Tag Archives: night

An Old Pier, Night

An Old Pier, Night
Night photograph of the pilings of an old pier reflected in still water.

An Old Pier, Night. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Night photograph of the pilings of an old pier reflected in still water.

Photographed a few years ago at night in very dim lighting, these old pilings under a ship yard pier were reflected in the smooth water, made even smoother by the effects of a long exposure. You can tell that this structure has been here for some time.

The location is at an old ship yard in the San Francisco Bay, a place where naval ships were built and maintained for may decades — actually, since way back in the 1800s. The place was decommissioned in the 1990s and its character has changed since that time, though you can still find some remarkable historical structures if you poke around and get to know the place a bit.


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 and Amazon.

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Shop Windows, Night

Shop Windows, Night
Lights left on for the night in a shop at the Mare Island Naval Ship Yard.

Shop Windows, Night. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Lights left on for the night in a shop at the Mare Island Naval Ship Yard.

Returning to this photograph a bit more than eight years after I made it, I no longer recall the specifics of the scene — the nature of the work done in this shop, its exact location, why the lights were still on late at night. I can say that I photographed it at a place where I have photographed a lot over the past 15+ year. During those years I have watched the location change from an abandoned ship yard (which is still its predominant quality) to a place where some of the old buildings have been reclaimed by new tenants. (One impressive old abandoned building is now… a distillery!)

I’m often intrigued by what we can and cannot see when we look through the windows of places like this. I know that there must be a small world in this room, where people work together daily on some kind of productive activity, where they share the language of their professions, and were many of the things I see through the window have meaning that I cannot understand.


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 and Amazon.

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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Souvenir Shop, Vienna

Souvenir Shop, Vienna
Night photograph of a souvenir shop in Vienna, Austria

Souvenir Shop, Vienna. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Night photograph of a souvenir shop in Vienna, Austria.

We had plans — still do, sort of — to go back to Europe later this year. At the moment, while we have not cancelled anything yet, it is looking more and more likely that those plans will end up being cancelled. At least I can plow back into my raw file archive from previous trips and go there vicariously for now!

Almost two years ago we were on the road, mostly in Europe, for seven weeks in the summer. We spent a few days in New York City before flying to London for a very short visit. From there we did a large loop through The Netherlands, Germany, and France. Along the way we made four-day stops in several cities, saw three Wagner operas at the Bayreuth Festival, and then met up with family at a big place we rented not far outside of Paris. This photograph comes from our visit to Vienna, and on this evening I went out with a small camera and one lens to photograph the night scene.


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 and Amazon.

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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Closing Time

Closing Time
A woman places boards over the windows of a business at night.

Closing Time. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A woman places boards over the windows of a business at night.

It has been a while since I’ve done one of these night photography shoots in San Francisco. A few years ago a group of us would get together once per year or so in the late afternoon, photograph in early evening light, typically go somewhere for dinner, and then head back out to photograph at night. We frequently ended up in Chinatown, perhaps because the lights and narrower streets are conducive to photography after dark.

This photograph comes from one of those excursions back in 2015. Since around that time — perhaps a few years earlier — it occurred to me that since I live close to San Francisco and regularly visit New York that I could do a little project around photographing in Chinatown districts of both cities. They are both fascinating places, both draw tourists (though in different ways), and both have a non-tourist life that is even more fascinating. (I see this photograph a bit differently in the wake of the pandemic.)


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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | FacebookEmail

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.


All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.