Tag Archives: hills

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

North Tower of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge

February 13, 2011 G Dan Mitchell 3 Comments

Black and white photograph of the north tower of the Golden Gate Bridge silhouetted against San Francisco Bay morning haze and the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge.

A week ago I posted a few other photographs from this early morning winter visit to the upper reaches of the Marin Headlands, from which I photographed the bridges of the San Francisco Bay, backlit by early sun and partially obscured by a low layer of fog and haze. Since I am not fond of adding poetic (or pseudo-poetic) titles to my photographs, preferring to let them say whatever they have to say on their own, I have resisted the temptation to call this one “The Three Towers.” ;-)

The dark shape in the foreground that dominates the frame is, of course, the north tower of the Golden Gate Bridge. Shooting it in this light is trickier than it might seem like it should be. The light coming from beyond, reflected and amplified by water and haze, is very bright – almost hard to look at directly. So the west side of the bridge is deeply shadowed. I like the dark and stark shape of the tower here – as opposed to the more familiar photographs front or side lit by late afternoon or evening light – but the trick is to keep just a bit of detail in that nearly black tower.

The scene posed another technical issue, though it probably isn’t visible in this small version. As the sun comes up and heats the atmosphere, and as wind blows (and it was windy on this morning!) there is a lot of atmospheric turbulence. Normally you wouldn’t notice this at all, but when you shoot with a long lens and enlarge the image you quickly see that sharp edges and fine lines take on an almost “painterly” quality as the atmosphere shimmers, much in the manner of a mirage.

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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.

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

Golden Gate and Bay Bridges, Morning Haze

February 7, 2011 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

Black and white photograph of Golden Gate Bridge north tower, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, and the East Bay Hills in morning haze.

I sometimes enjoy playing the juxtaposition game, going up into the Marin Headlands and using a long lens to juxtapose elements of the Golden Gate Bridge with other elements of the landscape, human and natural, of San Francisco Bay. One of the most iconic examples of such photographs is the one that many have shot (including me!) that centers the tip of the Transamerica building within a frame formed by the north tower of the bridge. But there are many other possibilities that might be at least as interesting, and which may depend more on the changing and often very interesting conditions of atmosphere and light over the bay.

This photograph was made from a point very close to that from which the Transamerica building photograph can be made, but a bit higher on the road up into the headlands. When I arrived just before dawn in the general area there were quite a few other photographers who I presume were there to photograph the dawn scene. (This is a difficult task, as it requires you to shoot essentially directly into the sun if you want San Francisco in your shot.) I was surprised when essentially all of the other photographers packed up and left a few minutes after the sun came up! (In their defense, it was windy up there – so windy that it made shooting with a long lens quite a challenge!) The sunrise wasn’t all that amazing, at least not if you know this area pretty well. But the low haze/fog over the east bay hills and some overhead clouds filtering the light a bit created the potential for some interesting and moody light – at least if I used a long lens to isolate small sections of the scene.

I’m almost a bit embarrassed to admit that I picked my first shooting location not based on the scene but rather on trying to avoid the wind! I went up the road to a spot where I could shoot in the lee of a hill side. After getting that out of my system, I went the other way and entered a very windy area along the road below the parking lot. I eventually found a spot that lined up the two great bridges of San Francisco Bay – the north tower of the Golden Gate Bridge in the foreground and two towers and a central span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in the distance, both backed by that low fog and haze and beyond the East Bay Hills.

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco

Alcatraz, Treasure Island, East Bay Hills

February 6, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Black and white photograph of San Francisco Bay with Alcatraz, Treasure Island, and the East Bay Hills beneath a morning winter sky.

On this early February day the rough plan was to head up across the Golden Gate Bridge before dawn, shoot a bit from high in the Marin Headlands as the sun rose, and then continue on to most likely shoot at Muir Woods. However, I ended up spending at least two hours shooting from the headlands, and by the time I finished I knew that the tourist hordes would be arriving at Muir Woods, so I only did a bit of additional shooting from the hills before heading back home.

This photograph was made just before I left the Marin Headlands, near the last turn before the road crosses highway 101 near the Golden Gate. It is a familiar location and I’ve photographed from here many times in the past. I don’t always stop, but if something is a bit special or unusual about the conditions I will. That was the case today as someone unusual weather conditions had left the bay mostly clear, but with a thin layer of fog over Oakland and other areas along the east side of the San Francisco Bay – and impressive high clouds were floating above. Alcatraz Island is at the left, Treasure Island and the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge are in the center, and beyond that the tops of buildings in downtown Oakland are visible against the backdrop of the East Bay hills.

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

Winter Evening, Big Sur Coastline

December 22, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 8 Comments

Last light of a winter evening shines on a shoreline bluff along the Big Sur coastline.

As the very end of 2010 approaches, here is a photograph from the very beginning of 2010, made back on January 2. It very similar to a photograph of this scene I posted back then, but it is not the same photograph, and I know like this one at least as much as the earlier selection. (And I feel justified in using two photos from the shoot after the case of poison oak rash I picked up making them!)

As I recall, this was another of those evenings that first looked very promising, then turned gray as the sun dropped behind clouds over the ocean, but held out hope for a last moment of color as the setting sun dropped to the horizon and beneath the clouds. And, as sometimes happens, it actually worked! I had seen this spot before but not stopped to photograph it quite this way. As I passed by while heading south earlier in the afternoon I had made a mental note about the possibilities for the scene, and when I turned back to the north to start my drive home I had decided to stop here. The scene is impressive, with the coast curving inward and then back out the left where a creek comes down to the sea, and with bluffs, sea stacks, and higher hills beyond. And on this evening the sky was full of pastel colors. So I stopped, unloaded the camera gear, and headed out (through the poison oak!) onto the bluff above the cove where I waited for light. And just at sunset a band of beautiful, warm, diffused light touched the bluff across the cove.

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.

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