Tag Archives: gate

Departing The Golden Gate

Departing The Golden Gate
A ship and barge head out off the Golden Gate and into a Pacific Ocean sunset.

Departing The Golden Gate. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A ship and barge head out off the Golden Gate and into a Pacific Ocean sunset.

Oddly, so many photographs seem to have a different and unexpected context in this time of social distancing and relative confinement to our homes and neighborhoods. Some photographers are moving to photographs of things in or around their homes. (I’ve done a bit of that, too.) Some are reaching back into their image archives to discover photographs that they/we had left behind. And a few are ignoring the guidelines and heading out into the field… or else taking advantage of the loosening of restrictions as the new announcements come out. (I’m hoping for a bit of that soon, too!)

Although the evening of this photograph was eight years ago, I recall it fairly well. I had been photographing somewhere else north of the Golden Gate. I started back home in the late afternoon, pausing in this area before crossing the bridge to San Francisco — the timing was fortuitously right to be here at sunset. It was an evening of beautiful sky, with bands of clouds stretching to the horizon as a ship and barge headed out into the ocean.


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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Arch, Michaelerplatz

Arch, Michaelerplatz
View towards Michaelerplatz through an archway, Vienna.

Arch, Michaelerplatz. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

View towards Michaelerplatz through an archway, Vienna.

We came to international travel late. When I was younger I could never think of a good reason to travel far away when all of the enticements of California were so near — San Francisco, Los Angeles, the Sierra, the Pacific coast, the redwoods, deserts, and more. It wasn’t until the late 1990s that it occurred to me that the rest of the world might be worth visiting, too. A key moment: a month traveling through Alaska on bicycles, during when we were often in sight of truly giant mountain ranged I realized that “maybe the Sierra aren’t the only worthy mountains.”

During the last decade or so our horizons have broadened. All of this is my way of leading to admitting that this summer 2018 visit was the first time we had been to Vienna. I had lots of reasons to know about Vienna before this, but it was all theoretical until we arrived and spent days wandering and looking… and beginning to understand what an important center this place has been.


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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Doorway 776

Doorway 776
A colorful doorway in San Francisco’s Chinatown district.

Doorway 776. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A colorful doorway in San Francisco’s Chinatown district.

For the most part, the fronts of buildings in dense urban areas like San Francisco are not generally beautiful. As I photograph in such places I feel like the insides of such buildings may be interesting and feel like home, but that the outsides are often left in a more utilitarian state, with little attention to beautification or personalization. I see this in San Francisco, but I also see it in other major American urban areas and even in other countries that I’ve visited.

All of that makes the occasional exceptions even more notable. I’ve gotten to know a few of them found here and there in San Francisco areas that might be regarded as a bit “gritty.” This wildly colorful front entrance is on a Chinatown side street, not far from the hustle and bustle of one of the busiest streets.


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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Open Gate and Courtyard

Open Gate and Courtyard
A gate opens to a courtyard, Paris

Open Gate and Courtyard. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A gate opens to a courtyard, Paris

This photograph was one in a series of quick snaps — street photography done while on the move, with barely time to stop and compose the image. We ended up here almost by accident. We were working our way towards a museum at which there was an exhibit of photography that seemed interesting, and our route took us through this old area.

The gate was open as we walked past, revealing an interior courtyard. It was entirely empty, except for one very well dressed man, sitting on a step near the wall and staring intently at his cell phone.


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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.