Monthly Archives: July 2010

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Textures, Photographs: Urban/Street

Sidewalk and Steel Plates

2 Comments
Sidewalk and Steel Plates
Sidewalk and Steel Plates

Sidewalk and Steel Plates San Francisco, California. July 12, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Patterned steel plates criss-cross a sidewalk in San Francisco, California.

This pattern caught my attention as I walked behind the Ferry Building toward the waterfront – the plates apparently cover underground utilities of some sort. The odd angles and the glow of the diffused light from overhead fog created interesting patterns and texture. At first I thought of keeping this as a color image, but in the end the colors were so soft and so close to monochromatic that I decided to go with this version.

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.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
ISO 200, f/16, 1/125 second

keywords: san francisco, california, usa, north america, city, urban, sidewalk, driveway, cement, concrete, steel, texture, plate, reflection, glow, criss-cross, diagonal, minimalism, ferry, building, the, embarcadero, stock, abstract, black and white, monochrome

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

Man Descending Sidewalk Steps

3 Comments
Man Descending Sidewalk Steps
“Man Descending Sidewalk Steps” — A man descends steps past dilapidated buildings with exterior duct work, San Francisco, California.

On a day when my wife was rehearsing in SF and my son needed to do some packing in his apartment… I took this as an excuse to take the (very) early train to the City and wander around shooting on the street until mid-afternoon. A started shooting near the Caltrain depot at about7:00 a.m., wandered up the Embarcadero, heading into the North Beach area, backtracking though the less-touristy part of Chinatown, and finally descending (in more ways than one) to the shoreline at Fishermans Wharf and Pier 39 (ugh) before wandering back up near the ferry building to catch BART to meet up with them.

I made this photograph in an area that seems to me to be sort of on the fringes of Chinatown. The first thing that caught my attention as I passed by on a cross street was the crazy bunch of ducts and other stuff attached to the outside of this building. I wandered up the other side of the street to shoot this straight on, and was doing so when this man helpfully wandered through the frame – which was just what I was hoping for.

On another note, last week I saw some impressive photographs by a person who will remain nameless. The images were largely urban/street work, and included some really interesting photographs of people. But as I looked at the work it occurred to me that part of what was catching my attention was that everyone had seemingly been given the same formulaic treatment in post, likely consisting mostly of a Gaussian blur overlay and some strong vignetting. As an experiment – and partly to confirm my suspicions – I took this image through the same process and with about 10 minutes of work had achieve “the look” of and edgy, saturated, and dark-looking image. But I was left in a bit of a bind. On one hand, it seems cheap to apply a formula in this way, especially when it is so straightforward. On the other hand, it does have a certain appeal…

The version I settled on here eschews that bit of work in post and is more of a “straight” photograph of the scene.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (Click the title to see the full article and to comment if you are viewing it on the home page.)

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Point Lobos Rock Patterns #2 – July 10, 2010

2 Comments

Point Lobos Rock Patterns #2 - July 10, 2010
Point Lobos Rock Patterns #2 - July 10, 2010

Point Lobos Rock Patterns #2 – July 10, 2010. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Detail of patterns in eroded shoreline rocks, Point Lobos State Reserve.

Another photograph of eroded rock patterns near the water not far from Weston Cove at Point Lobos. Here the top layer of reddish rock has worn away in places, leaving a much lighter layer of what I guess is some kind of sandstone below. I’m no geologist, but this section of seashore has fascinating rock formations on the small and large scale where many strata have been exposed by the surf. In some places there a big gobs of conglomerate rock, composed of many smaller rocks “glued” together. In other places very thin layers lie one on top of the other and they have been partially uncovered and worn away by the surf, creating amazing patterns.

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.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
ISO 100, f/16, 1/6 second

keywords: point, lobos, state, reserve, park, california, usa, north america, carmel, big, sur, monterey, peninsula, coast, shore, sea, ocean, pacific, scenic, travel, nature, geology, texture, form, shape, rock, erosion, sand, stone, sedimentary, landscape, detail

Commentary, Equipment, Ideas

Why Can’t Digital Cameras Be Like Film Cameras?

13 Comments

I was in San Francisco today with my family and my sons wanted to visit a Salvation Army store to check out old camera equipment. Both of them are intrigued by the older 35mm film cameras. In the display case we saw a couple Canon AE-1 cameras, a Canon AE-1 Program (?), and an Olympus OM-1. These are, if I’m not mistaken, cameras from the 1970s. “Back in the day” I shot with a couple of small Pentax bodies from the same ear, the ME and the MX. (Each son has one of those bodies now.)

At this point, I’m a confirmed digital photographer – I have virtually no interest at all in shooting film again. I can sort of understand the retro appeal of film, and I don’t resent those who like to use it. (Though I’ll admit that I can get a bit annoyed when some folks become self-righteous about it… :-)

That said, the better cameras from the era are beautiful little mechanical/optical marvels. At one point I pulled out my excellent Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 lens – a great performer and a lens I rely on a lot – and held it next to the 50mm f/1.8 lens from the OM-1. My Canon lens simply looks like a big plastic toy next to the efficient and well-crafted little metal Olympus lens. And the body of the camera is solid and tight, and barely larger than the biggest point and shoot style digital cameras today. The control systems are simple and direct – the OM-1 aperture and shutter speed controls are both on the lens barrel, a simple switch turns the meter on and off, there is a MLU switch, and the viewfinder with its match-needle meter is big and bright. These are cameras that don’t give the appearance of trying to look like space ships and that don’t shout “my camera is bigger and more expensive than your camera!”

If a current manufacturer came out with a DSLR body like these, I’d be an immediate customer.

By the way, early happy birthday to Jameson – and enjoy your new OM-1!

(Update: After a comment from Jim Goldstein, I clarified a few things about this idea in a follow-up comment.)