Tag Archives: store

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

Vacant Retail Space

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Vacant Retail Space - An empty retail space after being vacated by a departing tenant.
Vacant Retail Space - An empty retail space after being vacated by a departing tenant.

Vacant Retail Space. San Jose, California. December 28, 2011. © Copyright 2011 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An empty retail space after being vacated by a departing tenant.

Switching gears from the natural to the constructed, this is a photograph of a large and very vacant retail space in San Jose, California – shot on a late-December walk in a part of the city not far from where I live. This was once the location of a very busy and popular retail establishment that got caught  by the current economic problems and some changes in technology that put their business model at risk. Only a very few hints of the nature of the original business remain at this point. The facility has now been vacant for several months, and despite new construction nearby it does not yet show any sign of new occupants coming in.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Simplicity

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Simplicity - A small appliance store front window with many colorful signs, San Jose, California.
A small appliance store front window with many colorful signs, San Jose, California.

Simplicity. San Jose, California. December 28, 2011. © Copyright 2011 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A small appliance store front window with many colorful signs, San Jose, California.

This is another in the “walked out my front door and made photographs” series, being a store front that is within a half mile or so of my home. I’m a bit of a fan of photographing the fronts of these small businesses that appear to be anything but chain operations. Each one is its own unique universe and, I assume, reflects the owner’s personality in many ways including the cumulative effect of focusing on one small area of the world for many decades. I often wonder what it must be like to live in a world of vacuum cleaners for more than five decades – and I don’t mean to imply anything by that question beyond a serious interest in how our primary interests end up influencing how we experience and see the world.

The visual quality of these places also interests me. I can initially simply be overwhelmed by the details that must have accumulated over time – the many brightly colored signs, a few things hung on walls, displays of specialized equipment and materials with brand names I barely recognize. Yet there is a very carefully created order in all of this. It is fun – for me at least! – to spend some time looking at these scenes and starting to pick out the small details that I might not initially notice. (Of course, that is easier with a big print than it is with this little jpg!)

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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A Visit to B&H: A Brief Report

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I’m in New York City for business and pleasure and to do some photography. It turns out that I am staying about a ten-minute walk from the renowned B&H Superstore. Since this blog is a B&H affiliate and because I had recently been in touch with someone from B&H, I mentioned to them that I would be in the area… and was invited to take a tour.

I am going to write more about this later when I can type on something other than my iPad “virtual keyboard,” but I thought I’d share a few things today.

We started in a building close to the one housing the well-known store. My guides took me through several areas that you might not think about – several floors teeming with employees handling the technical aspects of their online presence and other information systems, and a floor where customer support takes place. (As I understand it, support desks are staffed by people who have expertise in particular product areas.)

Next we took a short walk over to the store. I had been there briefly the day before with my son, but I had missed a lot since the two of us had headed straight to areas of the store focusing on our individual interests. Today’s tour showed me much of what I had missed – for example a very impressive video studio facility. (To my brother Ed who is a video guy… you have to see this!) The range of products available is remarkable, both in terms of the types of gear (video, audio, computers, and, of course, cameras and related equipment) and the levels of equipment available – at one information/demonstration booth you could ask about and handle a $99 point and shoot camera… or the $6000 DSLR body about two feet away. You can also see and handle just about any tripod made, and the same holds true for a large range of other products.

As I mentioned above,there is much more to write about this, but I’m going to save more for later. For now I’ll end by thanking Yechiel and Herschel for a very complete and informative tour!

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Textures, Photographs: Urban/Street

UFOs and Their Mission

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UFOs and Their Mission
UFOs and Their Mission

UFOs and Their Mission. San Francisco, California. February 20, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of a Mission District storefront with UFO flyer in the window, San Francisco, California.

The intricate and curved wrought iron work on the front of this building in San Francisco’s Mission District first caught my attention. As I came closer I thought that the underlying textures and patterns of blinds and stuff in the store and the street reflections might be interesting. Then I notice the small pamphlet taped to the window: “UFOs and their Mission.” The mystery deepens… :-)

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.

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Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
ISO 200, f/8, 1/80 second

keywords: the, mission, san francisco, california, usa, north america, street, urban, city, store, window, storefront, wrought, metal, iron, curves, ufos, their, mission, sign, flyer, flier, reflection, newspaper, sill, blinds, sky, columbia, stock