Tag Archives: urban

What the Heck is Dan Shooting!?

Some of you who like my landscape/nature work may wonder what the heck I’m doing with the “urban photography” that I’ve posted here during the past few weeks. Get ready for more – there are currently about 10 photographs of similar subjects in the pipeline. Perhaps some explanation is in order.

This isn’t really a new thing for me – I’ve posted urban and “industrial” photographs in the past. (See the night photography section in my Gallery for some obvious examples, and also take a look at some of the “City” photographs while you are there.) Quite a few of them are what I think of as urban landscape photography, and to some extent I approach making these photographs much the same way I approach nature and landscape shooting. I wander about looking for stuff that appeals to me, often looking for effects of light, pattern, or color – and then I photograph it.

Besides the obvious subject differences – yes, I do realize that dilapidated buildings are not the same as aspen forests – I shoot differently, at least for some of this photography. While I do sometimes cart a tripod into urban environments, more often I travel light – ironically perhaps, usually lighter than I do when I go out for a weeklong pack trip! I generally do not use a tripod, I virtually never carry all of my lenses, and sometimes I just go out with a prime or two.

I hope you enjoy this change of pace, and that in some way you can see connections to my photographs of the natural world. (There is actually a long philosophical discussion I could have about that very topic, but I’ll spare everyone…) In any case, I’m sure that the flow of landscapes and nature photographs will resume in a week or so.

Loading Dock Sign

Loading Dock Sign

Loading Dock Sign. San Jose, California. December 26, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Detail of a very worn and scraped red and yellow sign painted on an industrial loading dock in San Jose, California.

This very bright but very worn sign is painted on the front of a loading dock in a light industrial area of downtown San Jose, California.

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: detail, worn, scraped, gouge, chipped, concrete, cement, steel, paint, yellow, red, sign, rust, industrial, urban, street, letters, a, d, i o, weathered, downtown, san jose, california, usa, stock, 5th, keyes, loading, dock

Steps, Handrail, Mailbox, Door

Steps, Handrail, Mailbox, Door

Steps, Handrail, Mailbox, Door. San Jose, California. December 26, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Steps, handrail, mailbox, door, and wall in a light industrial building in downtown San Jose, California.

I found this doorway on a side street in a light industrial area of downtown San Jose. I like the combination of all sorts of angles – perspective lines and the line of the handrail – and the contrast between the cold tone cement of the entry way and the warmly lighted interior of the building.

Yes, it is another “urban landscape” photograph.

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: steps, mailbox, handrail, railing, door, window, doorbell, moulding, stairs, entry, wall, cement, concrete, light, yellow, red, black, downtown, urban, light, industrial, building, san jose, california, usa, street, urban, stock, box

Storefronts and Tree, First Street

Storefronts and Tree, First Street

Storefronts and Tree, First Street. San Jose, California. December 26, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A dilapidated storefront and a tree along First Street in San Jose, California.

This is another in a series of photographs that may be a bit troubling for those of you who follow my landscape and nature photography. Try to think of it as “urban landscape” – that’s what I do! :-)

I have my oldest son, Brandon, to thank for this photo and others in this series. He is a big fan of what I call “urban hiking” – long walks in central city urban areas, often industrial in nature. We finally had the opportunity to do a three hour urban hike in the downtown San Jose area just after Christmas, and we both brought our cameras along. Several things caught my eye about this scene: the wild colors of the paint and some of the window decorations on the lower floor, the shape for the tree in front of the building, the wash of light from across the street and behind my position as I shot this, and the regular horizontal patterns of road, curb, sidewalk, windows, moulding, and more windows.

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: store, shop, building, windows, doors, reflections, pipe, merchandise, tree, trunk, branch, leaves, street, lane, sidewalk, curb, bricks, tile, store, downtown, urban, street, first, san jose, california, usa, stock