Abandoned Bunkers, Mare Island Naval Shipyard. Vallejo, California. March 3, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
I’ve been able to do night photography at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard on several occasions. I made this photograph of these rows of old concrete bunkers as we waited for the light to go away – which probably seems like an unusual thing for a photographer to wait for!
North Tower, Golden Gate Bridge. San Francisco, California. November 23, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
Stairs and Screens, Getty Center. Los Angeles, California. November 11, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
As I recall, this was possibly the exterior of the cafeteria at the Getty Center in Los Angeles. As we walked here I was taken by the graphical quality of the curving building, especially the overhang and the surface of the windows.
Why monochrome? I think that a primary reason was that this scene wasn’t about colors as much as it was about abstracted forms and textures. Yes, this is a photograph of a real building, but I think that fact is less important that the graphical qualities of light and shadow, and of the textures and shapes of the building components.
This updated post text was added in January, 2026.
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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
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