Tag Archives: historic

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: People, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Visitors to the Ruins of the Sutro Baths

February 9, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

Black and white photographs of visitors to the ruins of the Sutro Baths below the Cliff House, San Francisco, California.

I have known of the Sutro Baths ruins for a long time – since I was a child, really – and I’ve seen them before from the top of the bluff near the iconic Cliff House Restaurant at the north end of San Francisco’s Ocean Beach. But this was my first visit to the actual site. The story is that this is the site of what was once a large privately-operated pool and bath complex that sat right on the edge of the Pacific Ocean. Decades ago it was being demolished (or so I understand) when there was a fire that destroyed the buildings and left only the foundations and what appear to be the outlines of old pools. To me the site feels like visiting some very ancient ruins.

On the day we visited the surf was fairly large. While I’m sure it gets even larger in the middle of a bit Pacific winter storm, it was impressive nonetheless, especially since the site of the baths is right on the edge of the ocean. The light was wonderful. Even though it was essentially midday when we visited, the light was softened and diffused by a combination of clouds and the thick mist created by the spray from the waves. Although I had a tripod with me, I had left it in the car – so this is a hand held photograph. I think that actually turned out to my benefit, since without the tripod I could shoot more spontaneously. I had been watching and thinking about this particular spot and a composition that included the lines and shadows and angles of these walls with the Cliff House beyond. But all of a sudden I saw the people in the scene move into positions that I thought were interesting and I had to react quickly.

I’m not sure how well this photograph will work for most viewers, but at the moment it is one of my favorite recent images. Especially in the 13″ x 19″ test print I made this evening, there is – to me at least – a ton of interesting stuff going on in the scene. (Unfortunately, some of that detail may well be lost in this small jpg 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.

keywords: san francisco, california, usa, sutro, baths, cliff, ocean, sea, coast, shore, pacific, surf, travel, scenic, house, ruins, historic, people, man, woman, child, bluff, rocks, island, wall, structure, architecture, pool, shadow, sky, clouds, stock

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

Cliff House, Winter Surf

February 7, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Cliff House, Winter Surf. San Francisco, California. January 31, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

Black and white photograph of Pacific Ocean winter surf at the Cliff House, San Francisco, California.

This was not what I was supposed to photograph on the final day of January. I went to San Francisco to visit my son and then do some street/urban photograph while walking around the city. I expected that we might start in the Mission where he lives – and we actually sort of did, beginning with breakfast at Tartine Bakery. After finishing up we were deciding whether to head toward downtown on foot or catch BART, and I mentioned that since I had my car he might want to go to someplace farther away. He suggest Sutro Baths over in the Cliff House and Ocean Beach area, so off we went.

Although I’ve seen lots of interesting photography from this location – especially some interesting night photography work – I had not photographed there before. The baths are the ruins of what were once apparently some large facilities right next to the rugged shoreline here, but today little remains besides foundations, some low walls, and some remaining pools. I was a bit surprised to find the surf raging; I hadn’t thought it would be an especially high surf day since this was during a lull between storms.

Before long I spotted some of my favorite seascape conditions, bright reflections on the the wild Pacific Ocean winter surf, backlit by sun shining through fog and haze. Although I had no tripod I went ahead and shot some hand held seascapes. I’ve previously mentioned that I don’t always know while shooting whether or not photographs will end up in black and white, but with these I was pretty certain from the beginning. The building in the upper left is the Cliff House, the most recent iteration of a facility that has stood here for a long time.

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.

keywords: san francisco, california, usa, sutro, baths, cliff, ocean, sea, coast, shore, pacific, surf, travel, scenic, landscape, seascape, wave, swell, spray, bluff, restaurant, building, architecture, historic, rocks, crash, cloud, sky, winter, storm, rugged, stock

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Winter Sunset, Pigeon Point Lighthouse

January 23, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Winter surf in a rocky bay with high clouds above as last sunset light strikes the Pigeon Point Lighthouse, California.

Another weekend. Another excuse to drive to San Francisco. Another excuse to come back the long way via the Coast Highway.

This time I actually had my sights set on a location a bit south of this. I’ve been to this iconic California lighthouse before (including the well-known November lighting of the original beacon) so I usually don’t stop. As I approached I thought the light looked pretty interesting and I liked the clouds I was seeing in the sky – it is more often either fogged in or perfectly clear. I actually drove right past the turnoff to the lighthouse, I was so intent on my original location. But, as I’ve written before, I’ve learned to not drive, walk, or otherwise propel myself past a good photographic opportunity, so I pulled out soon after this point and took a look back at the lighthouse and the rugged surf. From the vantage point where I stopped a bit south of the lighthouse the light was not good at all, but at least I was able to turn around and head back to where it was interesting.

Since the light was going fast, I quickly found a spot to park, grabbed my gear, and headed out toward the edge of the low bluff just north of the lighthouse – and on this side the warm evening light, softened by some fog and ocean spray, was very nice. I shot as the sun dropped to the horizon, then made a few other photographs of some very interesting sunset clouds – I’ll post them later – before getting back in the car and heading home.

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.

keywords: california, usa, landscape, winter, stock, pacific, ocean, seascape, sea, shore, pigeon point, sky, water, rock, evening, sunset, rock, rugged, coast, beach, bluff, fence, foam, wave, spray, surf, sand, high, clouds, evening, light, building, tower, light, chimney, people, hostel, historic, san mateo county

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

Point Bonita, Pacific Ocean

December 24, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Black and white photograph of morning light on coastal cliffs and beaches near the Point Bonita Lighthouse in the Marin Headlands with the Pacific Ocean beyond – Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

This photograph represents another “stop the car, back up, and shoot this now!” moments – the second one during a single weekend.

I had taken a long day to photograph north of San Francisco, ostensibly with the excuse of having to meet someone in the City that evening – heck, might as well leave early and spend the day shooting, right? I had only vague plans to head across the Golden Gate Bridge when I started out that morning, but I stopped near the north end and headed up into the Marin Headlands when I saw some pretty special lighting and atmospheric conditions over the Bay. After shooting that general subject (including photos of the Bridge, the Bay, and the City posted earlier and still to come) I drove on up the road and then out toward Point Bonita.

The last part of this road is a narrow, twisty one-way drive high on the coastal hills above the outer reaches of the Golden Gate. As I came around one turn the view opened up and I saw – for the first time, though I’ve been here before – this great view of Point Bonita and the Pacific. I quickly stopped, set up, and made a few exposures.

The Point Bonita area is an interesting one. All along this section of the Marin Headlands are found old forts and artillery sites, supposedly to protect the Bay from invasion by sea. There is no longer a military presence here – this is now part of the Golden Gate Recreation Area, but many of the historic sites remain. Point Bonita itself is the site of a lighthouse at the north edge of the entrance to San Francisco Bay. It is a wild place. Not only it is in a spectacular location of tall coastal bluffs and steep cliffs that is fully open to the power of the Pacific, but the lighthouse itself is on a small island set slightly apart from the main landmass. The only way to get to it is to walk a trail along the steep cliffs – which passes through a tunnel at one point – then cross the top of the low bluff, and then walk the bridge to the small island.

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.

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