Tag Archives: san jose

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

Front Porch with Flower Pots

January 14, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The front porch of an old suburban home with a row of flower pots and a garden hose.

Switching gears more than a bit from the recent Big Sur photographs, here comes a series of urban landscapes shot on a New Years Day walk not far from my home. I shot these in old-school style, wandering around carrying only a full-frame body with a 50mm prime. (OK, I don’t have a Leica, but this comes close enough for me.) I’m not really a big fan of the one-lens approach, but I do find it to be a fun diversion sometimes, partly because it makes me look at photographic subjects a bit differently and partly because it makes for a much smaller and lighter kit.

I’m not quite certain what caught my attention about this house, though several things might have contributed. You cannot see it from the photograph, but this one residence sits on a very busy four-lane thoroughfare among a bunch of businesses – that may have been one thing that drew me to it. The color caught my eye as well, as did the row of flower pots on the porch and the very bright green of the hose. I also like the overall geometry of the scene.

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: front, porch, flower, pots, clay, green brown, red, pink, green, home, urban, house, door, screen, window, frame, pink, apricot, siding, gas, meter, hose, cement, concrete, sidewalk, worn, mailbox, street, downtown, san jose, california, usa, stucco, shade, blinds, curtain, reflection, stock/font>

Photographs: Sports

Paceline – American Velodrome Challenge

July 4, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The pack is strung out as the pace increases in a bicycle track race at the American Velodrome Challenge, Hellyer Park, San Jose, California.

The paceline in the late stages of a miss-and-out race at the American Velodrome Challenge at the Hellyer Park Velodrome in San Jose, California. Yes, another “blurry bike racers” shot! And it won’t be the last.

I was having great fun shooting this series. There are a few tricks that I use to make this work. Before I make the exposure I decide where in the frame I want the relatively focused rider to be – in this case I wanted him closest to me on the right side of the frame. I selected a single autofocus point on the camera and made it the one furthest to the right from the center. I used the AI servo mode on my Canon 5D II since it continuously adjust the AF and since it attempts to predict the position of moving objects, thus tending to keep them in focus… as long as you can manage to keep the AF point on the target as it moves by very fast and very close. So the trick was to begin to follow the riders around the far end of the turn that you can see at top left, and then to work carefully to keep this AF point on the lead rider – not as easy as you might think – while also keeping a watch on the positions of the other riders. Making this even more “fun” is the fact that I had absolutely no control over what the riders would actually do when they came around. Sometimes a rider might come up the bank and block my shot; sometimes a single rider might be too far separated from the others to make the composition I had in mind. Generally – but not quite always – I shoot anyway, and I’m more than willing to admit that there is a certain element of luck in making this work.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: bike, bicycle, racing, track, velodrome, national, professional, san jose, california, usa, pack, group, peloton, rider, racer, competitor, participant, cyclist, biker, helmet, red, blue, orange, white, blur, motion, speed, santa clara, county, night, stock

Photographs: Sports

Three Sprinters, Women’s Keirin – American Velodrome Challenge

July 3, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Three sprinters round a turn in the final sprint of a women’s keirin race at the American Velodrome Challenge, Hellyer Park Velodrome, San Jose, California.

In this photograph the three lead riders in a preliminary heat of the women’s keirin race event round the second to last turn and crank up their speed with just more than half of a lap remaining before the finish line.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: bike, bicycle, racing, track, velodrome, national, professional, san jose, california, usa, women, racer, rider, competitor, sprint, national, shadow, yellow, turn, curve, speed, helmet, challenge, stock

Photographs: Sports

Motorpacing the Women’s Keirin – American Velodrome Challenge

July 2, 2009 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

The group drafts a motorcycle in the early laps of a women’s keirin event at the American Velodrome Challenge, Hellyer Park Velodrome, San Jose, California.

Just so people don’t start to think that I can only make blurry photographs of bicycle racing, here is a more straight-ahead bike racing shot from a preliminary round in the women’s keirin race at the American Velodrome Challenge. (I think this photo also demonstrates that the light does matter in sports photography, too – this was just just as the sun was about to drop below the horizon, so the light is golden and warm.) Here the group is being "motor-paces" by the fellow on the motorcycle for the first few laps as the riders remain in his draft and he gradually brings them up to speed. After a few paced laps the motorcycle pulls off and there is a very short, intense, and high speed finish.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: bike, bicycle, racing, track, velodrome, national, professional, san jose, california, usa, rider, racer, competitor, women, hellyer, park, santa clara, county, keirin, motor, pace, motorcycle, draft, american, challenge, helmet, sunglasses, handlebars, wheel, proman, century, uscf, shadow, afternoon, evening, stock

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