Exterior detail of the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in New York City.
After traveling uptown to the general area of Columbia University for a breakfast visit to a bakery that had been recommended to us we wandered across the street to the grounds of this famous and imposing cathedral. We began in the sculpture building next to the church, and this photograph was made from that general area, taking advantage of the soft and diffused light of this overcast day.
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.
Detail of stonework at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine, New York City.
Early in the morning we took the subway north to the area around Columbia University where we had been told to visit a Hungarian bakery. (Worth the visit, by the way…) This “cathedral church,” which I had heard of but not seen in person, is located almost across the street. We started in the nearby sculpture garden which features a large, central sculpture (too much to say about it to try to do it here) which is surrounded by small pieces created by schoolchildren. From here it was a very short walk to the cathedral itself.
The cathedral is a powerful piece of architecture, much larger and more imposing than many of the other famous religious sites that I’ve seen in New York. I first made a series of photographs of the interesting textures and forms of the exterior of the building, including this photograph, taking advantage of the soft light created by the cloudy conditions. Eventually we made our way inside. I took no photographs inside the cathedral, partly because there was a service going on and because I was quite affected by the scale of the interior space… and by the very interesting and unusual music being performed by the organist.
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.
Black and white night photograph of pipes, shadow, and a brick wall at the historic Mare Island Naval Ship Yard near Vallejo, California.
This is an example of the sort of thing I was looking for during my night photography shoot near the end of May at the historic Mare Island Naval Ship Yard near Vallejo, California. The place is well-known among night photographers for its interesting and impressive abandoned (mostly) structures, some of which are very old. The most striking subjects for most shooters involve the massive ship yard equipment that towers above old brick factory buildings. I’ve made my share of photographs of those wonderful subjects!
But on this visit I resolved to not shoot the familiar large buildings and structures, and to instead look for odd little vignettes of the place that I had overlooked in the past. This pipe standing against a brick was was actually hard to really see in the very dim artificial light in the alley where it is located, but I thought that the pipe and its shadow on the brick wall might be interesting. At the time I made the exposure I wasn’t certain if it would end up being black and white or color, but after working with it in post I’m happier with this monochrome version.
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.
Entry door to old bunkers at Mare Island Naval Ship Yard.
I was surprised to find this bunker door open. Typically this area of old cement bunkers at the historic Mare Island Naval Ship Yard seems to be sealed up tightly – in fact, most of the doors (or what I presume to be doors) have been covered with metal plates. Although this images has the look of soft daylight, perhaps that of an overcast day, the effect is the result of shooting during very late twilight when there was a combination of diffused light from the sky and some artificial light spilling into the scene from nearby.
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.
Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM at 73mm
ISO 200, f/16, 30 seconds
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Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.
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