Tag Archives: bay

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Lupine and Fog

August 30, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Spring lupine blossoms grow on fog-shrouded slopes of Mission Peak above Fremont, California.

While doing a major review of the past half-dozen years of raw files this week I have come across quite a few photographs that I had more or less forgotten. (I’ve also deleted a lot of old raw files, but that is a different story.) While I had forgotten this photograph, I remember the day I took it quite well and the memory of the photograph came back as soon as I found it.

Mission Peak is more than 2000′ feet above the Mission San Jose (part of Fremont) area of the San Francisco Bay Area, in the East Bay a bit north of San Jose. The peak is a very popular hiking location due to its proximity to urban areas, its quick access to near-wilderness, and the fact the summit provides a spectacular view of the southern parts of the San Francisco Bay, ranging from the South Bay and the Santa Cruz Mountains all the way up to San Francisco and, on clear days, beyond. On this day it was not clear, at least not at the start of the hike – it was extremely foggy, quite wet, and rather cold. But anyone who photographs flowers much knows that soft and diffused light can be your friend, and this fog certainly provided that light. The fog-obscured hills beyond are covered in the intense green (what I call the “impossible green”) of the California grasslands in spring.

By the way, I recall that as I continued on up the trail past these flowers and approached the summit of the peak I emerged above the fog bank to find hillsides carpeted with more lupine and with California golden poppy flowers.

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Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Breakwater, San Francisco Bay

August 19, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Anchored ship and ship yard cranes of the port of Oakland beyond a breakwater, San Francisco Bay.

I made this photograph on one of my summertime San Francisco visits on which I head up there on the train very early in the morning, and then I walk wherever my nose leads me, making photographs. On this visit I left the train station and ended up crossing a bridge to the inlet behind AT&T park, sometimes called “McCovey Cove.” From along the far side of this inlet I could see across the San Francisco Bay to the towering cranes at the port of Oakland. They were backed by a fog bank that completely obscured the city of Oakland and all but the very tops of the East Bay Hills.

This morning light coming across the Bay can be very special. As it often shines through the moisture laden air over the water and sometimes through clearing fog, it can take on a luminous glow and can even be almost too bright to look at. This was that sort of morning, so I let the sky exposure go as close to white as I could and still retain some sense of the thick air. The dark object at the left is a concrete breakwater outside the entrance to South Beach Harbor.

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Events, News, Shows

Night Photography Exhibit: Mare Island Nocturnes – Artist Reception This Sunday

August 9, 2011 G Dan Mitchell 3 Comments

The artist reception for “Mare Island Nocturnes,” an exhibit of night photography done at the iconic Mare Island Naval Ship Yard and featuring the work of San Francisco Bay Area night photographers is this Sunday, August 14 at 2:00-4:00 p.m. on Mare Island. The exhibit is sponsored by The Nocturnes and the Mare Island Historic Park Foundation, and is part of the year-long celebration of the 20th year of The Nocturnes, the influential San Francisco Bay Area night photography group. I hope to see you there!

: Yellow Buildings, Shadows, Moving Clouds

The Mare Island Naval Ship Yard is a remarkable historical and visual treasure. The place was the major west coast ship yard for the Navy since early in the 1800, and was decommissioned in the 1990s. While portions of the island have been and continue to be “redeveloped,” the historic core of historic ship yard buildings remains. This area has been a favorite of night photographers for some years and a lot of wonderful photographic work has emerged from this subject. I have photographed there many times during the past five years or so.

The exhibit runs through September 15 at the Mare Island Historic Park Foundation Museum, 1100 Railroad Avenue, Mare Island – see the flyer below for specific days and times of viewing.

The reception for the artists is on Sunday, August 14 from 2:00-4:00 p.m. Five of my prints are in the show, including “Yellow Buildings, Shadows, Moving Clouds,” the image shown above. I’ll be at the reception – hope to see you there!

Press release follows:

: “Mare Island Nocturnes” Night Photography Exhibit Press Release

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Commentary, Events, Shows

Night Photography Exhibit: Mare Island Nocturnes

August 3, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

“Mare Island Nocturnes,” an exhibit of night photography done at the iconic Mare Island Naval Ship Yard and featuring the work of San Francisco Bay Area night photographers opened today on Mare Island. The exhibit is sponsored by The Nocturnes and the Mare Island Historic Park Foundation, and is part of the year-long celebration of the 20th year of The Nocturnes, the influential San Francisco Bay Area night photography group.

Yellow Buildings, Shadows, Moving Clouds

The Mare Island Naval Ship Yard is a remarkable historical and visual treasure. The place was the major west coast ship yard for the Navy since early in the 1800s, and was decommissioned in the 1990s. While portions of the island have been and continue to be “redeveloped,” the historic core of historic ship yard buildings remains. This area has been a favorite of night photographers for some years and a lot of wonderful photographic work has emerged from this subject. I have photographed there many times during the past five years or so.

The exhibit runs through September 15 at the Mare Island Historic Park Foundation Museum, 1100 Railroad Avenue, Mare Island – see the flyer below for specific days and times of viewing.

Press release follows:

"Mare Island Nocturnes" Night Photography Exhibit Press Release

(Basic EXIF data may be available by “mousing over” large images in posts. Leave a comment if you want to know more.)

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.