Photographs: San Francisco | G Dan Mitchell Photography

Archive for the 'Photographs: San Francisco' Category

Building Below Bay Bridge

A building beneath the west end of the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge, in foggy morning light.

If a troll lived beneath the west end of the Bay Bridge, this would be the building. ;-)

This block-shaped building with windows reflecting the light from thinning fog over the San Francisco Bay – across the Embarcadero – sits almost directly below the west anchorage of the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge, which you can see just a bit of near the very top of the frame. For me there is something appealing about the angular simplicity of this building with its rectangular windows divided into rectangular panes, and with almost no decorative touches at all.

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.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 85mm f/1.8
ISO 200, f/11, 1/100 second

keywords: san francisco, california, usa, north america, city, urban, fog, morning, light, building, window, frame, reflection, below, beneath, oakland, bay, bridge, west, end, anchorage, steel, beam, architecture, street, blue, the, embarcadero, waterfront, shore, concrete, downtown, industrial, stock

G Dan Mitchell :: Jul.31.2010 :: Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures, Photographs: Urban/Street :: No Comments »

Walking Man in Suit, Portside Building

Black and white photograph of a man in a suit walking past the entrance of the Portside building along the Embarcadero, San Francisco.

I think that the Portside building is one of the more intriguing structures along San Francisco’s The Embarcadero, which travels along the waterfront of the San Francisco Bay. The building almost looks, to me at least, as if it might be more at home in Miami. The front is filled with layers of windows and balconies and curves, and it often picks up light from the Bay as the fog clears in the morning.

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.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 85mm f/1.8
ISO 200, f/8, 1/400 second

keywords: san francisco, california, usa, north america, city, urban, man, walking, suit, tie, stride, door, window, balcony, portside, building, apartment, curve, the, embarcadero, structure, architecture, railing, window, reflection, plant, street, sidewalk, black and white, monochrome, stock

G Dan Mitchell :: Jul.29.2010 :: Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: People, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures, Photographs: Urban/Street :: 1 Comment »

Sidewalk, Brick Building, Hotel Sign

Black and white photograph of a street scene in San Francisco containing slanting sidewalk, brick and other buildings, and a hotel sign.

The geometric forms of this scene caught my attention as I walked up a street where many art students seem to hang out. The image is obviously full of all sorts of tall rectangles of varying sizes and colors, ranging from the small windows to the white column of the far building in the center to the bulky and dark form of the brick building on the right side of the frame. A couple of little elements also intrigued me: the juxtaposition of the parking meter and surrounding shadows and fire valves on the wall, and the parallel and slightly diagonal lines of the curb and the streetcar wires overhead.

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.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
ISO 200, f/16, 1/100 second

keywords: san, francisco, california, usa, north america, summer, downtown, urban, hill, sidewalk, curb, stree, shadwo, shed, parking, meter, stone, window, shade, brick, building, white, tall, hotel, sign, sky, wires, palm, tree, foliage, street, slant, landscape, balcony, stock

G Dan Mitchell :: Jul.28.2010 :: Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures, Photographs: Urban/Street :: No Comments »

Man on Bench with Cell Phone

Black and white photograph of a man sitting on a bench and talking on his cell phone in front of the shaded wall of an urban building in San Francisco.

I was wandering through this part of San Francisco, mostly but not only looking for architecture like that of this building, especially with the combination of dark shadows and the fire escape contrasting with the white trim and the bright areas lit by the slanting sunlight. When I saw this fellow happily engaged in his cell phone call, completely oblivious to everything going on in the place where he sits I had to make a photograph.

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.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
ISO 200, f/8, 1/320 second

keywords: san, francisco, california, usa, north america, summer, downtown, urban, man, sit, bench, talk, converse, cell, phone, telephone, relaxed, apartment, building, multi, story, balcony, railing, fire escape, window, frame, white, shade, steps, widewalk, hill, black and white, monochrome, trolley, wire, street, stock

G Dan Mitchell :: Jul.27.2010 :: Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: People, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures, Photographs: Urban/Street :: No Comments »

Extension, Contemporary Jewish Museum

The blue cube-like metal-clad “extension” section of San Francisco’s Contemporary Jewish Museum, with downtown buildings in the background.

This metal structure is the so-called “extension” section of the Jewish Contemporary Museum in downtown San Francisco, located not far from Yerba Buena Center and the Metreon. On my frequent “walking photography” trips to San Francisco I often end up wandering through this area, and this building always intrigues me. The museum is build largely around an old (over 100 years) power plant building, but this metal-clad structure “extends” the underlying building.

The structure itself seems somewhat cube-like when viewed from close by, but is actually part of a larger structure that travels across the room of the power plant building. From up close it towers and leans back over the viewer. The surrounding area is also interesting with a large open space, and old Catholic church, and very tall downtown buildings nearby.

I’ve been working on figuring out how to photograph this building for a while now. The angles are tricky, the working space is limited, the light is complicated. I’m still not convinced that I have it, so this is one of my “thinking out loud” photographs which may turn out to be practice for other photographs that I eventually make here.

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.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 85mm f/1.8
ISO 200, f/11, 1/30 second

keywords: san, francisco, california, usa, north america, summer, downtown, urban, contemporary, jewish, museum, extension, blue, metal, building, architecture, design, windows, tower, form, structure, reflection, libeskind, yerba, buena, lane, chet, yud, letters, hebrew, skin, steel, panels, stock

G Dan Mitchell :: Jul.26.2010 :: Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street :: No Comments »

All Stops Special – Caltrain Station

All Stops Special - Caltrain Station

The San Francisco Caltrain station, photographed through glass lobby windows.

I frequently ride Caltrain to the City to do street photography. (Getting there by train is far better for me than taking the car, mainly because I think I can do more effective photography of this sort when I’m working completely on foot and not dealing with the whole driving/parking thing.) In this photograph I liked the nearly empty glass-enclosed lobby area, lit by very diffused light under the early morning fog, and with the trains visible on the other side. The “All Stops Special” sign seems enigmatic when seen out of context.

By the way, as much as San Francisco residents love the sunny and warmer days that occasionally come to the City this time of year, for photography I much prefer at least some fog and cloudiness, especially when I try to shoot during the daytime hours.

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.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
ISO 200, f/8, 1/50 second

keywords: san francisco, california, usa, north america, city, urban, trash, can, green, caltrain, train, station, terminal, depot, lobby, glass, window, frame, bird, bench, sidewalk, people, sitting, engine, pattern, structure, sky, gray, fog, reflections, all, stops, special, sign, red, door, receptacle, pole, column, stock, railroad

G Dan Mitchell :: Jul.24.2010 :: Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures, Photographs: Urban/Street :: No Comments »

Building Exterior, Peter Macchiarini Steps

Black and white photograph of weathered and dilapidated building exterior wall along the Peter Macciarini Steps, San Francisco.

This is another in a small series of photographs I made of the old, weathered buildings along these very steep sidewalk stairs in San Francisco. In this case I decided to go with black and white since it seems to me that the main interest in the image would be the shapes and forms rather than colors. (Though the color images has a certain appeal, too – the colors are very subtle and almost all in the “tan” range except for a bit of reddish brick, a couple of small colorful stickers on the wall, and the nearly gray concrete.)

I had seen other named stairways elsewhere in San Francisco, but was unaware that this one warranted a name. A web site with information on this and other stairways in SF points out that the city has a history of naming some of its ugliest streets and other features for famous people. This one, despite having a kind of gritty urban charm, seems to fit the mold.

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.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
ISO 200, f/8, 1/640 second

keywords: san, francisco, california, usa, peter, macchiarini, steps, kearny, broadway, street, steep, stairs, railing, pipe, siding, duct, exterior, cement, brick, window, door, urban, street, brown, dilapidated, weathered, worn, curb, sidewalk, north america, stock, downtown, trash, garbage, can receptacle, grafitti, monochrome, black and white

G Dan Mitchell :: Jul.22.2010 :: Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures, Photographs: Urban/Street :: 2 Comments »

G Dan Mitchell Photography

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Archive for the 'Photographs: San Francisco' Category

Building Below Bay Bridge

Walking Man in Suit, Portside Building

Sidewalk, Brick Building, Hotel Sign

Man on Bench with Cell Phone

Extension, Contemporary Jewish Museum

All Stops Special – Caltrain Station

Building Exterior, Peter Macchiarini Steps

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