Tag Archives: haze

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

Brick Building and San Francisco Skyline

June 5, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Black and white photograph of older brick buildings with the more modern skyline of downtown San Francisco in the distance.

The same brick building that appeared in some night and evening photographs posted earlier appears in the foreground of this photograph. Beyond in the more modern downtown San Francisco skyline – if you look closely you can see a bit of the landmark Transamerica Pyramid peeking over the top of another building in the center of the image. The photograph was made very late in the day, within a shot interval just before sunset when the light streams in from the left at a very low angle.

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

keywords: san francisco, california, usa, urban, street, downtown, city, skyline, skyscraper, buildings, tall, transamerica, flag, reflection, afternoon, late, brick, old, window, door, fence, duct, vent, machinery, clock, tower, church, dish, flag, pole, atmospheric, recession, haze, structure, landscape, black and white, stock

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Half Dome and El Capitan, Morning Light

May 27, 2009 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

The first view of Half Dome and El Capitan upon arriving at Yosemite Valley in the early morning.

Let’s think of this as a work in progress…

Almost every time I enter Yosemite Valley via the northern highway 120 route I stop at this turnout not far below the turnoff to Foresta, where the first view of Half Dome and El Capitan suddenly looms ahead. I am so familiar with this road that I know exactly when this view will appear, but it must be stunning for a first-time visitor to round this ridge and see these icons looming ahead. I pull out, park the car, fit the long lens, and see what the conditions will produce on this particular day.

I have a vision for a photograph that I’ll probably get some day from this spot, but it will take a perfect combination of light (type, angle, intensity) and atmosphere (some haze but some clarity in the scene as well) and conditions (a bit of snow somewhere, perhaps like that on the summit of Half Dome in this photo). I have a feeling that the day on which it happens will not necessarily be an otherwise stunning day – but the conditions for this shot will be right.

In the meantime this version and a companion in landscape orientation that I shot in early May will have to do. Besides the obvious iconic stuff (Half Dome in the far center and the face of El Capitan looming on the left) there are some interesting visual coincidences in this scene. Notice that the curve of the upper right ridge of Half Dome is mirrored in the curve of the foreground ridge in front of El Capitan. The concave curve on the very upper left side of Half Dome (close to the cliff next to the “cable route”) is mirrored by the dip in the foreground trees. The descending angle of the middle-distance ridge on the right side extends into the downward slanting crown of the trees at lower left.

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

G Dan Mitchell Photography

keywords: yosemite, valley, national park, half dome, el capitan, silhouette, haze, light, cliff, mountain, forest, trees, black and white, landscape, scenic, travel, california, usa, sky, snow, spring, morning, early, first, view, overlook, stock

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Coastal Hills, Rocks, and Surf

December 10, 2008 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Black and white photograph of coastal hills, rocks, and surf – Point Lobos, California.

I think I’m guilty of trying to squeeze every last possible photograph out of my late November shoot at Point Lobos, but what else is one to do? ;-) This one again shows the atmospheric recession of the coastal fog and mist between the shoreline rocks at Point Lobos and the ridges of the shoreline mountains of this northernmost part of Big Sur.

This is another in the series of photographs shot on this morning using the 100-400mm lens – not a typical landscape/seascape lens to say the least. Oddly enough, that was the only lens I shot with during this visit to Point Lobos.

keywords: black and white, coastal, coast, shore, sea, ocean, pacific, rocks, hills, surf, wave, mountain, ridge, fog, recede, haze, mist, bird, gull, tree, forest, peak, california, usa, point lobos, reserve, park, state, stock, landscape, seascape, scenic, travel, light, big sur

Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Point Reyes

September 1, 2008 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Color photograph of Point Reyes and the Pacific Ocean with afternoon reflections. This photograph was made in extraordinarily windy conditions from a high point a bit further along the bluffs of the point with late afternoon sunlit brightly illuminating the ocean surface. (There is also a black and white version of this photograph.)

keywords: california, national, seashore, coast, cliff, bluff, mountain, park, pacific ocean, spring, point reyes, sea, shore, wild, nature, sky, haze, distance, travel, landscape, seascape, stock

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