, arriving at about 7:00 a.m. This time I started out by walking up Fourth Street past Yerba Buena Gardens and continued on to Market Street. From there I walked though Chinatown (but mostly not on Grant) before the tourist shops opened and while the many grocery stores were dealing with huge shipments of produce dropped off on the sidewalks. I stopped briefly in North Beach for coffee before spending an hour or so shooting there and then taking a very quick walk past the madness at Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf before climbing up to Russian Hill before making it back to my return train. Whew!

I happened to notice a block full of these interesting trees in North Beach, not too far from Washington Park – and I especially liked this one with a tiny bit of green and backed by the black, white, and gray building.

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.

Web: G Dan Mitchell Photography
Twitter: http://twitter.com/gdanmitchell
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keywords: san francisco, california, usa, urban, city, street, north beach, travel, scenic, downtown, building, home, tree, trunk, branch, bare, gray, green, leaves, window, white, frame, gray, wall, blinds, silhouette, landscape, light, fork, black, stock

Three Columns and Urban Trees

Three Columns and Urban Trees

Three Columns and Urban Trees. San Francisco, California. July 1, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Three columns and trees in an urban garden in downtown San Francisco, California.

This photograph was made while I was on one of my “walk and photograph” trips into downtown San Francisco. At this point I was wandering through a very busy, urbanized section of downtown San Francisco with my camera at the ready. As I rounded a corner of a building I spotted this scene with interesting morning light and a single person mostly hidden behind one of the columns below the trees reading a book. I quickly squeezed off two frames before a car entered the scene from a garage exit below the trees and other pedestrians began walking through.


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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

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