Tag Archives: san jose

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Urban/Street

Loading Dock

Image Leave a comment
Loading Dock
“Loading Dock” — An old loading dock, closed off with corrugated metal sheets.

This photograph is a companion to another one I recently shared featuring a different part of the same old building. It is a weathered structure with loading docks on both sides that is in a very slowly gentrifying light industrial area of San Jose. It has all the features you’d expect — it is next to an old rail line, it is on a fairly major street, and its exterior features concrete, corrugated metal, and very weathered wood.

I had been thinking about photographing it for a while but never seemed to get around to it, despite going there fairly regularly. There are now some newer businesses in the building that we patronize. I finally remembered to bring a camera as I went out for a long walk that would take me there, and I paused to photograph this old loading dock, now obviously abandoned, with its interesting textures and geometric forms.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)

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

Green and Blue Windows

Image Leave a comment
Green and Blue Windows
“Green and Blue Windows” — Green and blue window frams on a blue-gray wall, San Jose.

Some subjects turn out to have been right in front of you all along. These window frames are at an old industrial building that I visit frequently. There’s a coffee place inside where we sometimes grab an espresso. Even better, there’s a fine local brewery. Beyond that, the building happens to be on one of my walking loops (the “four mile loop”) and I frequently pass through the parking lot where these windows are located.

Yet, despite having gone there for several years, I first noticed the windows only recently on one of my walks. I resolved to bring the camera with me the next time, and target the late morning hours when I new the sun would be almost in line with the wall, producing some interesting diagonal shadows.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)

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

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Urban/Street

Leaves Trace

Image Leave a comment
Leaves Trace
“Leaves Trace” — The trace of a departed autumn leaf on a concrete sidewalk.

I walk a lot, and I always carry a camera. At a minimum I have my smart phone, but most of the time I have a “real” camera in my bag. I don’t always photograph on walks, but from time to time I spot something that interests me. This was one of those times. Recent rains had leached the colors out of fallen leaves, staining the sidewalk with their autumn traces.

This photograph is a bit difficult to categorize. In a sense it is an “autumn photograph,” since the subject derives from that season’s leaves. But I made it in winter after those leaves had time to stain the concrete. In addition I’m not sure if it is an urban/street photograph or a photograph of nature. In the end, perhaps it doesn’t matter — it is just a photograph.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

Scroll down to share comments or questions. (Click post title first if viewing on the home page.)

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Urban/Street

Pizza Jack’s No. 2

Image Leave a comment
Pizza Jack's No. 2
The dilapidated Pizza Jack’s No. 2 storefront, San Jose, California.

Pizza Jack’s No. 2. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

The dilapidated Pizza Jack’s No. 2 storefront, San Jose, California.

Perhaps there was once pizza at Pizza Jack’s No. 2, but it looks like those days are gone. Though the string of holiday lights along the roof seems sort of festive — perhaps left over from a previous year? The building is in an “interesting” area of town, one that exists between better neighborhoods in one direction and lots of urban redevelopment in the other. This area is one with a lot of potential, but also a lot of abandoned and run-down stuff that probably won’t be here much longer.

This may end up being an unusual example of a photograph that I’ll release in both color and monochrome versions. For obvious reasons, I was thinking “color!” when I made the photograph, but in post it became clear that it also works in monochrome, though with a rather different effect. There’s an old adage about going to black and white in photographs where the color doesn’t tell the story. Here, color does tell at least one important story, but darned if it doesn’t work without the color, too.

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.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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