Tag Archives: door

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

Blue Shed, Evening

May 28, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A metal-walled blue shade beneath an abandoned industrial building in “blue hour” evening light, near Vallejo, California

This photograph belongs to a genre that might be called Almost-Night Photography. I was at this location to do night photography, in fact, but for once decided to also try shooting the area a bit before the daylight disappeared. So perhaps 45 minutes before sunset I stopped what I was doing (eating pizza, actually…) and drove around a bit looking for “golden hour” photograph opportunities in this abandoned industrial area. I started a good distance from the location of this shot and did my sunset shoot in a more open area full of run down and falling down ruined buildings. After that I headed back towards an area of less-dilapidated but also virtually abandoned buildings.

So I arrived here a bit after sunset as the so-called “blue hour” light was coming on. The structure was open to the west where the post-sunset sky was visible over San Francisco Bay. Some clouds near the horizon still had the bright and orange-yellow colors of sunset, but the larger part of the sky was transitioning toward deep blue. As a result, any place in this image that was in shadow was primarily illuminated by the very blue overhead sky, while the upper windows of the taller building still reflected some of those last bits of color, though they were distorted by the uneven arrangement of the windows to create interesting patterns that are perhaps better seen in a larger presentation of the photograph. There are three buildings in the shot. The foreground round-roofed shed seems to be some sort of storage or work space that might have been added later. Behind that and to the right is a lighter-colored building that seems like it might have held some offices or similar facilities. Beyond that are the mostly glass walls of a very large industrial building that seems to be at least a full block long. These giant old buildings intrigue me in many ways, but the number of windows seems remarkable. I assume that they were designed this way so that people could work inside with little or no supplemental electrical light, and the interior spaces of such buildings can contain beautiful light during the day.

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Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Southern California

Abandoned Car, Desert Gully

April 18, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

An old and very weathered car abandoned to the elements in a desert mountain streambed.

There are many threads to the Death Vally story, and portions of these stories can be read by looking in the right places in the park. There is the geological story that involves seismic activity, a very old lake, and the surprising role of water in what is today a very dry place. Occasional remnants of their ancient presence tells the faint story of the people who lived here before Europeans arrived. And there is the story of extraction – prospecting and the mining of all sorts of materials, some of which has not ended even today. (There are a couple of inholdings within the larger boundaries of the park where mineral rights are maintained and mining work continues – a jarring sight the first time you encounter in while in a national park.)

Much of this work took place only a few decades ago, and the detritus of that period is still found throughout the park. A few examples are well-known, marked on maps, and even have directional signs and interpretive information displayed by the park. However, if you poke around even a little bit you’ll soon come across many other examples of old mines, tailings, buildings, automobiles, and more. (If you visit the park and see these things, please be very careful around them. They are deteriorating, and almost anything you do to disturb them will hasten that process and deprive future visitors of the experience that you are enjoying.) There is one such site that I have driven past many times, but where I have never stopped until this trip. Beyond the obvious artifacts that are visible from a passing road, the site continues. This time I stopped, got out of my car, and spent some time wandering up and old trail that heads up a gully and then switchbacks up a nearby hill. A ways up this hill, after passing some dilapidated buildings, I came to a gully that must have been the occupants’ automobile graveyard, since there were several very old, rusting vehicles in this gully, partially embedded in sand that must have washed down during rain.

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Love Window, China Camp

March 20, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Opaque window and door of a weathered wooden building at China Camp, California

There are any number of places with name “China Camp” (or similar variations), but this one is located along the shores of the northern San Francisco Bay. I’m not an expert on the history of the place by any means, but I understand that the village was established by immigrants from China in the 1800s and was, over a century ago, a thriving village of several hundred people who focused on harvesting shrimp. Today it is part of a California State park and can be a very quiet and peaceful place.

I visited for the first time this winter, along with a number of other photographers who went there as part of a “photo walk.” After photographing some nearby landscape subjects I walked over to the remaining buildings from the old village and spent some time poking around the area looking for photographs. While I think of this as a sort of ghost town, unlike some other such places in California, this one includes some modern improvements and restoration and even some museum facilities. I was intrigued by some windows and doors on the exterior of this wooden building, including this four-pane window on which someone had inscribed the word “love.”

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

Indian Restaurant

February 24, 2013 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Late afternoon winter light on the exterior of a neighborhood Indian restaurant.

This restaurant is located not far from where I live – close enough that I could photograph it on a walk from my home. (Though these walks can sometimes carry me out to about a four mile radius or so…) This is not one of those fancy, up-scale Indian restaurants, but rather a local, neighborhood place whose location and outer appearance might not encourage you to go inside and try the delicious food. Yes, I’ve eaten there.

At first I was just thinking about the angles and surfaces of the building, but also about this interesting late-afternoon winter light that slants in almost parallel to the ground in the vertical dimension, and almost flat across the front wall of the restaurant. As I moved in to try to find a composition I noticed the empty vase for the first time, and as I line things up to keep the very bright light on a hidden wall out of the frame, I saw the bright and somewhat orange light reflected from that wall onto the more distant area to the left where a door is open (even though the restaurant is closed) and a blue milk carton crate has been abandoned.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: door

Blue Shed, Evening

Abandoned Car, Desert Gully

Love Window, China Camp

Indian Restaurant

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