Tag Archives: photography

Photographs: Night, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Pedestrians, Night

Leave a comment
Pedestrians, Night
Nighttime pedestrians at a Chinatown street corner

Pedestrians, Night. San Francisco, California. July 25, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Nighttime pedestrians at a Chinatown street corner

I’m back with another colorful night street photograph this time. This one is from last summer, when a group of us met up to wander around parts of downtown San Francisco on a lovely evening. We eventually ended up in the Chinatown area, some photographing the environment there and others — like me! — photographing the people who were visiting.

This is more or less just a photograph of people walking by at a street corner. However, there are bits and pieces that I think are interesting. In the larger scale, the scene is a wild and complex arrangement of colors and patters, made more intense but he effect of the electrical lighting at night. There are several lines and planes of interest in the photograph, at least the way I look at it. And line extends from the back of the foreground figures, though the family on the corner (with the young girls in their interesting jackets), and on through the man walking away behind them. I’ll leave it to you to find others…

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.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Chinatown Merchandise Racks

Leave a comment
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.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Night, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Sidewalk Shoppers, Night

Leave a comment
Sidewalk Shoppers, Night
Shoppers and tourists walk past Chinatown shops at night, San Francisco

Sidewalk Shoppers, Night. San Francisco, California. July 25, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Shoppers and tourists walk past Chinatown shops at night, San Francisco

Allow me to continue to indulge my (relatively) new obsession with handheld night street photography! This is yet another photograph made after dark in San Francisco, in a popular tourist area full of people, shops, and plenty of wildly colorful artificial light. This might look a bit like just a photograph of a crowd, but when I look closer I’m fascinated by the variety of faces and activities and ways of engaging that I see.

It was only perhaps a couple of years ago that I discovered that I can use small handheld mirrorless camera set to high ISO to photograph in the nighttime city environment. In the past this was sometimes marginally possible in very well-lit areas, but most such photography required a tripod and its attendant disruption of the scene — people behave very differently when they see a big camera on a tripod. But now it is quite possible to roam with a very small camera and produce viable photographs that can even be printed rather large.

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.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Night, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Zoltar Speaks

Leave a comment
Zoltar Speaks
Zoltar waits for his mark on a San Francisco sidewalk

Zoltar Speaks. San Francisco, California. July 25, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Zoltar waits for his mark on a San Francisco sidewalk

Zoltar, in all of his flamboyant glory, waits in a sidewalk booth to give fortunes to passers-by. Despite his ultra-colorful appearance, not a single person stopped to speak with him during my visit.

I did not realize that Zoltar is actually a “thing.” Yes, you can look up “Zoltar Speaks” on the Internet and read all about him. (He comes in standard, economy, and deluxe models.) I remain perplexed about what he may have to do with the cultural setting of San Francisco’s Chinatown district.

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.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.