Tag Archives: sign

Photographs: Urban/Street

Look

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Look
A “LOOK” sign at a light rail crossing.

Look. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A “LOOK” sign at a light rail crossing.

It seems to me that few photographers are able to resist at least occasionally photographing signs that catch their attention. (Not everyone will admit to it though!) I’m pretty sure I recall that my father collected them, and I’ve done it fitfully for decades. (Many years ago I was an avid cyclist, and I always used to get a laugh out fo a sign that I passed on one of my routes. It simply announced: “1/4 MILE AHEAD.”) Signs can be graphically interesting, funny or ironic depending on where they are found, or even useful for certain non-photographic purposes.

I had been looking (ironic, yes?) at this sign for months as I passed it along one of my pandemic routes for daily walks. For at least the previous month I had thought about photographing it each time I passed… but I didn’t do so. Most of the time I just didn’t bother, but the one previous time I did try there was an issue with the light. But finally the sign was in shade and I captured it. And it IS a good reminder to always look, especially if you are a photographer!

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: Urban/Street

Exit Only

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Exit Only
An “exit only” sign attached to a wall that has not been painted recently.

Exit Only. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An “exit only” sign attached to a wall that has not been painted recently.

Postcard from Pandemic #2. I made this photograph on one of my SIP neighborhood walks a few weeks ago. If nothing else, the current travel restrictions are encouraging me to discover nearby things that I had not paid attention to before.

This wall is in the back of an urban business district. I’ve been around this area for decades, and I have watched it change a lot — from a quiet residential business district, to a place of fading and dying businesses, to a newly popular, somewhat upscale area with lots of restaurants and other signs of Silicon Valley wealth. For someone who has been here for a while and who recalls what was in this location in the past, this wall is a bit of a historical record.

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: Pandemia, Photographs: Utah

Postcard From Pandemia #1

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Postcard From Pandemia #1
A bench, a wall, a warning sign, and a door in sunlight.

Postcard From Pandemia #1. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A bench, a wall, a warning sign, and a door in sunlight.

Photography is perhaps low on the list of the world’s priorities during a pandemic, when millions are infected and tens of thousands have died so far. But the world doesn’t stop for this, and we go on doing what we do as best we can — there is really no other choice, in my view.

My ability to make photographs of the subjects I would normally focus on right now has been extremely limited since I cannot travel more than a few miles and mostly on foot. So I have been using this as an opportunity to review my archives of old images, many of which might otherwise have been permanently left behind. But I’ve also pondered how in the world to photograph this event and its effects. I’m finally starting to see some general outlines of how this might be possible. We’ll see where this leads. Stay tuned.

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

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

Oh See!

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Oh See!
An old neon sign in full sun.

Oh See! © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An old neon sign in full sun.

I try to take (almost) daily walks in various areas around the South San Francisco Bay Area — occasionally trail walks, but more often just neighborhood walks that take me through residential areas, business districts, and locations where various companies have their warehouses and workspaces. Although I almost always bring a camera along, I usually don’t stop to photograph. But every so often I am glad that I lugged the thing along. (If nothing else, carrying a camera changes my orientation to my surroundings and forces me to see more and more clearly.)

This business sign has been at this location for a very long time. The surrounding neighborhood is rapidly changing as the area converts from older business (and, at one time, extensive cannery facilities) to more urbanized tenants: shopping centers, condominium/apartment buildings, and similar. But the history is only part of what fascinated me about this sign. It also presented a sort of visual puzzle, in which the shadows of the old neon tubes produce a sort of synthetic alphabet on top of the less-legible lettering.

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 | Facebook | Email

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

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