Tag Archives: night

Photographs: Night, Photographs: Southern California, Photographs: Urban/Street

Porch and Door, Night

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Porch and Door, Night
The porch and entrance to an urban residence, Pasadena, California

Porch and Door, Night. Pasadena, California. January 6, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The porch and entrance to an urban residence, Pasadena, California

This is another photograph I made during the blue hour time just after sunset and before actual darkness, while walking around near downtown Pasadena, California. We started our walk in late afternoon sun, continued as the sunset came on and golden hour arrived, and continued walking on into and past dusk. Later on the walk we turned down a street lined with small, old residential units — homes, apartments, and so on.

Somehow this front door at the top of the cement steps reminded me of an earlier time, perhaps when I was a child. The architecture seems old enough to come from more or less that era. I also like the little unexpected things in the scene, some of which I wasn’t really aware of until later when I looked at the photograph: the hummingbird feeder, the watering can sitting on the porch, that odd slender “thing” to the left of the door, the slightly peeling paint, the faint suggestion of things inside the window at the right.

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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Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Southern California, Photographs: Urban/Street

Apartments, Driveway, Dusk

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Apartments, Driveway, Dusk
Security lights illuminate the driveway of an urban apartment complex, Pasadena

Apartments, Driveway, Dusk. Pasadena, California. January 6, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Security lights illuminate the driveway of an urban apartment complex, Pasadena

Landscape photographers are well away of the qualities of light during the short period leading up to sunset, and with the rapidity of the changes to that light. But something similar happens for photographers of the “urban landscape,” as well, though it tends to be most pronounced immediately after sunset rather than just before. There is a short period of perhaps a half hour or less when the ambient natural light is somewhat in balance with artificial light. During this period the natural light has diminished to the point that things appear more like night than day, but there is still enough natural light around to fill shadows and illuminate areas that are not covered by artificial light. (A bit later and the artificial lighting is virtually the only light source in most cases, and the range between light and shadow can be quite large.)

It was close to the beginning of such a time when I made this photograph of a parking lot and group of apartment buildings while walking around in Pasadena during the first week of the new year. A bit earlier and the lights either would not have been on or would not have been visible. A bit later and the foreground shadows would be completely black. It is a bit difficult to say precisely what attracted me to this scene — perhaps the bit of light spilling around the corner of the wall at left, perhaps the lovely yellowing light on the garage doors, maybe the geometry of the buildings… or perhaps the sum of all these things and more.

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.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Geese, Wetland Pond, Dusk

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Geese, Wetland Pond, Dusk
Geese depart in dusk sky above a San Joaquin Valley wetland pond

Geese, Wetland Pond, Dusk. San Joaquin Valley, California. December 26, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Geese depart in dusk sky above a San Joaquin Valley wetland pond

This photograph might be just a little bit deceptive. It looks still and quiet — and, in a sense, it is — but this time of evening can be one of great motion and sound, too. These margins of the day at dawn and dusk are when the birds “switch gears,” moving from place to place and activity to activity at the moments of light-dark transition.

But let’s go with the still and quiet notion for now. In fact, after a busy day of traveling around to find and photograph birds and related subjects, a couple of friends and I made a decision to pick this spot and stay put. We often try to second-guess the birds, but they weren’t giving us any obvious or useful hints about their plans for this evening. So we stopped, and we waited. Birds did appear, and we had at least one great assembly and fly-in not far from our location, but eventually the light faded and things slowed down and it became… still and quiet.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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

Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Urban/Street

Carousel, Night

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Carousel, Night
People sit on benches to watch a nighttime carousel in Florence, Italy

Carousel, Night. Florence/Firenze, Italy. August 27, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

People sit on benches to watch a nighttime carousel in Florence, Italy

After a week in the mountain and vineyard country between Florence and Siena, we returned to Florence for a few days before catching our flight back to the US. This was our first visit — aside from passing through to pick up a rental car on the day we arrived — and we only wished that we had left more time to explore this city, especially the old central city along the Arno River, with its narrow and curving streets and its many museums.

The weather is very warm here in August, and lots of people are out on the streets in the evening. We joined the thongs each evening and went out to late dinner and then wandered. On this evening we wandered up from the Ponte Vecchio into town and passed a small square where there was a brightly lit carousel.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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