Category Archives: Photographs: Northern California

Photographs from Northern California

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

Sunset Bluffs, Pacific Coast

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Sunset Bluffs, Pacific Coast
Late-autumn sunset light on California coastal bluffs south of San Francisco.

Sunset Bluffs, Pacific Coast. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Late-autumn sunset light on California coastal bluffs south of San Francisco.

My recollection of this photograph is that I had gone to the coast between San Francisco and Santa Cruz on this late-autumn evening partially because I had heard that people I knew were meeting up there to photograph and get together for dinner at an area restaurant. If I recall correctly, things did not go quite as planned. I think I ended up in the wrong restaurant and didn’t find these folks, and eventually I wandered off to some nearby bluffs by myself — which actually suits me fine when I’m making photographs, too.

It was a late afternoon and evening of interesting conditions, the sort that may produce something very special but which are more likely, perhaps, to be a complete bust. There was overcast and some haze in the air, and the light in afternoon was not really spectacular — it was a bit flat and the overcast made it more dull as sunset approached. However, there was the potential for something interesting. The cloud bank that stretched away from the coast seemed to terminate offshore, and there was a gap between this edge and the horizon. If that remained, I knew that there might be a brief moment of spectacular light coming through this gap just before the sud dropped below the horizon. If the band of light is narrow the colors can be intense in its beam while remaining darker and far less intense elsewhere. As you can see, that is precisely what happened.

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

Windows and Fire Escape Shadows

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Windows and Fire Escape Shadows
Shadows from a fire escape system fall across the facade of a San Francisco building.

Windows and Fire Escape Shadows. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Shadows from a fire escape system fall across the facade of a San Francisco building.

Yes, another of the photographs I make on walks in San Francisco — or used to make in the pre-pandemic days when I would regularly hop on a train to the City, something that would be unwise now. (The trains still run, on a reduced schedule, but it isn’t worth the risk to spend two hours or more on a train.) I look forward to the time when I can resume this happy habit and head back up there for some wandering!

I’ve thought a bit about what drew me to this subject. For one thing, my landscape-photographer eyes often see urban subjects as a kind of urban landscape full of its versions of peaks, valleys, cliffs, and more. I know that I’m also attracted to certain kinds of geometry and symmetry, usually the sort that is patterned but not quite perfectly. The very subtle colors also caught my attention — it mostly looks gray, but it actually is subtly colored, and in a few places the color becomes strong enough to register as being a bit outside the monochromatic continuum. Finally, those shadows really intrigue me, especially at this time of day on this day and in this season, when they fall almost perfectly across the front of the building.

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: Architecture, Photographs: Northern California

Blue Building, Evening

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Blue Building, Evening
Blue building and unusual plants in evening light, Mendocino, California

Blue Building, Evening. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Blue building and unusual plants in evening light, Mendocino, California

This very blue building stands along a narrow road near the edge of a small Northern California coastal town that we visit from time to time. Late in the afternoon, as evening approached, I was out walking when I saw the building with very low angle, early evening light on these striking plants.

I look forward to the time when we can again travel to such places and spend days walking around slowly, not worrying about distance and masks and whether it is safe to stay nearby or eat at the restaurants. The fact that those things are inaccessible right now makes me hope that we appreciate them more once they come back into our lives.

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

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

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Industrial Buildings, Night

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Industrial Buildings, Night
Industrial buildings illuminated by secutiry lighting, Mare Island Naval Ship Yard.

Industrial Buildings, Night. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Industrial buildings illuminated by secutiry lighting, Mare Island Naval Ship Yard.

This photograph comes from a very old San Francisco Bay shipyard — its history goes way back into the 1800s when it was the first naval ship yard on the west coast of the United States. It continued to be used for its original purpose into the late 20th century, when it was decommissioned not long before the new millennium. Much of it was initially abandoned, though more recently the surrounding area has been revitalized with new construction, new tenants in old buildings, and even some ship yard projects.

I have photographed here for close to two decades — in fact this was the place where I did my first serious night photography. These old facilities (there are many all over the US) are fascinating time capsules, full of construction that is decades old and suggestive of a very different time. At night they provide a fascination combination of quiet, stillness, and mystery.

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.