Tag Archives: curb

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

Pipes, Shadow, and Brick Wall

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Pipes, Shadow, and Brick Wall
Pipes, Shadow, and Brick Wall

Pipes, Shadow, and Brick Wall. Mare Island Naval Ship Yard, Vallejo, California. May 30, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white night photograph of pipes, shadow, and a brick wall at the historic Mare Island Naval Ship Yard near Vallejo, California.

This is an example of the sort of thing I was looking for during my night photography shoot near the end of May at the historic Mare Island Naval Ship Yard near Vallejo, California. The place is well-known among night photographers for its interesting and impressive abandoned (mostly) structures, some of which are very old. The most striking subjects for most shooters involve the massive ship yard equipment that towers above old brick factory buildings. I’ve made my share of photographs of those wonderful subjects!

But on this visit I resolved to not shoot the familiar large buildings and structures, and to instead look for odd little vignettes of the place that I had overlooked in the past. This pipe standing against a brick was was actually hard to really see in the very dim artificial light in the alley where it is located, but I thought that the pipe and its shadow on the brick wall might be interesting. At the time I made the exposure I wasn’t certain if it would end up being black and white or color, but after working with it in post I’m happier with this monochrome version.

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.

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Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM at 96mm
ISO 200, f/8, 96 seconds

keywords: mare, island, naval, ship, yard, vallejo, california, usa, north america, historic, night, photography, minsy, nocturnes, brick, wall, weathered, worn, pipe, joint, shadow, old, black and white, monochrome, urban, street, landscape, detail, curb, stock

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

Man in Suit Between Two Cars

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Man in Suit Between Two Cars
Man in Suit Between Two Cars

Man in Suit Between Two Cars. San Francisco, California. March 6, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A man in a dark suit holding a bag and standing between two cars in front of old buildings in downtown San Francisco, California.

A quick street photo while walking into the fringes of the Tenderloin in San Francisco on the first weekend of March. I’m not sure how much sense this photograph may make to others, but there is a lot in it that appeals to me. For one thing I like the muted color scheme – most everything is some shade of black or near-gray or muted tan, with just a few spots of color. Even the man between the two cars is wearing only black and white clothing. Then there is the very busy but blocky pattern of the front of the buildings behind the man and the cars. However, to my eye at least, several types of order emerge from the complexity of these shapes. For example several elements create forms that rise diagonally from left to right: the two cars, the two balconies, the line through the left window, the dark doorway, and the lighter window in the center right section. And then there are the window reflections – which are becoming a bit of an urban photography theme for me. I also look at the man and wonder what he is doing – why is he wearing that particular set of clothes? What is in the small bag he holds? What is he looking for?

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.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
ISO 200, f/11, 1/60 second

keywords: man, between, two, cars, sedan, street, curb, park, suit, hill, slant, incline, door, frame, gate, window, balcony, latter, awning, sidewalk, urban, city, downtown, bag, wrought, iron, worn, grafitti, reflection, brick, wall, urban, san francisco, california, usa, north america, travel, person, tenderloin, stock, dark, black suit

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

Woman Walking Past Wall

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Woman Walking Past Wall
Woman Walking Past Wall

Woman Walking Past Wall. San Francisco, California. March 6, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Woman with coffee cup walks past a wall and behind a fire hydrant and tree, San Francisco, California.

While waiting for a table at a restaurant on a Saturday morning in San Francisco, I grabbed a few photographs of this interesting (to me, anyway!) juxtaposition of yellow wall, tree trunk, fire hydrant, and passing pedestrian from across the street. I first just thought that the light on the plain yellow/tan wall and the white window frames was interesting, and then I thought about how tree trunk and the cluster of leaves framed the central window. As I thought about this and started shooting the woman walked through the frame and, I think, added some balance to the elements in the scene.

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.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 85mm f/1.8
ISO 100, f/8, 1/250 second

keywords: street, urban, woman, walk, sidewalk, texture, wall, window, white, frame, yellow, tan, trim, blinds, angle, oblique, tree, leaves, trunk, branch, fire, hydrant, curb, shadow, light, morning, san francisco, california, usa, north america, stock, cell, phone, talk

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

Towers and Brick Building, Full Moon Light

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Towers and Brick Building, Full Moon Light
Towers and Brick Building, Full Moon Light

Towers and Brick Building, Full Moon Light. Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California. February 27, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Industrial towers and brick building under the light of the full moon at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California.

On February 27, for the second time this month, I visited Mare Island Naval Shipyard to do night photography with The Nocturnes, the San Francisco Bay Area night photography group. (Anyone looking for great resources on night photography should visit their web site. They also offer classes and workshops on night photography.) This was a “Mare Islands Alumni” event, attended by quite a few folks who have done night photography at Mare Island. One of the highlights came before the actual photography began as we met in the museum building and had a chance to view work by participating photographers – the work gets better every time and there was some wonderful night photography on display.

One attraction on this night was the full moon, which appears just above and to the right of the frame in this photograph made near the intersection of 8th and Nimitz Streets, in the heart of the old ship construction area. The was the first subject I photographed – it was something of a “do over,” since I had overlooked some obvious composition problems with the shot earlier this month and wanted to get it right this time. When I originally mentioned that, Tim Baskerville pointed out that I might have a hard time getting the same reflective puddles in the scene, but as luck would have it a good sized storm was just departing and it left great puddles everywhere!

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.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 35mm f/2.0
ISO 100, f/11, 353 seconds

keywords: 8th, avenue, street, nimitz, asphalt, puddle, reflection, water, twig, manhole, cover, steel, tower, rivets, bolt, brick, shop, building, window, arch, industrial, stop, sign, full, moon, light, sky, star, trail, cloud, minsy, the, nocturnes, mare, island, naval, shipyard, historic, vallejo, california, usa, north america, curb, sidewalk, night, photography