Tag Archives: gray

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

Dilapidated Garage, Virgil Street

March 10, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A very old and dilapidated garage with hand-painted sign along Virgil Street in the Mission District, San Francisco, California.

Believe it or not, this is street photography.

I know it looks more like scene from an old farm perhaps, featuring the worn doors of the barn or a storage shed. We can imagine that it sits along a pasture or near the farmhouse, and the bit of green might suggest unseen springtime growth nearby. But it was actually photographed in a narrow and very urban alley in San Francisco’s dense and busy Mission District. It was shot “street style” with a handheld camera equipped with only a 50mm prime as I wandered around on foot.

I had seen this garage and pair of doors many times before, and I had thought about photographing them. However the scene never quite seemed to work as a photograph. But on this day two things came together and provoked me to make a few images. First, the light was very interesting. It was a cloudy day, but occasionally the clouds would thin or almost part enough to let in brighter but still diffused light – and that is the light that I used to make this exposure. Second, the little bit of new plant growth (OK, it is a weed) lends a bit of color contrast and life to the scene.

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, 1/160 second

keywords: the, mission, san francisco, california, usa, north america, street, urban, city, district, garage, door, wall, paneling, hinge, rusty, window, brace, dilapidated, virgil, street, alley, plant, crack, parking, night, sign, peeling, paint, sidewalk, cement, geometric, form, structure, architecture, old, historic, worn, building, stock, gray

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

Painted Bricks and Wall

January 25, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Painted bricks and painted-over graffiti on a suburban wall.

Somehow this little bit of painted surface caught my eye while I was out walking with my camera the other day. I follow a general rule of not photographing graffiti, especially the low-class street tagging sort of stuff, but I will photograph the interesting and varied ways that folks cover it up. Somehow it looks like the person who painted out this tag may have been in a bit of a hurry! I also find those painted bricks on the left side interesting and a bit strange.

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.

keywords: willow, glen, san, jose, california, usa, street, urban, city, structure, winter, stock, painted, green, red, white, gray, blue, tan, patch, over, graffiti, wall, board, screws

Photographs: People, Photographs: Southern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Dining Terrace and Columns

January 9, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Visitors on the outdoor dining terrace among tall stone pillars with fog beyond – Getty Museum, Los Angeles, California.

I think this terrace is one of the most interesting places at the Getty Center for a variety of reasons. For one, these slender and tall columns seem to support a rather large part of the museum – being a virtual native Californian I can’t help but think about their seeming fragility here in earthquake country. But the space itself is a very interesting one. While protected from sun and rain (as on the day I made the photograph) it feels very open because of the unusually high “ceiling” and the fact that it is almost completely open along a good part of its edge. While the “back” wall is nondescript – and, in retrospect, I can’t even describe it – the front opens to the large gardens that are spread below.

Elements that attracted me to the scene on this visit included the gradual gradient from shadow at the lower right to much brighter light at the far edge of the terrace, the vertical length of the support columns and their relative placement, the very small figures of the visitors, and the diffuse and misty fog and rain beyond the terrace.

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.

keywords: getty, center, museum, visitors, people, men, women, chairs, table, dining, terrace, floor, shadow, reflection, tall, column, square, garden, trees, lawn, building, fog, mist, rain, weather, cloud, gray, los angeles, california, usa, travel, sit, stand, roof, ceiling, structure, architecture, tray, stock

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Fall Foliage and Rock Face, Tioga Road

November 10, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Fall colors come to plants growing in cracks in a rock face alongside Tioga Road, Yosemite National Park, California.

As I drove across the Sierra via Tioga Pass Road in late September I was watching for early fall color, which often just gets going at about this time. Most of the good color is east of the crest, but there is one area near where the road crosses Yosemite Creek where I sometimes spot some yellow leaves – and, sure enough, as I passed this spot I saw some interesting color along the rock walls beside the road.

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.

keywords: yellow, green, gold, leaf, plant, branch, bush, tree, aspen, rock, face, cliff, crack, gray, boulder, broken, angle, season, fall, autumn, texture, tioga, pass, road, 120, highway, yosemite, national, park, california, usa, high, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, trans, creek, nature, travel, scenic, needle, stock

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