Tag Archives: golden

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Morning, San Francisco Bay

July 26, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Morning fog covers Oakland and the East Bay Hills as hazy sun illuminates sailboats and ships on San Francisco Bay beyond the Golden Gate Bridge.

This photograph was made from high in the Marin Headlands, after hiking up to the hill above Battery 129 near the high point on Conzelman Road, the scenic route that climbs this ridge above the Golden Gate. I had earlier shot a similar scene from a spot just a bit lower, but by now the morning fog and haze was clearing enough to allow a bit more sun to light up the waters of the Bay and to reveal a subtle blue color. (Later the blue would be much deeper, and earlier it had been nearly gray.) This particular shade of blue is one of the things I liked about this scene on this particular day.

The hill at lower left is part of the Marin Headlands and drops from the road almost straight down to the water. The small bit of land intruding into the frame on the left just above the wake of a boat is Alcatraz Island. Beyond that is Treasure Island and its companion, Yerba Buena Island. The latter is crossed by the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge, leading to Oakland which is just barely visible under the fog over the East Bay hills. Near the upper right is a tiny bit of one of the piers along the San Francisco waterfront.

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.

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Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Rusted Gate and Concrete Wall, Battery 129

July 25, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Rusted gate against a weathered concrete wall at the entrance to a tunnel at Battery 129, Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

At the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge, Conzelman Road leads up into the Marin Headlands along the San Francisco Bay side of the ridge. This road is a favorite place for overlooking the Golden Gate and its famous bridge along with a large expanse of San Francisco and its Bay and points east. In mid-July the road was not accessible from the usual spot near the end of the bridge, so I detoured around towards the “back entrance” via the road to Rodeo Beach. From this road I turned up into the hills and joined Conzelman near its summit. I made a few foggy photographs of the Bay, but my main interest was in trying to find photographs in the old batteries and other abandoned military facilities along the ridge running out toward Point Bonita.

At the summit of the hill, before the road becomes very narrow and many people turn back, is “Battery 129.” There are several tunnels into this facility from alongside the road and a separate route leads up the hill to the old structures on the summit. I took one of the two tunnels under the hill and as I entered the second section I saw this old metal gate against a weathered concrete wall, illuminated by light leaking in from the end of the tunnel.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Offshore Fog Bank, Marin Headlands

July 24, 2011 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

Offshore fog lies beyond Point Bonita and Rodeo Beach and the Marin Headlands of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

I was surprised to find a clear view like this during my mid-July visit to the Marin Headlands of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) across the Bay from San Francisco. I had almost decided to stay home or go elsewhere based on weather reports that had the coast completely socked in my dense fog for most of the day. Indeed, it was foggy as I passed through San Francisco and drove across the Golden Gate Bridge. The fog was high, and I could see some distance beneath it, but it was still a rather gray day.

Since the lower section of Conzelman Road, the normal quick and scenic route up into the headlands, was closed for construction, I took that alternate route that passes through a tunnel to come out near Rodeo Beach. I turned left up the hill to reach the upper section of the road. After photographing near Battery 129 for a while, the sun began to break through the fog, and I was surprised to find a fairly clear patch just outside the Golden Gate.

The photograph shows the last section of the headlands as the hills drop towards the historic fort and batteries near the Point Bonito light house, which is barely visible at the end of the peninsula on the left. The line of surf at the upper right is Rodeo Beach, a popular spot with Bay Area folks.

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Photographs: Coastal Redwoods, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Redwood Trunk, Detail

May 5, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Detail view of the convoluted textures of the bark of a coast redwood tree, Muir Woods National Monument.

I’m fascinated by the patterns of tree trunks and bark, and I often try to find ways to make photographs of the thick and rugged bark of coastal redwoods – but not always with a lot of success! The subject is trickier than it seems at first. Even during the daytime these forests can be quite dark – and occasional beams of direct light pose their own problems along the lines of harsh shadows. When shooting close up, relatively small apertures are needed since some amount of DOF is required to get the closest parts of the thick bar, and the deeper parts along the frame edges decently in focus. Low light and small apertures means long exposures, and even a bit of air movement will move leaves, bits of grass, or (in the case of this photo) spider webs. And when a bit of interesting filtered light does make it down through the forest canopy, it is often there and gone within a few seconds. (On this same day I came across a beautiful shadow on the side of one redwood that included the shapes of some nearby alder trees. It was wonderful! It was also gone 10-15 seconds later when I got my camera into position!)

I photographed this bit of bark shape and texture along the main trail at Muir Woods on this late-April morning. As is my usual plan, I had arrived very early – before the park actually opens – and was able to wander around without the typical crowds that appear once the post-breakfast tour buses arrive from nearby San Francisco. In this spot it was quite dark, but there was just a bit of filtered and reflected light to bring out the textures and colors of the redwood bark.

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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.

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