Tag Archives: peeling

Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Booklets

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Booklets
A portion of an old sign on the wall of a business

Booklets. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A portion of an old sign on the wall of a business.

From what I can tell, I’m not the only photographer who is occasionally distracted by subjects like this, nor the only photographer who photographs odd signs. I came across this one on a wall as I walked through an area of San Francisco. At this point, I suspect that the sign is largely forgotten — it was hidden behind a truck in an area along the fringe of a gas station.

There are several things that can be fun or interesting about these signs. For one, I’m intrigued by signs that are not associated with “name” businesses or products, but which are truly one-of-a-kind. Typically this means that they were built and/or painted by hand, and often some of the rough edges show. (Judging by the dark areas on the letters, I suspect that this wall was tagged, and someone painted the main wall but left the text of the sign “as is.”) The distressed quality of the wall is also interesting, with its peeling and fading paint. Finally, taken out of context like this, the letters of signs can become disembodied and divorced from their literal meaning… and they sometimes start to look rather odd.

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: New York City, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Red Door

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Red Door
Weathered red door and wall, Lower Manhattan

Red Door. G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Weathered red door and wall, Lower Manhattan

Yes, I’m a sucker for doors, weathered stuff, and bright colors. During the last week of 2017 we were in New York City, staying in Lower Manhattan and traveling all over from there, at times getting to Brooklyn and Queens. While those longer forays involved subway and cars, we also walked… a lot. New York City is, or at least can be, quite a walking city. I recall the first time I visited as an adult, and being surprised to find that people walked much more there than in California where I live. Having said that, walking there in winter can be a bit daunting, though it didn’t stop us. For most of our visit New York was in the grip of a cold spell, with daytime temperatures only making it into the lower 20 degree range, and on some days not “warming” up even that much. We found that we could bundle up, try to avoid windy spots, walk briskly, and when we got too cold… duck into a coffee shop or restaurant to warm back up.

I made this photograph on one of these walks. The specific location seems unimportant, but it wasn’t too far from Wall Street — though this scene hardly looks like it comes from a financial center! We headed north on a meandering path that took us east of Wall Street and away from the main, busy area. I was in street photographer mode, working a small camera with a single small prime lens, so I made the photograph more or less “on the move,” likely pausing only a few seconds to squeeze off a couple of frames before continuing to walk.

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: Germany, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Wall, Window, Shadows

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Wall, Window, Shadows
Shadows fall across a window and weathered wall in Heidelberg, Germany

Wall, Window, Shadows. Heidelberg, Germany. August 15, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Shadows fall across a window and weathered wall in Heidelberg, Germany

We have relatives living in Heidelberg, so when we go to Europe the city almost seems like “home” at this point. We often stay not far from the old town area — far enough away to not be in the middle of it all time, but close enough that a short walk over the Philosophenweg and across a bridge gets us there quickly.

Wandering around the streets of the town there are plenty of photographic subjects. At the moment I cannot recall precisely where I made this photograph, but I can recall being attracted by the forms and colors of the wall, the weathered and peeling paint, and the shadows produced by the sunlight glancing across its surface.

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

Stairway and Broken Windows

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Stairway and Broken Windows
Stairway and Broken Windows

Stairway and Broken Windows. Near Vallejo, California. March 16, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Exterior staircase, broken windows, and peeling paint on the wooden side panels of an abandoned building near Vallejo, California

I had joined up with a group of night photographers that I often shoot with on this evening, and we were sitting around in the late afternoon hours sharing pizza when someone made the radical suggestion of going out to shoot before darkness arrived! In the past, this has been just about the only group of photographers I’ve ever met who would stay inside during a San Francisco Bay area golden hour and sunset period, anxious for the light to go away so that shooting could begin! But on this evening, the radical concept of shooting in the daylight must have seemed so innovative that quite a few of us headed out to find either landscape-style shots over the San Francisco Bay or else abandoned and dilapidated industrial subjects nearby. I opted for the latter, and hoping to cover a bit more ground before dark, rather than walking nearby I drove, trying to figure out where I wanted to be in the fading light.

I ended up near this lonely, abandoned and partially destroyed building that has been left to vandals, who seem to be doing their best to accelerate the natural destructive forces that eventually take such buildings. Many windows are broken, there is spray paint in many places, and the exterior of the building is tremendously weathered and worn. Just a few minutes before sunset I made a series of exposures of this building, using a long lens to isolate smaller sections of the building. The sunset light turned the otherwise-dull building a much more intense shade of brown/yellow, and the brighter sky and clouds over San Francisco Bay are reflected in the broken windows. Soon after I finished shooting, the sun set, and I headed back to where my nocturnal friends awaited, and we headed out to photograph in the night.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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