Tag Archives: san francisco

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

Zeum, Architectural Detail

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Zeum, Architectural Detail
A San Francisco view from the Zeum on a blue sky day.

Zeum, Architectural Detail. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A San Francisco view from the Zeum on a blue sky day.

Recently I have leaned on a Minor White quote more than once: “One should not only photograph things for what they are but for what else they are.” I’ve always taken this to be about photography’s burden of “capturing the real world,” how limiting that goal may be, and how photographs can be seen in other ways. It is almost always worth asking about a photograph, “Beyond what this is, what is it?”

This is, obviously, a photograph of a bit of architecture in San Francisco, a place called “The Zeum.” I’ve wandered through it many times while on San Francisco photography walks. An incomplete list of the “what else it is” in this photograph could include some of the following. It is about color and light and shadow. It is about perspective and angles and lines. It is about that sky and that single cloud. Perhaps you can think of other things?

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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Photographs: Abstract, Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Four Frames

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Four Frames
Reflections, San Francisco

Four Frames. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Reflections, San Francisco

For me, one result of carrying a camera around is that I often realize that things we barely notice often turn out to be unbelievably strange. Urban buildings can take on an entirely different look if you start to pay attention to the reflections in their windows — the abstract patterns of shapes and colors, the hallucinogenic distortions, and the bizarre juxtapositions. This is yet another example of seeing things for “what else they are.”

I think that writing too much about the background of this photo risks ruining its effect — so I won’t. I will say that it contains quite a few of the “juxtapositions” I mentioned above. Refusing to give in to temptation, that’s all I’m going to say!

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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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco

South Beach Harbor, Morning

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South Beach Harbor, Morning
Sailboats docked at San Francisco’s South Beach Harbor on a foggy summer morning.

South Beach Harbor, Morning. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Sailboats docked at San Francisco’s South Beach Harbor on a foggy summer morning.

On occasion I gloat about how fortunate we are to live in the San Francisco Bay Area. (It isn’t perfect, but still…) One of the pluses is proximity to San Francisco, itself. By the “baby bullet train” or by car I can be there in about an hour, at least outside of rush hour. I’ve long enjoyed taking the train up there and then wandering through the city and photographing. I vary my walking routes, but I almost always begin by heading toward the waterfront and past this harbor, where boats lie quietly at anchor in the morning.

Summer in San Francisco (as many tourists discover too late) is not generally a warm and sunny time. Fog is common, especially in the morning, and being surrounded on three sides by water the place can be windy and cool. But all of this produces special atmosphere and light. Here I’m looking past the boats and toward the other side of the Bay, where morning sunlight begins to thin the fog.

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.

Blog | About | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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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

Boba Tea Shop, Night

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Boba Tea Shop, Night
A San Francisco Chinatown Boba Tea shot at night.

Boba Tea Shop, Night. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A San Francisco Chinatown Boba Tea shot at night.

This is another San Francisco night street photography photograph, made possible by the advent of very good, very small digital cameras that can now make good images in very dark conditions. Places like this one, with narrow streets, bright interiors, and a fair amount of ambient light from business signs, become viable subjects for the photographers working with handheld cameras and no electronic flash. In this sort of photography I often work quickly, pausing only long enough to frame up an interesting urban landscape and look for people to populate it.

As a person who frequently photographs on foot in San Francisco and who has lived reasonably close to The City for decades, I know some parts of San Francisco pretty well at this point. I’m frequently in and around Chinatown when I’m up there — because a friend suggests it, because I pass through on my way to another destination, or because it is my destination. For the most part I eschew the busy, commercialized stretch of Grant Street that most think of when they hear “Chinatown” in San Francisco. But at night it becomes more interesting to me, and the larger number and variety of ambient light sources are both interesting and helpful. The bright interior of this shop contrasts with the dark world on the sidewalk, and it is hard for me to say what is actually going on in the shop.

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.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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