Tag Archives: san jose

Steps, Handrail, Mailbox, Door

Steps, Handrail, Mailbox, Door

Steps, Handrail, Mailbox, Door. San Jose, California. December 26, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Steps, handrail, mailbox, door, and wall in a light industrial building in downtown San Jose, California.

I found this doorway on a side street in a light industrial area of downtown San Jose. I like the combination of all sorts of angles – perspective lines and the line of the handrail – and the contrast between the cold tone cement of the entry way and the warmly lighted interior of the building.

Yes, it is another “urban landscape” photograph.

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: steps, mailbox, handrail, railing, door, window, doorbell, moulding, stairs, entry, wall, cement, concrete, light, yellow, red, black, downtown, urban, light, industrial, building, san jose, california, usa, street, urban, stock, box

Storefronts and Tree, First Street

Storefronts and Tree, First Street

Storefronts and Tree, First Street. San Jose, California. December 26, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A dilapidated storefront and a tree along First Street in San Jose, California.

This is another in a series of photographs that may be a bit troubling for those of you who follow my landscape and nature photography. Try to think of it as “urban landscape” – that’s what I do! :-)

I have my oldest son, Brandon, to thank for this photo and others in this series. He is a big fan of what I call “urban hiking” – long walks in central city urban areas, often industrial in nature. We finally had the opportunity to do a three hour urban hike in the downtown San Jose area just after Christmas, and we both brought our cameras along. Several things caught my eye about this scene: the wild colors of the paint and some of the window decorations on the lower floor, the shape for the tree in front of the building, the wash of light from across the street and behind my position as I shot this, and the regular horizontal patterns of road, curb, sidewalk, windows, moulding, and more windows.

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: store, shop, building, windows, doors, reflections, pipe, merchandise, tree, trunk, branch, leaves, street, lane, sidewalk, curb, bricks, tile, store, downtown, urban, street, first, san jose, california, usa, stock

Will Call

Will Call

Will Call. San Jose, California. December 26, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Roll-up industrial loading dock garage door with the words “will call” with column, sidewalk, leaves, and afternoon light – San Jose, California.

This minimalist scene was also photographed on my December 26 urban walk to and around parts of downtown San Jose with my son. The light on this shaded loading dock garage door is reflected from tall apartment buildings in full sun on the opposite side of the street.

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: roll, up, door, wall, column, sign, will call, metal, cement, stucco, sidewalk, leaves, paint, blue, aqua, tan, urban, industrial, street, factory, warehouse, downtown, san jose, california, usa, pattern, texture, stock, garage, dock, loading

Autumn Tree, Morning Light

Autumn Tree, Morning Light

Autumn Tree, Morning Light. Calero Hills, California. November 22, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A singe leafless tree on a grassy hillside in morning light – Calero Hills, California.

A week ago I spent the morning at one of my favorite nearby locations, the oak and grassland hills of Calero Park south of San Jose, California. This is a place I visit frequently. On this trip I did something a bit different. Although I tend to shoot more with wide angle to normal focal length lenses, on this morning I went out with the 100-400mm zoom attached to my camera. Initially this was because I hoped to photograph an egret that often hangs out at a pond I would pass early on the hike, but as I continued I decided to find out what I could "see" with this different lens.

This is a subtle photograph – and I’m afraid that the details in the branches of the tree that make it work at a larger size are not really visible here. The photo was shot at 400mm – yes a 400mm landscape photo! The long lens produced a very narrow depth of field so – in the print at least – both foreground and background are thrown a bit out of focus, accentuating the sharp shapes of the small side-lit branches on the tree.

keywords: tree, oak, fall, autumn, grass, meadow, forest, tree, light, morning, branches, hill, ridge, calero, california, usa, santa clara county, san jose, park, bay area, nature, follage, landscape, scenic, stock