Shipyard Buildings, Twilight and Artificial Light. Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California. March 3, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.)

Several times I have had the good fortune to be able to photograph the old Mare Island Naval Shipyard at night as part of events sponsored by The Nocturnes the SF Bay Area night photography group. (If you are interested in learning more about night photography, take a look at their web site.) This location has a history that dates well back into the 1800s, when it was the main shipyard on the west coast. Now closed, many of the old buildings and structures remain and make outstanding subjects for night (and day) photography.

I made this photograph before night had completely fallen – there was still a bit of twilight in the sky, but the building is illuminated by artificial light. I don’t know if all night photographers feel the same way I do, but I enjoy working in the tremendous mixture of different light sources that you encounter in a place like Mare Island: sodium vapor lamps, florescent lights, tungsten lights, and even a bit of moon light on occasion. Someone once asked me, “how to you white balance that kind of lighting?” My answer is, more or less, any way you want to! That is part of the fun of working this sort of environment and this sort of crazy lighting.

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