Tag Archives: first

Notes on Today’s Photograph

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Storefronts and Tree, First Street

Storefronts and Tree, First Street

Storefronts and Tree, First Street. San Jose, California. December 26, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A dilapidated storefront and a tree along First Street in San Jose, California.

This is another in a series of photographs that may be a bit troubling for those of you who follow my landscape and nature photography. Try to think of it as “urban landscape” – that’s what I do! :-)

I have my oldest son, Brandon, to thank for this photo and others in this series. He is a big fan of what I call “urban hiking” – long walks in central city urban areas, often industrial in nature. We finally had the opportunity to do a three hour urban hike in the downtown San Jose area just after Christmas, and we both brought our cameras along. Several things caught my eye about this scene: the wild colors of the paint and some of the window decorations on the lower floor, the shape for the tree in front of the building, the wash of light from across the street and behind my position as I shot this, and the regular horizontal patterns of road, curb, sidewalk, windows, moulding, and more windows.

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.

keywords: store, shop, building, windows, doors, reflections, pipe, merchandise, tree, trunk, branch, leaves, street, lane, sidewalk, curb, bricks, tile, store, downtown, urban, street, first, san jose, california, usa, stock

Rhyolite Bank at First Light

Rhyolite Bank at First Light

Rhyolite Bank at First Light. Rhyolite, Nevada. April 2, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

My brother and I photographed these bank ruins and surrounding artifacts in the abandoned ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada – starting before dawn and continuing for the next few hours. This photograph was made just as the first light began to illuminate the town site through high clouds. This bank building is one of the least damaged buildings in the town.

I’m fascinated by how these buildings have weathered over the past century, being situation in a very hostile environment. In some ways it is amazing that they have proven durable enough to remain partially standing, but in other ways they remind me of very ancient ruins.

keywords: rhyolite, nevada, ghost, town, building, columns, windows, doors, steps, stairs, cement, concrete, wide angle, sidewalk, desert, first, light, dawn, morning, sunrise, abandoned, ruins, walls, usa, historic, mines, mining, death valley, national park, blm, bureau of land management, scenic, travel, stock, landscape

Mission Peak: First Light on Mount Diablo

DiabloFirstLight2006|11|23: First Light on Mount Diablo. Mission Peak, California. November 23, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell - all rights reserved.

First Light on Mount Diablo. Mission Peak, California. November 23, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The story: This photograph was made just before sunrise at the top of Mission Peak, on the ridge above Fremont in the southeast San Francsico Bay Area. Here the sun is already striking distant Mt. Diablo, a landmark peak in the East Bay and Delta area. A group of us had climbed Mission Peak for the sunrise onn this Thanksgiving Day morning.

keywords: mount, diablo, park, dawn, sunrise, first, light, mission, peak, fog, hills, san francisco, bay, area, fremont, california, usa, color, photograph, landscape, scenic, east, regional, hike, climb, trail, stock, rock, valley