Tag Archives: walkway

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Pacific Northwest

Garden Gate

Image Leave a comment
Garden Gate
An entry gate to the Japanese Garden, Portland, Oregon.

Garden Gate. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An entry gate to the Japanese Garden, Portland, Oregon.

Some years back our youngest son and our daughter-in-law lived in the lovely and quirky city of Portland, Oregon. Since it is (just barely, if you have a lot of endurance!) a one-day drive from the San Francisco Bay Area we managed to get up there somewhat regularly, and we came to like the place a lot. Among other things, it is a city of gardens, including several that we visited more than once. This photograph of a stone walkway passing through a gate comes from the lovely Japanese Garden.

Having roots in a non-west-coast part of America (long ago, but they stick with you), I can understand how the character of towns along the Pacific coast is difficult for some to understand in other parts of the country. But Oregon is a wonderful place that is hard to characterize in any single way. There is a long tradition of a kind of counter-culture there, but there is also a large suburban population. Don’t believe the simplistic, politicized claims that the city is “under siege” or a hotbed of some kind of awfulness that requires federal intervention.

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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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

Conservation/Environment, Photographs: People, Photographs: United Kingdom, Photographs: Urban/Street

Pedestrian and Cyclist

Leave a comment

Pedestrian and Cyclist
Pedestrian and cyclist on walkway in front of the Tate Modern, London

Pedestrian and Cyclist. London, United Kingdom. August 7, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Pedestrian and cyclist on walkway in front of the Tate Modern, London

We were well into our stay in London in the summer of 2016 when we finally got around to going to the Tate Modern, where there was an exhibit of paintings of Georgia O’Keeffe. I think we waited because she is American, we’ve seen shows of her work a lot, and we probably wondered how new the work would be in a London show. Because of our (misguided!) thinking, we ended up here with only a few hours to spend — only to discover that this was the most extensive collection of O’Keeffe’s work that we had seen in one place and that we didn’t have nearly enough time to see it all.

At one point, perhaps while waiting for our turn to enter the exhibit, we stepped out onto a balcony that was open to the landscaped area between the museum and the River Thames, where there were many pedestrians and a few cyclists. If I watch long enough I find that the passers-by sometimes assemble themselves into interesting groupings and patterns, so I indulged myself in a little bit of overhead photography, looking down from my high perch. The walkway took on a striking blue color in the shadow of the building, lit by the gigantic blue light panel of the sky as a walker and a cyclist approached one another.

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 and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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

Interior, SFMoMA

Leave a comment

Interior, SFMoMA
Interior photograph of San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

Interior, SFMoMA. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, California. January 3, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Interior photograph of San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

In the wake of the major expansion and remodel of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA), the feeling of the place has changed. Overall I think that the changes are almost universally for the better, and it seems to me that the new space in the tall and narrow “addition” to the rear of the original building works quite well. (I have a few quibbles — including some back galleries that include audio in their exhibits but are not acoustically isolated sufficiently.) The feeling is mostly open and bright, which I think works well for modern art.

The feeling of the original front portion of the building is somewhat as it was, but it has changed, too. The ground level was originally designed to function as a main entrance and assembly space, but now much of that has been moved further back into the new building. The central atrium is still there, with stairs winding around its space, and lit from above by the light coming through the “oculus” at the top that faces to the west. I’m always intrigued by the shapes and colors and light in this space and the way that geometrical forms warp along its curved surface.

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 and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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

Turret Bridge, SFMoMA

Leave a comment

Turret Bridge, SFMoMA
The bridge across the turret atrium at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

Turret Bridge, SFMoMA. San Francisco, California. January 3, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The bridge across the turret atrium at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA) is a fascinating architectural structure, in addition to being the home for a large collection of modern art, including that in the possession of the museum and addition work that travels there for exhibits. Since the recent remodel and expansion, the facility combines two components, the newer galleries and the shorter original building with its central open area. This atrium is the most prominent element of that space, extending from the ground floor to the iconic rounded skylight feature.

A pedestrian bridge crosses the upper reaches of the atrium. Its semi-transparent floor provides a bit of excitement — or terror! — for visitors who have the courage to look straight down. I’m fascinated by visual elements of the bridge and the space it inhabits, with light spilling down into the atrium’s well from that round skylight to flow over and around the curves and angles of the structure.

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 and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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