Tag Archives: monochrome

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

Brick Wall and Fence, Railroad Avenue

February 13, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Black and white photograph of a night scene on Railroad Avenue at Mare Island Naval Ship Yard with cyclone fence, brick wall, pipes and tank, window, and speed limit sign.

I was thinking about the Panocturnists group when I made this photograph at the Mare Island Naval Ship Yard during the first weekend of February. The location is in many ways pretty mundane – one of the first areas that most first-time Mare Island night photographers shoot near the entrance to the so-called “historic core” of the site, and nothing that would warrant a second look during daylight hours. Not surprisingly, most photographers here are initially attracted to a nearby turnstile or to the massive steel structures overhead. I’ve shot here enough now that, while I’ll still shoot those subjects, I usually look for less-obvious subjects that I may not have tried previously. So while some new folks photographed right behind me I decided to see what I could do with the street light-illuminated fence, wall, and collection of pipes in this corner. (And, as the long exposure was underway I was able to help out the first-timers… :-)

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: mare, island, naval, ship, yard, vallejo, california, usa, san francisco, bay, area, 30, mph, speed, limit, sign, pole, cyclone, fence, crosswalk, sidewalk, street, brick, wall, building, structure, industrial, window, shadow, pipe, tank, wire, night, photography, the, nocturnes, nocturnal, black and white, monochrome, panorama, historic, stock, panocturnes

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Cliff House, Pacific Winter Surf and Fog

February 10, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Black and white photograph of Pacific Ocean fog and winter surf beating against shoreline below the Cliff House, San Francisco, California.

There is an overlook just north of the ruins of the Sutro Baths that provides a clear view of the historic (and iconic) Cliff House Restaurant atop the cliffs near Ocean Beach in San Francisco, California. On a day like this one, the surf from winter Pacific Ocean storms pounds the base of the cliffs. At the lower left a bit of the old ruins of the Sutro Baths can be seen – it is hard to imagine how anyone constructed the walls and platforms and then the buildings of this facility.

(I posted a possibly more dramatic vertical format version of this scene a few days ago.)

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, fog, cloud, wave, rocks, beat, pacific, house, giant, camera, restaurant, sky, bright, mist, spray, black and white, monochrome, landscape, seascape, nature, bluff, hill, building, structure, historic, ruins, sutro, baths, stock

Photographs: People, Photographs: Southern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Couple With Umbrellas, Getty Center

February 6, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Black and white photograph of a couple with umbrellas walking one behind the other across a sidewalk on a rainy day at the Getty Center, Los Angeles.

I posted another photograph from this sequence a few weeks back. During our late December visit to the Getty Center I found a spot under an overhang that kept the rain off of me and my gear and I picked out a scene full of vertical structures – windows, walls, distant buildings, columns – and waited as other visitors to the Center walked through this little window of light. Out of perhaps a couple dozen exposures I came up with several I like including this one of a couple with umbrellas.

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: getty, center, los angeles, california, usa, museum, winter, travel, urban, art, black and white, monochrome, man, woman, couple, walk, umbrellas, folded. walk, sidewalk, railing, window, wall, stone, column, tree, garden building, architecture, reflection, flag, column, travel, rain, mist, fog, cloudy, square, stock

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Southern California

Shelter From the Rain, Getty Center

February 4, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Black and white photograph of four people sheltering from winter rain at the edge of a covered overlook at the Getty Center, Los Angeles, California.

I’ll confess to being a complete sucker for photographing at the Getty – I really love the place. The art is, of course, wonderful, and I especially enjoy the really fine photographic exhibits found there. In the recent past I saw both the Irving Penn and Edward Weston shows. But I’ve admitted more than once that the place itself is what intrigues me the most. The light is amazing and quite variable – I’ve been there on winter days when the ocean was visible and almost too bright to look at, and on rainy days when fog drifted among the buildings and through the gardens. The architecture is a great subject, but so are the people.

I was there most recently at the end of December, when we stopped on our way back from Southern California for an afternoon. My photographic interests are such that I was almost overjoyed when I saw that it would be rainy at the Getty and even happier when I found fog along the ridge top location. I posted some photographs from this visit earlier this year, and this one begins another short sequence of Getty Center images.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

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