Tag Archives: Place

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

Closing Time

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Closing Time
A woman places boards over the windows of a business at night.

Closing Time. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A woman places boards over the windows of a business at night.

It has been a while since I’ve done one of these night photography shoots in San Francisco. A few years ago a group of us would get together once per year or so in the late afternoon, photograph in early evening light, typically go somewhere for dinner, and then head back out to photograph at night. We frequently ended up in Chinatown, perhaps because the lights and narrower streets are conducive to photography after dark.

This photograph comes from one of those excursions back in 2015. Since around that time — perhaps a few years earlier — it occurred to me that since I live close to San Francisco and regularly visit New York that I could do a little project around photographing in Chinatown districts of both cities. They are both fascinating places, both draw tourists (though in different ways), and both have a non-tourist life that is even more fascinating. (I see this photograph a bit differently in the wake of the pandemic.)

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: Pacific Northwest, Photographs: People, Photographs: Urban/Street

Beecher’s

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Beecher's
Seattle street scene

Beecher’s. Seattle, Washington. September 8, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Seattle street scene

I made this photograph on a recent visit of several days to the Seattle, Washington area. Much of this visit was not photographically oriented, but I did have a couple of days that I could devote to photography. Seattle has a particular character that I enjoy — to generalize, it is partly about the light and weather, partly about the nature of the city itself, and partly about the people. The light is softer and lower angled than what I’m used to in California. The “nature” of the city is a bit hard to explain — though it has both the woodsy quality of being built-in forest as another quality that is shared with San Francisco and its older buildings. There is something, again to generalize, about the people as well. Perhaps more beards and more informal and slightly outdoorsy clothing?

I made this photograph in the Pike Place area, and I just happened to notice the little tableau of people, buildings, and colorful bicycles and other elements as I walked by. If the photograph is about anything, that anything might include the contrasting square shapes of the building and the angled lines of the road and sidewalk, plus something about the positioning of the people. It is also about color, from the yellow line to the colorful elements sprinkled throughout the frame.

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: Night, Photographs: Urban/Street

Market, Mott Street

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Market, Mott Street
A family pauses on the sidewalk in front of a Chinatown market on Mott Street on Christmas Eve.

Market, Mott Street. New York City. December 24, 2015.© Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A family pauses on the sidewalk in front of a Chinatown market on Mott Street on Christmas Eve.

I have been a bit surprised to find a lot of photographs of families, often with a kid in a stroller, among my street photographs from this December 2015 visit to New York. The photographs range from an adult family posing for a selfie (yet to be shared here) to families on busy downtown streets to night photographs like this one — and strollers seem to be a repeating theme. I’m not sure what this means.

While trying to figure out where we would go for dinner after discovering that our first choice and its neighbors were way to busy, I took a few minutes to wander up to the end of this very narrow street. This corner market featured a wild and colorful assortment of produce in outdoor stalls along the sidewalk, made more intense by lighting under the awning. My first thought was to photograph this colorful subject, but then I watched to see who might wander by and populate the photograph. A family stopped, father looking at his wife and child and the woman casting a glance in my direction.

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: Night, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Another Corner, Night

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Another Corner, Night
A meeting place between planes of concrete, night

Another Corner, Night. Mare Island Naval Ship Yard, Vallejo, California. November 7, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A meeting place between planes of concrete, night

The historic Mare Island Naval Ship Yard, especially at night, is a visually compelling location with a lot of large eye-catching features. This include the towering ship yard structures near the dry dock, the tower of the old power station, the huge factory buildings, old officers’ housing, and the ships that are sometimes tied up here or in dry dock. It is easy to spend a lot of time photographing these subjects with wonderful results.

On this visit I was, at least initially, less interested in those things. Instead I slowed down and went looking for hidden surprises — textures, pools of light, juxtapositions, color, and quiet places. Before long I found myself in a small area near the front of a dark building where concrete formations were lit by security lights and by the glow from the town of Vallejo across the water, and I stopped here for almost an hour to quietly make quiet photographs.

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+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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