Tag Archives: tourists

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

Chinatown Street Scene

November 19, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Tourists on the sidewalk in front of a brightly lit souvenir shop in San Francisco’s Chinatown district

Another evening in San Francisco, another photograph of people walking along the sidewalk in front of a Chinatown shop. These are becoming something of a theme, or so it seems. I’m not exactly certain where I made this one, but I feel like it might not have been along the main tourist area of Grant Street — but I’m prepared to be wrong.

My approach is to look for good light first and to then find a composition and people to fill it. Some interesting elements, like the stairway at the right, are nice, too. I’m always looking for spots where light spills onto the sidewalk, offering the potential to illuminate passers-by when they enter the scene. It is even better if street lights or the lights of another shop provide just a bit of front light to fill in the shadows. Aside from the way that all of the people managed to position themselves across the frame, I think I owe the woman to choose to wear the red dress on this evening.

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

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

Tourists Walking

September 27, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Tourists on a late-night walk pass closed Chinatown shops in San Francisco

This is (yet another!) night street photography image made on one of my summer night walks in The City, in this case between roughly Union Square and almost to North Beach. A group of us meets up to photograph these subjects every so often. We begin before sunset and then continue walking, watching, and photographing right on into the night.

I recently read a nice description of part of what is appealing about photographing the street at night. In the daytime everything is more or less evenly lit, but at night small groups move into and out of the light, becoming “spotlighted” against the backdrop of the night. In places where we might see undifferentiated subjects in the daytime, subjects that pass though localized pools for light acquire more importance, and other elements of the scene recede. Here a small group of slightly uncomfortable-looking tourists shuffles past the closed up storefronts of Chinatown. Something about the group does not look entirely comfortable with their surroundings.

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

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

Man With Flag

July 31, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A man with a flag organizes a group of tourists on a San Francisco street

I think this is another “there’s more going on here than you might first realize” photographs. Yes, there is a man marching out of this store carrying a small flag, but why? The answer to that question is pretty easy — he is apparently leading a group of tourists through this part of San Francisco, and the flag is his way of letting them know who to follow. (You’ll see this phenomenon in almost any city or other area that is popular with tourists.) But there is something else interesting — at last to me — about this photograph. Many of the people in the scene have apparently just become aware of me and are looking my direction, apparently not quite certain how to respond just yet. (I’m discreet, so I probably didn’t have the camera to my face, and it isn’t a large camera.)

Pools of light like this one are prime spots for me when shooting urban areas at night. I love the way the light spills out onto the sidewalk, creating shadows leading away from the people. I can also play with this light. I might shoot straight into it and make shadow the main subject. Or I can sometimes get just a bit between the subjects and the light, and then it can light them quite beautifully, especially when there are multiple light sources. If I recall correctly, it was the light and then the bricks that first caught my eyes here, and then when the people appeared in the doorway the photograph was complete.

Photographs: England, Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Travel

Trafalgar Square

June 22, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Tourists in Trafalgar Square, London

This is a late photograph post today. It was a busy weekend followed by a busy Monday, and I had no time to post this until evening. The photograph comes from our visit to London a couple of years ago. I’m intrigued by the ever-changing patterns formed by people moving through public spaces like this one. The photograph was made late on a haze afternoon, so the soft light mutes the shadows of the people engaged in activities including walking through the square, watching other people, making photographs, sitting, and more.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: tourists

Chinatown Street Scene

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Tourists Walking

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Man With Flag

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Trafalgar Square

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