Tag Archives: usa

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

Building In Muted Light

February 20, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Cloud-muted light on an urban building near SFMOMA

This building is becoming something of a theme for me, and I often end up treating it in black and white. I made the photograph from one of the outdoor terraces high on the side of the new section of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), from which there are interesting and varied views of the surrounding downtown San Francisco neighborhood. This building is perhaps the closest to the museum, and its form and the texture of its surface are interesting.

I originally thought that it would be a color photograph. The soft light played in interesting ways on the subtle colors of the stone and the pastel color of the windows. But the more I worked on it the more something persuaded me to let go of that nod to realism and instead go with a rather highly processed monochrome interpretation. There is a school of architecture photography that makes heavy use of techniques that darken areas of the image and then compensate by selective lightening. This is often complemented by some techniques involving blur — a sort of masking effect. I used these and more, including some heavy dodging and burning to get this photograph to what you see here — perhaps for no more reason than that I wanted to explore some of these techniques.

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Sandhill Cranes in Flight, Dawn

February 19, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Two sandhill cranes fly in dawn light

I think that the sandhill cranes may have become my favorite birds in the California Central Valley wetlands. (OK, ask me again later — I may change my mind if I’ve just had a white pelican flyover or discovered a surprise group of tundra swans or photographed a bald eagle, or… ;-) On my first visit to the wetlands, the result of a set of coincidences that I’ve described before, I was completely ignorant about what I was seeing. There were lots of birds, but heck if I knew what they were. Then I became entranced by the Ross’s and snow geese, with the white bodies and black-tipped wings in huge flocks. I photographed this pair in lucky conditions — on a morning that was foggy nearby it cleared enough right here to let the sunrise light strike these birds as they flew above my position.

I saw the cranes, but they seemed on those first visits to be less interesting birds. Their color is less striking. (Though the brilliant red of their heads is attention-getting.) While they flock together, their numbers are typically smaller than those of the geese. But the pump had already been primed for potential interest in the cranes, all the way back in college when I read (but didn’t really fully understand) Aldo Leopold’s Sand County Almanac. The main thing I recalled about that book, for some reason, was the sandhill cranes. (And if this isn’t an example of how a college experience that seemed to mean little at the time planted a seed that sprouted later, I don’t know what is.) In recent years, the more time I spent in the wetlands the more the cranes became central to the experience. In fact, their cries are my primary auditory association with these places, both when heard from birds flying invisibly in the early morning tule fog and the mass returns of these noble birds after sunset.

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

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

Three Planes

February 16, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A corner along a walkway, San Francisco

Since the photograph is minimalist I will make the commentary minimal as well. I made the photograph outside the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) at the end of a recent visit. This was a photograph of opportunity, made handheld as I left the museum and saw this simple conjunction of planes and varied light and textures.

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

FLAG M

February 14, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Painted brick wall of an old building, San Francisco

I seem to be in a bit of a black and white frame of mind today! A few weeks ago I had a chance to head up to San Francisco for a day, mainly to visit the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), but also to potentially do a bit of photography. As it turned out, virtually all of that day’s photograph was done in and around the museum, though the site does provide many interesting photographic opportunities, ranging from its architecture to the people inside and including the surrounding downtown neighborhood.

I have photographed this building before. In fact, it is hard to not photograph it. It stands right “behind” the museum and is visible from almost every vantage point on the east side of the building. It is an older brick building but it gives every appearance of having been upgraded and well maintained. While the inside appears to be pretty modern, from what I can see through the windows, the outside retains an aged patina and still includes the remains of some very old exterior painted sign.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: usa

Building In Muted Light

Sandhill Cranes in Flight, Dawn

Three Planes

FLAG M

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