Tag Archives: store

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: People, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Woman Walking, Red Awnings

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Woman Walking, Red Awnings
Woman Walking, Red Awnings

Woman Walking, Red Awnings. San Francisco, California. March 6, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A woman walks past red shop awnings and downtown building wall along a San Francisco Street.

This shot was made on a very shaded side street not too far from Union Square in San Francisco. The blurred figure is intentional – part of a series I’m working on – since this handheld shot was made at a slow shutter speed of 1/20 second using a 50mm lens on a full frame body. Part of the idea was to place the walker (or allow her to place herself!) in an interesting location relative to all of the other objects spread horizontally across the wide frame: the display windows with the red overhands, the green trash can, the tall black lamppost, and the two manhole covers in the street. The games for me on this type of image include finding the basic composition and then finding and timing the shot of the right passer-by.

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, 1/20 second

keywords: street, urban, san francisco, california, usa, north america, travel, woman, walking, sidewalk, street, manhole, cover, light, pole, garbage, trash, waste, can, concrete, wall, pattern, red, awning, store, shop, window, person, downtown, road, geometry, pattern, stride, stock

Commentary, Ideas

Things that sometimes baffle me about photographers and photography

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This is by no means a complete list, but inspired by seeing one of these oddities in a post earlier today I thought I’d write it up.

  • “Unboxing videos” of new cameras. Why would someone make a 5 or 10 minute video of the act of opening the box that their new camera came in and then lovingly taking out… the manual, the USB cables, the styrofoam inserts, the warranty card, and on and on and on – often with narration and sometimes even background music. Do people actually watch these?
  • Spending thousands and thousands of dollars on “the best” camera, lens, etc. when one isn’t really a photographer and doesn’t really make photographs all that much and perhaps only shares the odd jpg or letter size print with friends and family.
  • Getting caught up in the “brand wars” between manufacturers like Nikon and Canon. They both make really, really fine equipment. Both are used by a lot of excellent photographers. Really wonderful photographs are produced using both systems every day.
  • Assuming that there is only one best “whatever” in photography. There is no such thing as “The Best… camera, lens, tripod, photographer, memory card, place to shoot, time of day to shoot, filter, brand, store, paper…” First, there are many good versions of each. Second, what is best for one person may not be best for another.
  • Obsessing over very tiny and insignificant equipment “flaws” or differences. The classic is, of course, choosing a less functional lens over a more functional lens because the less functional lens might measure .001% better resolution at 100% magnification on the test bench. Related are obsessions over very tiny differences in noise in digital cameras, concern about small difference in camera burst rate, worry that your lens might vignette some…
  • Thinking that you have to “take a position” on zooms versus primes. (Zooms and primes are both great, and you have my permission to use both… ;-)
  • Secret shooting locations – unless the area is fragile and too much use would damage it, if ten good photographers shoot it you’ll get ten different interpretations.

Anyone else?

Photographs: People, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Big Star Grocery Co.

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Big Star Grocery Co.

Big Star Grocery Co. San Francisco, California. August 18, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early morning shopping for produce at the Big Star Grocery Co. in Chinatown, San Francisco, California.

In the past I’ve mostly walked past these markets in San Francisco’s Chinatown at more typical tourist times of the day, so I had missed the activity of the early morning hours when the markets are both opening and taking shipments of produce, dropped off on the sidewalks by large delivery trucks and then moved inside manually.

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.

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keywords: early, morning, grocery, produce, big, star, co., company, store, banana, bunch, apple, orange, melon, box, rack, shelf, hang, flag, cherry, fruit, interior, light, open, chinatown, san francisco, california, usa, urban, downtown, city, street, travel, apartment, window, table, wall, sidewalk, market, stock

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

Pipe, Sidewalk, Wall with Tree Shadow

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Pipe, Sidewalk, Wall with Tree Shadow

Pipe, Sidewalk, Wall with Tree Shadow. San Jose, California. January 4, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early evening shadows from a nearby tree fall on shop wall behind leaf littered sidewalk and pipe barricade.

A theme on this day’s urban walk was the patterns cast by late afternoon tree shadows on a variety of walls. This example is very close to my home, and the scene is truly unremarkable – you might think of it almost as a “photograph of nothing.”

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: afternoon, building, california, city, county, downtown, evening, san jose, santa clara, urban, wall, stucco, texture, tree, shadow, pattern, pipe, barricade, sidewalk, line, litter, architecture, evening, light, cast, shop, store, willow glen, street. stock, leaf