Tag Archives: column

Urban Canyon, Maiden Lane

August 26, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 4 Comments

Morning light strikes buildings above the curving urban canyon of Maiden Lane in Lower Manhattan.

We were in this area of lower Manhattan for several reasons on the morning of the last full day of our New York City visit. We made a stop at the nearby World Trade Center site – it is difficult to explain all of the reactions that I had to this. The last time I visited (close to New Years Day 2000) we stood on top of one of the buildings to see the nighttime view – and now there is a void in that place.

We were also there to visit our oldest son who was working that day in an office on Maiden Lane – and, later on, to join the throngs walking out onto the Brooklyn Bridge. (This was our first day of clear, blue sky weather.) I made this photograph as we approached that street a bit early, giving us some time to look around a bit. Oddly, when I visit the very narrow and twisty “canyons” of this part of Manhattan, with the very tall buildings towering immediately above and following the curves of the old streets, I always think of different sorts of canyons, for example the sort that I frequently visit in the Sierra. It occurred to me that the same light falls on both types of canyons. You can bet that I would have my camera out if light like that shining on the front of these curved buildings appeared in “my” Sierra!

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

All Stops Special – Caltrain Station

July 24, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The San Francisco Caltrain station, photographed through glass lobby windows.

I frequently ride Caltrain to the City to do street photography. (Getting there by train is far better for me than taking the car, mainly because I think I can do more effective photography of this sort when I’m working completely on foot and not dealing with the whole driving/parking thing.) In this photograph I liked the nearly empty glass-enclosed lobby area, lit by very diffused light under the early morning fog, and with the trains visible on the other side. The “All Stops Special” sign seems enigmatic when seen out of context.

By the way, as much as San Francisco residents love the sunny and warmer days that occasionally come to the City this time of year, for photography I much prefer at least some fog and cloudiness, especially when I try to shoot during the daytime hours.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Photographs: Night, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Alley, Mare Island

June 1, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

Artificial light illuminates an alley and an old industrial building at historic Mare Island Naval Ship Yard, Vallejo, California.

On the second-to-last night of May I had a chance to do a bit more night photography at Mare Island Naval Ship Yard after Ivan Makarov contacted me to say that he was organizing a small group for a visit. We gathered before sunset near the “historic core” area of the island, and before long we all headed off to photograph the diverse and interesting subjects found here.

Having shot the “classics” at Mare Island many, many times I decided to start out with a different subject. Instead of heading for the old brick buildings and the immense ship yard structures, before it became dark I headed into a park like area where old cement bunkers sit among trees. By the time I finished there and walked back to where I had last seen the group… they were all gone! I went ahead and shot alone for the next hour and a half or so, mostly looking for detail shots of smaller subjects. Near the end of my shoot I happened to walk past this alley and decided to make one more exposure before packing up and heading home.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM at 45mm
ISO 400, f/16, 20 seconds

keywords: mare, island, naval, ship, yard, vallejo, california, usa, north america, historic, night, photography, minsy, artificial, light, glow, column, building, brick, window, wall, dark, sky, night, nocturne, alley, street, asphalt, shadow, drain, gutter, drain, perspective, industrial, urban, factory, stock

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Rhyolite Bank Ruins, Full Moon Light

April 29, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The light of the rising full moon illuminates the ruins of the old bank building against a star-filled sky in the ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada.

I have photographed the ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada on several occasions in the past, but always in the very early morning. (I have a habit of hitting Rhyolite before dawn, shooting as long as the light allows, visiting Beatty for cheap gas and breakfast, then heading back to Death Valley via Titus Canyon.) I have wanted to try photographing the location both at sunset and under a full moon, and the timing for both worked out on my late March visit to Death Valley National Park. Late on my second afternoon I headed east out of the Valley and over the pass and arrived at Rhyolite before sunset.

I spent some time wandering around the familiar locations in the unfamiliar late-day light. In the end, my suspicion that Rhyolite is more of an early morning location than an evening location seemed to be confirmed. At this time of year the sun sets a bit too far to the “right” as you look west, and the the light is blocked by a low hill at just the time it would otherwise become interesting. I did make some photographs of the ruins of the ghost town in the fading light… then I settled in to make a few night photographs of the tall bank building ruins.

I’m thinking of this as sort of a practice run for a return visit for more Rhyolite night photography. I think that the full moon timing has potential, but I want to try again and think more about the placement of the structures relative to the North Star. One more thing… when I arrived there was essentially no one else there. Soon a couple other photographers showed up, but the place was still relatively deserted. Then, after dark, I was surprised when a number of cars showed up. There was apparently some sort of night photography workshop visiting the place – perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised that they acted like they owned the place and that the rest of us didn’t matter. Most night photographers would know better than to drive into a shooting location with headlights blazing, and they might ask photographers who were already there if their light painting would interfere with shots underway. Just sayin’…

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM at 22mm
ISO 200, f/11, 432 seconds

keywords: death valley, national, park, nevada usa, north america, scenic, travel, nature, desert, full, moon, light, rising, rhyolite, ghost, town, ruins, abandoned, weathered, column, bank, building, wall, window, sky, star, trail, night, nocturnal, photography, shadow, historic, mining, stock

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