Tag Archives: urban

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

Abandoned Building, Poles, Sky

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Abandoned Building, Poles, Sky
Utility poles in front of an abandoned brick building.

Abandoned Building, Poles, Sky. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Utility poles in front of an abandoned brick building.

This is one of my occasional walking-around photographs. I like to walk, and I done this even more during the pandemic when local walks were much more possible than drives to more distant locations. I always carry a small camera that fits in the little bag I carry on these forays. (The camera is a small rangefinder-style camera fitted with a single very small prime lens.) On most walks the camera stays in the bag, but every so often I see something that catches my eye… and I’m happy that I brought it along.

I have traveled past this spot for decades. Long ago it was part of a busy cannery run by a major company. (We could spell the aroma of incipient tomato paste and sauce from this factory miles away.) Those days are gone, and the area now features a growing collection of high density urban housing, but some of the buildings still remain. I think of this photograph as an urban landscape, and the inclusion of that sky and those clouds perhaps makes the connection more obvious.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Urban/Street

Oh See!

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Oh See!
An old business sign in San Jose, California.

Oh See!. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An old business sign in San Jose, California.

This is not the first time I have shared a photograph of this sign. In fact, in the past I shared a color version of essentially the same photograph, one in a series that I quickly “snapped” while on a long urban walk. The sign is almost iconic in this part of the world.

You could regard this photograph in any of several ways. On one level, it is a sort of record shot that captures a specific instance of a certain rapidly-fading sort of commercial sign, a one-of-a-kind bit of commercial graphics that seems to be fading from this increasingly urbanized area. I think it is also an example of seeing beyond the literal nature of the thing. When I look at it, what I find most interesting is the relationships between the painted letters and the shadow versions created by the sun shining on the old neon lamps.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Urban/Street

Blue and Billboard

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Blue and Billboard
A billboard portrait loomes over urban reisdences.

Blue and Billboard. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A billboard portrait loomes over urban reisdences.

Photographs like this one are sometimes a bit difficult to “sell” (in the sense of “persuasion”) to folks who mostly think of me as a “landscape photographer.” There’s a whole lot I could write about this, and I’ll share a little bit of that below, but one reason that I’ve photographed some subjects like this recently is that they are available to me! I carry a camera while out walking, and every so often something catches my eye and I pause to photograph.

In a sense you could think of these photographs as an extension of my landscape photography into the “urban landscape” that I live in. While the subjects seem completely different, there are connections that you might imagine if you think about it a bit. There is also a practical aspect to this kind of photography — it is available to me simply by walking out my front door, unlike the more familiar landscapes that require more travel and logistical preparation. In addition, there are benefits to keeping my seeing skills tuned up by trying to find things to photograph no matter where I am. Beyond that, there are a few things to ponder about regarding the juxtaposition of elements found here.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Urban/Street

Silicon Valley

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Silicon Valley
The words “Silicon Valley” on an industrial building in San Jose, California.

Silicon Valley. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The words “Silicon Valley” on an industrial building in San Jose, California.

This is probably not quite what comes to mind when you hear the words “Silicon Valley.” Although the photograph does indeed come from that place, the location is in a somewhat run-down area occupied by small light industrial tenants. This particular one has mystified me more than once — as far as I can tell the only signage is the two words painted on the wall, and I never seen anyone there. (I’m tempted here to make some pun about letting the chips fall where they may, but I won’t. Sort of.)

Aside from that mysterious sign, I like the simple geometry and the bright color of the building. (It has been sitting on my desktop for a while now, along with several other urban photographs that also feature a particular color.) In fact, I think it may be possible to view this simply as a sort of a color and form abstraction.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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