Tag Archives: pizza

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Urban/Street

Pizza Jack’s No. 2

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Pizza Jack's No. 2
The dilapidated Pizza Jack’s No. 2 storefront, San Jose, California.

Pizza Jack’s No. 2. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

The dilapidated Pizza Jack’s No. 2 storefront, San Jose, California.

Perhaps there was once pizza at Pizza Jack’s No. 2, but it looks like those days are gone. Though the string of holiday lights along the roof seems sort of festive — perhaps left over from a previous year? The building is in an “interesting” area of town, one that exists between better neighborhoods in one direction and lots of urban redevelopment in the other. This area is one with a lot of potential, but also a lot of abandoned and run-down stuff that probably won’t be here much longer.

This may end up being an unusual example of a photograph that I’ll release in both color and monochrome versions. For obvious reasons, I was thinking “color!” when I made the photograph, but in post it became clear that it also works in monochrome, though with a rather different effect. There’s an old adage about going to black and white in photographs where the color doesn’t tell the story. Here, color does tell at least one important story, but darned if it doesn’t work without the color, too.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

Friendly Pizza

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Friendly Pizza
A bright red pizza shop on a cold winter day in Manhattan

Friendly Pizza. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A bright red pizza shop on a cold winter day in Manhattan

This was one among a string of very cold days in New York City between Christmas and New Years Day. The light was “gray” (though, objectively speaking, “blue” might be a more accurate description) as a result of this weather and of being in the urban canyons of Manhattan. The streets of Manhattan are often very busy and there is a lot to see, but in many areas the actual appearance of the streets is pretty much all business. Aside from those exceptions — some parks and stores, for example — much of the street/sidewalk scene is more about practical than aesthetics. On a cold day this seemed especially true, except that on such a day the contrast with a shop like this one, with its bright red and yellow colors and bright lights, was perhaps stronger than usual.

I sometimes struggle a bit to explain what I “see” when making my street photographs — I know what I’m after but it isn’t easy to put into words. However, I think this photograph does include some of the elements. I see the street as a kind of urban landscape, where the size and color and relatives shapes of things matters. I’m also intrigued by shops, especially when something makes them stand out. (Here it is the color and the corner location.) Perhaps even more important, I’m always on the look out for fleeting human tableaux that form and are gone — here with the fellow striding purposefully toward the shop entrance, the slow-moving man with the wheeled suitcase, and the woman in the winter coat.

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

Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

Bleecker Street Pizza

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Bleecker Street Pizza
“Famous” Bleecker Street Pizza restaurant and bar, Manhattan

Bleecker Street Pizza. New York City. December 27, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

“Famous” Bleecker Street Pizza restaurant and bar, Manhattan

I always enjoy restaurants and similar attractions that declare themselves to be “famous” or even “world-famous.” (Many years ago a place opened up in the Eastern Sierra Nevada along a main travel route and immediately declared itself to be “world-famous,” as near as I could tell on the day they opened. They must have been able to see the future, since eventually they arguably became so.) A very quick check suggests that this place might be good but might also not be exactly the most famous attraction in Manhattan…

That aside, I love the storefront. The shouting signs are classic, but the subtler elements are also interesting, from the hand-lettered “GLUTEN FREE” sign to the “as featured on WB11” testimonial and the barely visible “Purple Haze” neon sign in the window, not to mention the inevitable Manhattan plastic garbage sacks. It was a cold winter day, and no one was sitting outside at the tables, but I’ll bet things are different on a warm summer evening.

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