Tag Archives: walk

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

White Waterfront Building, Sidewalk, and Lamp

May 13, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A sidewalk with a lamp next to a white waterfront building in San Francisco, California.

This is another in the series of wandering-the-streets photographs from San Francisco last July. At one point I was wandering along the Embarcadero – the road and nearby areas that front the shoreline along the Bay between about Fishermans Wharf and ATT Park. I walked through here slowly, poking about in odd little alleys and walkways, and occasionally finding myself in spots that were not very crowded. Here I had walked into an area of new construction to find new and refurbished buildings over the water and surrounded by walkways. At just this point the fog clouds were beginning to thin out a bit – you can see a hint of blue sky reflected in the upper windows and shadows were starting to appear. Certain shape, color, and texture features drew me to this little scene.

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

Peter Macchiarini Steps

May 4, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Black and white photograph of the Peter Macchiarini Steps, Kearny and Broadway, San Francisco.

I finally decided to look up the name “Peter Macchiarini” and see who he is and why these steps bear his name. I like this description:

“San Francisco has a history of naming its ugliest streets for famous people. Alice B. Toklas Lane is a scary alley that hosts drug dealers and hookers, Caesar Chavez Avenue is a run down street that primarily serves as a freeway onramp, and the Peter Macchiarini Steps are weather worn stairs fronting a decaying street.”

I’m unfamiliar with his output, but he is described as a well-known jeweler, sculpture, (and in one reference photographer) who is “known for his depiction of Emperor Norton.” (Emperor Norton is yet another San Francisco historical character – the place is joyously rich with them.) Rather than letting this become a history lecture, I’ll suggest a search on his name to find out more.

This photograph largely confirms the description in the above paragraph. This street is so steep that a normal sidewalk would probably not be very safe, so steps were installed instead. And the steps do front some pretty worn and dilapidated structures – though perhaps not so awful as they might appear, given that this sort of wooden construction is quite common in San Francisco and actually a good part of the City’s charm.

To some extent, this is one in a series of “f/8 and be there” photographs using my take on street photography. It was shot at, yes, f/8 using a 50mm prime. I probably most often shoot zooms even when I shoot street, since their flexibility is often very useful. But sometimes I do like to go out with just a 50mm lens and keep things simple.

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

Il Trovatore

May 3, 2011 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Two women near Il Trovatore, corner of Kearny and Broadway, San Francisco.

This is a simple (or maybe not so simple) street scene at the corner of Kearny and Broadway in San Francisco. I had wandered into this area on one of my street photography shoots in The City, on which I generally walk somewhat randomly through various parts of the town and shoot whatever catches my fancy.

I had just finished shooting the “Macchiarini Steps,” which are visible at the lower right. These very steep steps constitute the “sidewalk” on this short street, which is too steep for a normal sidewalk. I had first shot from Broadway, aiming up this hill, then decided to walk up the hill itself and shoot the steeps against the background of some rather dilapidated buildings. I managed to incorporate people into some of those shots using a technique that I often employ when shooting in the city: I treat the scene like a landscape and find a composition that seems to work, and then I wait for the right people to wander into the scene.

Eventually I walked back down this street and saw this juxtaposition of brick walls, red and green poles, the green and white colors of the upper-story “Il Trovatore” (which I assume is an Italian restaurant) and the more distant buildings with their faded colors against an overcast sky. I also liked the fact the very steep stairs ended up being parallel to the bottom of the frame. In addition to all that, this is also about colors: the red jacket on the woman crossing the street, the very red lamp post on the sidewalk, the red of the brick buildings; green colors of the chalk board, the restaurant, and the street sign; and then the odd bits of yellow on the sidewalk and the street.

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: New York City, Photographs: People, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

People on Walkway, MoMA

September 13, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

People walking quickly along elevated walkway at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Shooting hand-held and at a very low shutter speed while visiting the museum, I made a series of exposures looking down into the space of the museum with the many criss-crossing walkways and other structural forms lit by a combination of light coming from nearby windows and artificial lighting, in which the people moving through the space are blurred by their rapid motion.

Although I suppose that a lot of my landscape/architecture photographs tend toward high resolution, detail, and sharpness I’m also fond of photographs that eschew that stuff! This image combines several things that interest me quite a bit. One, not surprisingly perhaps, is the view of the urban world as its own type of landscape – my interest in landscape is not limited to only those of the natural world. I’m also fascinated by forms and shapes, especially those formed in this kind of constructed environment. And, finally perhaps, I have this idea that I explore from time to time of contrasting the fixed and solid objects of the man-made world with the transient and dynamic motion of its inhabitants.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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