Tag Archives: dusk

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

Urban Fishermen, Dusk, San Francisco Bay

May 7, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A group of urban fishermen working from a San Francisco Bay pier finishes up for the evening

During the last weekend of April I joined a group of fellow street photography and night photography enthusiasts in San Francisco. We met up for dinner in the Chinatown district, and afterwards we wandered down to the Embarcadero and the waterfront, busy with tourists at this time of year. Ultimately we ended up in a spot very popular with such folks, a pier the affords walking access to the waters of the bay. I spent perhaps a half hour out there photographing: people, the bay, passing ships and boats, the City skyline.

These urban fisherman are a regular part of the San Francisco urban scene and they represent a sort of intersection between the human and the natural worlds. They are everywhere along the City’s waterfront, and often are fishing within earshot and “eyeshot” of the busy urban scene. Stop and think about what this means and there is a lot to ponder. Even in a busy and fast-paced place like San Fransisco, it is possible to walk a few feet and find yourself standing quietly above the bay in dusk, perhaps with a few friends — one way to help maintain sanity in the urban world. These guys appeared to be finishing up for the evening and were simply standing around and talking as they packed up and as tourists stopped to watch.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Southern California, Photographs: Urban/Street

Apartments, Driveway, Dusk

January 14, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Landscape photographers are well away of the qualities of light during the short period leading up to sunset, and with the rapidity of the changes to that light. But something similar happens for photographers of the “urban landscape,” as well, though it tends to be most pronounced immediately after sunset rather than just before. There is a short period of perhaps a half hour or less when the ambient natural light is somewhat in balance with artificial light. During this period the natural light has diminished to the point that things appear more like night than day, but there is still enough natural light around to fill shadows and illuminate areas that are not covered by artificial light. (A bit later and the artificial lighting is virtually the only light source in most cases, and the range between light and shadow can be quite large.)

It was close to the beginning of such a time when I made this photograph of a parking lot and group of apartment buildings while walking around in Pasadena during the first week of the new year. A bit earlier and the lights either would not have been on or would not have been visible. A bit later and the foreground shadows would be completely black. It is a bit difficult to say precisely what attracted me to this scene — perhaps the bit of light spilling around the corner of the wall at left, perhaps the lovely yellowing light on the garage doors, maybe the geometry of the buildings… or perhaps the sum of all these things and more.

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G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

The Valley, Autumn Fog, Evening

January 5, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Fog fills Yosemite Valley at dusk following an autumn storm

OK, I confess that sometimes I still stop at Tunnel View, and sometimes I do take my camera out, and I may even make a photograph. ;-) On this late-autumn evening I had been in the Valley for just an afternoon, on a day that had begun with quite heavy rainfall as I drove to Oakhurst for a meeting. The rain turned to showers with some breaks of sunlight as I drove to the Valley in the afternoon for a few hours of photography.

I photographed well east in the Valley, working wit clouds that were brushing past pinnacles and faces high on the granite walls. As the sunlight left that subject I packed up and started to head out of the Valley and back toward Oakhurst. I passed Tunnel View, and as I always do, I did a quick visual check to see what was going on. I got out of the car and walked to the overlook — there were almost no photographers left by this point, as it was well into the dusk blue hour light. It was quite dark, actually, though there was still residual light on the furthest peaks and on higher portions of the clouds, Drifting low clouds and fog almost filled the Valley itself. The fog was intriguing, so I dashed back to my vehicle, grabbed the camera and a lens and tripod, rushed back, and set up to make a few exposures in the failing light.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Geese, Wetland Pond, Dusk

December 31, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Geese depart in dusk sky above a San Joaquin Valley wetland pond

This photograph might be just a little bit deceptive. It looks still and quiet — and, in a sense, it is — but this time of evening can be one of great motion and sound, too. These margins of the day at dawn and dusk are when the birds “switch gears,” moving from place to place and activity to activity at the moments of light-dark transition.

But let’s go with the still and quiet notion for now. In fact, after a busy day of traveling around to find and photograph birds and related subjects, a couple of friends and I made a decision to pick this spot and stay put. We often try to second-guess the birds, but they weren’t giving us any obvious or useful hints about their plans for this evening. So we stopped, and we waited. Birds did appear, and we had at least one great assembly and fly-in not far from our location, but eventually the light faded and things slowed down and it became… still and quiet.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: dusk

Urban Fishermen, Dusk, San Francisco Bay

Apartments, Driveway, Dusk

The Valley, Autumn Fog, Evening

Geese, Wetland Pond, Dusk

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