Tag Archives: license

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Building 45, Rain and Shadows

November 21, 2012 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Black and white night photograph of Building 45 with rain and shadows, Mare Island Naval Ship Yard

Having shot at Mare Island so many times, and having never encountered any weather challenges more daunting than a little wind or some night-time cold, I suppose I was due for some rain. And we got it on this visit. This being the annual “Nocturnes Alumni Night” event, people arrived much earlier than necessary for night photography – during the daylight hours mostly. As we met and shared photographs and then pizza, the conversation occasionally turned to the question of, “When will the weather front arrive tonight?” The most optimistic among us thought that it might not rain at all. Others thought it would hold off until after we were done shooting. Still others – including those of us with smart phones running weather radar applications – were not so sure that we would escape the weather this time, since it looked like the front would pass over us very shortly after we planned to start shooting.

The pessimists were right this time! Less than a half hour after we dispersed into the darkness to begin our work, it was already sprinkling, and within a few more minutes the front arrived and it began to rain in earnest. Along with another group of Nocturnes, I quickly moved to the shelter of one of the old mansions and hung out on the porch. The front wasn’t large, and after an hour or so the rain had diminished to the point that I could venture back out again. (To those who wonder about such things, the combination of night and rain is not conducive to being out and about making photographs.) I headed back over into the “historic core” area near the waterfront as the sprinkles continued, eventually ending up at this spot, near the end of building 45. Access wasn’t as easy as usual due to construction in the area and due to that darned rain! However, the rain created special conditions for night photography, adding a reflective gleam to all of the wet surfaces. The lighting here is from nearby street lights and security lights, and the sodium vapor lamps create a very garish yellow effect in color photographs – so I decided that I would take this one in the black and white direction. The patter on the wall at the right is a shadow from the huge gantry structure that towers above this spot.

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: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Autumn Detritus, Zion National Park

November 20, 2012 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Oak leaves and other autumn material on a rocky streambed in Zion National Park

This mixture of autumn debris was lying on a low shelf near the bottom of a narrow canyon wash in the high country of Zion National Park. We had descended into this wash to look for autumn colors, mostly the red maples and perhaps some cottonwood or box elder trees. It had not been long since the last rain, given the evidence of flow patterns in the sand and occasional wet spots in deeper sections.

The gambel oak trees are quickly becoming a favorite of mine in this area of the Southwest. They are found all over the place and vary from small, bush-like plants to decent sized trees. When fall comes they can put on a quite varied show. Some leaves simply turn the rich brown/tan that you see on some of the leaves in this photograph. Others turn yellow and some take on very bright red colors, especially when the light comes through the leaves from behind. (A photograph from a small canyon in Capitol Reef that I’ll post later shows a more gaudy side of these leaves.) Here the leaves had fallen onto a low sandstone bench just above the stream bed, and the reddish rocks compliment the other autumn colors of this intimate scene.

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Stairway, Rain

November 19, 2012 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Black and white photograph of a stairway and a portion of a front wall of Building 45 on a rainy evening at the historic Mare Island Naval Ship Yard, Vallejo, California

I interrupt the almost-steady stream of landscape photographs from the American Southwest (of which there are many more to come) to share a photograph of night photography at the historic Mare Island Naval Ship Yard near Vallejo, California. Depending upon where you see/read this, you may not know that I have been photographing this place at night for a half-dozen years or more, joining a large number of other night photographers who continue to be fascinated by the place. The San Francisco Bay Area group known as The Nocturnes has been instrumental in uncovering the photographic potential of this wonderful location and in ensuring its respectful treatment by photographers, and I was there with them again this week. I’m certain that many people who drive past and see “Mare Island” signs have no idea of how long this place has existed (well back into the 1800s) nor of its historic importance (the first US west coast major ship yard) or some of its “issues,” including the transition from the military to civilian uses and all of the things that this entails.

The whole area, but especially that around the “historic core,” is quite an amazing photographic resource, especially for those who have worked to “see” it at night. There are a number of obvious, impressive, and iconic features – the gantry structures, the power plant, many old buildings, dry docks, and more – yet return visits begin to reveal smaller and subtler features that you could miss on a single visit. There was one wrinkle in this week’s shoot – RAIN! When we assembled there before sunset – for photograph sharing and talk – we knew that a weather front was headed our way, but we hoped that it might hold off long enough to let us complete some shooting first. I wasn’t so sure. (The weather radar app showed a front very close to us!) As soon as it was dark enough, I quickly went to work at this building that I had seen earlier in the day when I arrived. It was already beginning to sprinkle when I got there, and soon the rain increased to the point where I had to work under an umbrella as I completed some relatively long exposures. (For real fun, try juggling camera, lenses, bags, tripod, and an umbrella… in increasing wind… and rain… while trying to attach camera to said tripod and compose and focus!) I had time to make five or six photographs at this location before I had to seek shelter along with my Nocturnes colleagues on the front porch of one of the old officers’ mansions.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Clearing Storm, Morning Light

November 18, 2012 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Fog clearing from a Zion Canyon cliff face. — “Clearing Storm, Morning Light” — Clearing storm clouds and morning light on sandstone towers, Zion National Park

We arrived in Zion the previous day, driving through rain across lower Utah and upper Arizona, stopping to photograph here and there, including rain-soaked upper elevation areas of Zion. We arose early to catch one of the first shuttles into the canyon. The morning began with sun coming through breaks in the clearing clouds from the previous day’s rain. In my view, clouds in Zion canyon are not usually all that conducive to photography, since I tend to rely on the diffused midday light coming from open sky to light my subjects, which are often found in the shade. Clouds produce too much shade and move the color balance away from the warm tones of daylight and toward the dark, blue tones.

On the other hand, I love sunlight broken and muted by clouds, especially those that move and are a bit transparent. I love shooting in Yosemite Valley when winter storms or fog are swirling around the walls and spires, alternately revealing and hiding bits of the landscape. As we rode the shuttle into Zion Canyon, with a vague plan of heading toward the middle or upper part of the canyon, I looked up to see that same sort of effect high on the cliffs along the west side of lower Zion Canyon – early morning sun was shining through breaks in clouds that swirled around the upper cliffs, alternately revealing and concealing their form. Plans change, and we hopped off the shuttle. I put the long lens on the camera and spent a few minutes exploring this subject.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: license

Building 45, Rain and Shadows

Autumn Detritus, Zion National Park

Stairway, Rain

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