Tag Archives: people

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

All Stops Special – Caltrain Station

July 24, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The San Francisco Caltrain station, photographed through glass lobby windows.

I frequently ride Caltrain to the City to do street photography. (Getting there by train is far better for me than taking the car, mainly because I think I can do more effective photography of this sort when I’m working completely on foot and not dealing with the whole driving/parking thing.) In this photograph I liked the nearly empty glass-enclosed lobby area, lit by very diffused light under the early morning fog, and with the trains visible on the other side. The “All Stops Special” sign seems enigmatic when seen out of context.

By the way, as much as San Francisco residents love the sunny and warmer days that occasionally come to the City this time of year, for photography I much prefer at least some fog and cloudiness, especially when I try to shoot during the daytime hours.

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.

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are 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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Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Windows and Reflections, Union Square

March 20, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

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.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: San Francisco

Ocean Beach, Winter Surf

February 19, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Black and white photograph of winter surf along Ocean Beach, San Francisco, California.

On a day like this one it was hard to resist shooting from an obvious spot like this – right by the Cliff House, looking south along the incoming winter surf at San Francisco’s Ocean Beach. With the strong backlight coming through the ocean spray and overcast and fog, the light was very diffused, and it made it possible to shoot directly into the otherwise impossibly bright direct reflections of the sun on the surf. A lot of what is in this photograph is subtle, and you might miss it in this small on-screen image – but look for the very faint outline of the distant hills of the San Francisco Peninsula and the subtle differences in tonality in the cloudy sky.

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: san francisco, california, usa, sutro, baths, cliff, ocean, sea, coast, shore, pacific, surf, travel, scenic, beach, waves, foam, seascape, landscape, people, beach, sand, mountain, hill, great, highway, sky, clouds, mist, spray, haze, silhouette, atmosphere, recession, winter, season, stock, black and white

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: People, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Visitors to the Ruins of the Sutro Baths

February 9, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

Black and white photographs of visitors to the ruins of the Sutro Baths below the Cliff House, San Francisco, California.

I have known of the Sutro Baths ruins for a long time – since I was a child, really – and I’ve seen them before from the top of the bluff near the iconic Cliff House Restaurant at the north end of San Francisco’s Ocean Beach. But this was my first visit to the actual site. The story is that this is the site of what was once a large privately-operated pool and bath complex that sat right on the edge of the Pacific Ocean. Decades ago it was being demolished (or so I understand) when there was a fire that destroyed the buildings and left only the foundations and what appear to be the outlines of old pools. To me the site feels like visiting some very ancient ruins.

On the day we visited the surf was fairly large. While I’m sure it gets even larger in the middle of a bit Pacific winter storm, it was impressive nonetheless, especially since the site of the baths is right on the edge of the ocean. The light was wonderful. Even though it was essentially midday when we visited, the light was softened and diffused by a combination of clouds and the thick mist created by the spray from the waves. Although I had a tripod with me, I had left it in the car – so this is a hand held photograph. I think that actually turned out to my benefit, since without the tripod I could shoot more spontaneously. I had been watching and thinking about this particular spot and a composition that included the lines and shadows and angles of these walls with the Cliff House beyond. But all of a sudden I saw the people in the scene move into positions that I thought were interesting and I had to react quickly.

I’m not sure how well this photograph will work for most viewers, but at the moment it is one of my favorite recent images. Especially in the 13″ x 19″ test print I made this evening, there is – to me at least – a ton of interesting stuff going on in the scene. (Unfortunately, some of that detail may well be lost in this small jpg version.)

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: san francisco, california, usa, sutro, baths, cliff, ocean, sea, coast, shore, pacific, surf, travel, scenic, house, ruins, historic, people, man, woman, child, bluff, rocks, island, wall, structure, architecture, pool, shadow, sky, clouds, stock

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