Tag Archives: embarcadero

Photographs: France, Photographs: Urban/Street

Restaurant Windows, Benches

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Restaurant Windows, Benches
Two benches outside the windows of a San Francisco restaurant

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

Two benches outside the windows of a San Francisco restaurant

At the end of April I spent a couple of hours shooting through the golden hour and on into the evening in San Francisco, mostly exploring along The Embarcadero on the shoreline of San Francisco Bay. Our group first wandered out on a pedestrian pier, where we hung up through sunset and into early twilight as the light faded from the sky and city lights came on.

Soon I left the group — I had a long drive back home — and wandered along the Embarcadero as I headed back to my car. Photographing into restaurant and club windows intrigues me. There is often a striking contrast between the interior world of people having dinner or drinks and the exterior world of very quite urban landscapes. Here a couple of unoccupied benches sit beneath windows, with more colorful lighting and a number of patrons inside.

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: 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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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

San Francisco Waterfront, Night

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San Francisco Waterfront, Night
Downtown San Francisco waterfront at dusk.

San Francisco Waterfront, Night. San Francisco, California. April 30, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Downtown San Francisco waterfront at dusk.

I made this photograph on a lovely, slow, spring evening in San Francisco, where I had gone to meet up with a small group of street photographers. First I joined them for dinner in Chinatown, and then we all headed out to do some photography. While I usually do street photography completely on my own, relishing the ability to move fast from place to place or stay put for long periods of time, it is enjoyable to work with others at times, too. Several folks in the group were interested in the waterfront where downtown San Francisco meets the bay, so we headed that way first, and eventually everyone ended up on a popular pedestrian pier with good views back towards the City.

A few years ago I realized that the image quality and high ISO capabilities of very small digital cameras was making it entirely possible to go out into the street and do handheld photography after dark. Before that time my night photography was almost invariably the long-exposure type, with the camera on a tripod and exposure times measured in minutes rather than fractions of seconds. Then, during a weeklong visit to New York, it hit me that I could push things enough to shoot night, and I was immediately hooked. So when I found myself in front of this subject, one that would typically be a tripod-only subject, I thought I’d give it a try even though I was traveling very light — one small camera, one prime lens, no tripod. And even in this late dusk light it turned out to be quite possible.

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.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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

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

Reclining Man, San Francisco Bay

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Reclining Man, San Francisco Bay
A man rests along the shoreline of San Francisco Bay

Reclining Man, San Francisco Bay. San Francisco, California. May 20, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A man rests along the shoreline of San Francisco Bay

It is usually not my habit to photograph the down and out, homeless people, and other photographic clichés — I often (though not quite always) feel that such photography can be too easy, can create a false impression of concern and engagement, and that the invasion of the subject’s privacy may raise some ethical questions that concern me. But like most rules, there are exceptions, and this subject seemed to be one for me.

There was something about this man, reclining quietly in the sun along this popular stretch of San Francisco’s scenic waterfront that has, looked at it certain ways, a kind of nobility. Something about him and his location and pose reminds me of certain Renaissance paintings. And, frankly, his appearance seems to me to coalesce and possibly completely change what would otherwise simply be another scenic San Francisco urban landscape photograph.

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.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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