Tag Archives: blue

Oak, Sky, and Sun

Oak, Sky, and Sun
Oak, Sky, and Sun. Calero Hills, California. April 13, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning sun rises above an oak tree on a grassy ridge in central California.

This is from one of the local oak/grassland areas that I visit regularly – hardly a week goes by when I don’t head over there and hike past this very spot in all seasons and all conditions. On this early spring morning the sun was just above the hillside to my east and the solitary oak was casting a long shadow across the slope of this grassy hill. (There is also a black and white version of this photograph that I like quite a bit.)

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Rhyolite School

Rhyolite School

Rhyolite School. Rhyolite, Nevada. April 2, 2004. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Wide angle photograph of the ruins of the Rhyolite School exterior at dawn. While the strong walls of this building are still standing, the roof and interior fittings are all gone.

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Building 65 and Alley, Night – Mare Island Naval Shipyard

Building 65 and Alley, Night. Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California. March 22, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Building 65 lit by garish sodium vapor lamps, with a dark alley in the background and stars above.

This photo prompts me to post something about night photography and color that I’ve been thinking about for awhile. A scene like this one is lit by a variety of light sources – some natural light from moon and sky, tungsten lights, sodium vapor lights, and a gentle wash of mixed light sources from a nearby city. A question might be: “How do you accurately render the lighting of the scene?” My answer is, “You don’t.” Even if you could achieve an “accurate” rendering it would look nothing like what your night vision affected eyes “saw” since your eyes do not see the same way the camera does.

For me, one of the fun things about night photography – especially when artificial light sources are part of the scene – is that I can render to colors in whatever way makes the most sense for me.

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Mare Island Street, Dusk

Mare Island Street, Dusk
Mare Island Street, Dusk. Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California. March 22, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dusk photograph of a Mare Island Naval Shipyard Industrial Street with historic buildings, shipyard structures, and tracks. Photographed early on during an evening of night photography at this historical location. This photograph looks up a dockside street that has old shipyard buildings on one side, railroad tracks in the middle of the road, giant crane-like structures overhead, and the drydocks and ship launching areas on the right.

keywords: mare island, naval shipyard, vallejo, california, usa, historic, buildings, tracks, street, road, railroad, wooden, brick, windows, doors, twilight, dusk, evening, lights, blue, sky, bridge, travel, urban, industrial, landscape, stock, night