Tag Archives: urban

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

Third Street Bridge, Morning

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Third Street Bridge - The Third Street Bridge near AT&T Park in San Francisco, California.
The Third Street Bridge near AT&T Park in San Francisco, California.

Third Street Bridge, Morning. San Francisco, California. July 8, 2011. © Copyright 2011 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The Third Street Bridge near AT&T Park in San Francisco, California.

This bridges sits in a newly revitalized area of San Francisco next to the Giants’ AT&T ball park, which is visible in the background along the right side of the frame. In an area that was (and still is, if you look around a bit) somewhat “seedy,” there are now, for better or for worse, lots of new buildings including businesses and condominiums. This bridge seems like a sort of surprising structure to see in a place like this. It is a “draw bridge” that can apparently be lifted to allow boats to pass underneath to go in and out of a small inlet that extends from the bay (to the right of this photo) and inland a ways.

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: Architecture, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Windows, Davies Symphony Hall

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Windows, Davies Symphony Hall - Upper story windows on the curved facade of Davies Symphony Hall reflect the forms of nearby buildings, San Francisco.
Upper story windows on the curved facade of Davies Symphony Hall reflect the forms of nearby buildings, San Francisco.

Windows, Davies Symphony Hall. San Francisco, California. June 29, 2011. © Copyright 2011 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Upper story windows on the curved facade of Davies Symphony Hall reflect the forms of nearby buildings, San Francisco.

This is another of the “opera house” photographs made within or from the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco during last summer’s San Francisco Opera performance of Wagner’s “Ring” Cycle. Even though (or perhaps “especially because?”) I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, I virtually always have a camera with me when I go to The City – sometimes even for musical performances. Because it was June and the sun was setting late, and because the very long performance that night was to start at 7:00 p.m., there was still plenty of light before the performance to make photographs inside the Opera House and from its windows.

Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall, the home of the San Francisco Symphony, is directly across the street from the opera house, and each building’s upper floors provide a good view of the other building. For this photograph I snapped on a longer lens – yes, I’m pathetic enough to show up at an opera performance with more than one lens in my bag! – and was able to compose a tighter image of the curving upper floor windows of Davies Hall.

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: Architecture, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects

De Young Museum, Exterior Detail

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De Young Museum, Exterior Detail - Exterior walls of San Francisco's De Young Museum.
Exterior walls of San Francisco's De Young Museum.

De Young Museum, Exterior Detail. San Francisco, California. March 9, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Exterior walls of San Francisco’s De Young Museum.

In early March I was at San Francisco’s De Young Museum for an event associated with the “San Francisco 1964” exhibit of the photography of Arthur Tress, at which Tress spoke to a small group of San Francisco photographers about his work. (Thank you to Adobe for inviting me and the other photographers. The exhibit continues, and San Francisco Bay Area photography fans and others visiting the area should consider a visit to the show.) Unless I’m heading up there for certain musical performance, I almost always take a camera to The City, and I certainly brought one this time. I mainly photographed Tress during his talk, but once it was over and I left the museum I had a bit of time to wander around and shoot the nearby area.

I started in the Music Concourse, a lowered area in front of the museum that features some ominous-looking dormant trees at this time of year. After finishing there I walked back around the museum to head back to my car, and I passed by this “side” wall of the facility near the tower section of the building. The exterior walls are very interesting. They are apparently constructed of some sort of copper panels that have been “dimpled” in a range of ways that evolve across its surface, and it looks like some of the upper level “walls” are more like screens than solid material. As I understand it, the idea was that this metallic surface would “age” and acquire a patina that might make it blend in more with the natural surroundings of the park. (Though it is hard to imagine that tower blending in!) In the soft light on this shaded side of the building the range of colors and tones in the material was striking, ranging from the blacks of dark shadow areas, to the expected reddish copper tones, to all sorts of blueish shades.

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

Ship Yard Structures, Night

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Ship Yard Structures, Night - Night photography of steel towers at the historic Mare Island Naval Ship Yard, Vallejo, California.
Night photography of steel towers at the historic Mare Island Naval Ship Yard, Vallejo, California.

Ship Yard Structures, Night. Mare Island Naval Ship Yard, Vallejo, California. March 3, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Night photography of steel towers at the historic Mare Island Naval Ship Yard, Vallejo, California.

It had been a while since I last shot at the Mare Island Naval Ship Yard, one of my favorite places to do night photography. But in early March the opportunity came up to join friends from the Nocturnes, the San Francisco Bay Area night photography group currently celebrating its 20th year. We met in the afternoon for the traditional social stuff – tour of the island, sharing photographs, and pizza – and then headed out after the sun set. (Night photographers are probably the only people who look out the window and mutter, “Ah, it’s still golden hour. Let’s not go out yet…” ;-)

These giant steel towers are among the most iconic structures at the historic ship yard. As I understand it, they were originally part of a system used to move very heavy materials (such as ship engines) from shops to the water’s edge. Virtually everyone who photographs here indulges in photographing these towers and even after you have photographed the place as many times as I have they are still a source of interest. Recent work on the island has opened up a section of the water front that was previously off-limits, so it was possible to walk right beside these shell towers as they stretched out toward the water. Working from almost directly beneath them, I lined up a couple of the towers in night darkness, in which the towers were lit by nearby security lights.

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.