Tag Archives: merchandise

Hats and Cashmere Scarves

Hats and Cashmere Scarves
A sidewalk vending cart on a winter day in Manhattan.

Hats and Cashmere Scarves. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A sidewalk vending cart on a winter day in Manhattan.

This photograph comes from our last big travel adventure in the Before Times, a week in New York City — mostly Manhattan, but also the Bronx and probably a bit of Brooklyn as well. New Yorkers will either laugh or think we’re nuts — or perhaps both — but somehow the two times of year that we almost invariably visit are in August and late December. Yeah, I know. Not ideal. But by now this has almost become a tradition. Even now — it is August! — I’m thinking about New York again.

This trip, as you may guess from the items being offered for sale here, was the December visit. Street vendors are common all over the world, especially in urban areas, but those in Manhattan seem to have their own special culture. I’m continually amazed at how the products vary by season and even — almost instantly — by weather. Rain on the way? Everyone is suddenly offering umbrellas. Snow and cold? Hats and cashmere scarves.


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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Chinatown Merchandise Racks

Chinatown Merchandise Racks
Unused merchandize racks sit on the sidewalk

Chinatown Merchandise Racks. San Francisco, California. July 25, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Unused merchandize racks sit on the sidewalk

I photographed these well-worn and utilitarian merchandise racks on a walk down a Chinatown side street last summer. It almost appeared that they had been demoted from active use to side-street storage, and that perhaps they were just waiting to be dragged away, or possibly they were being kept around long enough that they could still be pressed into service if needed.

I like trying to read (or read into) the possible history of artifacts like these. For example, they give every indication of being “home-made” by folks who don’t follow construction “rules,” but who have probably built such things before. The colors are wild, between the fluorescent green and the yellow, red, and blue of graffiti. I love the angle on the lower front of the rack at the left — all I can figure is that it must have been designed to match the slope of the particular San Francisco street where it was once used.


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.

Windows and Reflections, Union Square

Windows and Reflections, Union Square
Windows and Reflections, Union Square

Windows and Reflections, Union Square. San Francisco, California. March 6, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Reflections and other subjects in a wall of windows at the Macys’ store, Union Square, San Francisco.

While busy trying to see closer “street” subjects – usually quite a few here – in San Francisco’s Union Square on a Saturday afternoon I looked up and saw these absolutely wild reflections in the wall of windows of this downtown Macy’s store. If you just glance at the image you see the front of a store covered with lots of windows. However, if you start looking more closely – especially at a large print – you begin to see an astonishing and almost hallucinogenic level of strange details. A few “normal” people appear faintly in some windows – in one a person sits at a table and is perhaps reading or eating. In the middle row of windows you can see hot pink pants, some strange fluorescent green item… and the reflected point of the Transamerica Tower. Along the sides bizarrely warped forms of reflected building windows appear.

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.

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Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
ISO 200, f/8, 1/250 second

keywords: san francisco, union square, macy’s, department, store, california, usa, north america, shop, windows, curved, reflection, people, building, architecture, structure, pattern, abstract, merchandise, restaurant, sign, people, distort, warp, downtown, urban, city, street, transamerica, tower, wall, stock

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