Tag Archives: night

Night Photography, Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Lunar Eclipse, Golden Gate Bridge

December 10, 2011 G Dan Mitchell 6 Comments

Moon, in full lunar eclipse, drops behind the Golden Bridge South Tower, San Francisco, California.

Very (very!) early this morning I joined the surprisingly large throng of photographers out to shoot the lunar eclipse in the San Francisco area. I was up and out the door shortly after 4:00 a.m. and heading toward San Francisco. My first thought was to see if I could get an interesting composition with the moon over the San Francisco skyline by shooting from Treasure Island, in the bay between the City and Oakland. I arrived there while it was still very dark and found that lots of other photographers (and a motorcycle club!) were already on the scene. The photographers included to semi-astronomy types with the really, really big lenses and plenty of others.

The problem was immediately apparent. Even though the moon was still fairly high in the sky, it was apparent that it was going to set far to the right of San Francisco. I might have been able to find a workable spot on the island, but I still wasn’t sure the moon would be in a good spot once it got close to setting. At this point I decided to try a “plan B,” and I felt that there was a pretty good idea that I could make something work in the Crissy Field area. So I hopped back in the car, passed through downtown San Francisco, and arrived at the Crissy Field area…

… only to find out that I was most certainly not the only photographer thinking of using this location! There were hundreds of tripod-lugging photographers lined up a long the shoreline! My main idea at this point was to find a location from which the setting moon would pass above and then behind the bridge. So I headed off quickly towards the area where I thought this juxtaposition might be available. Soon I found it, and just as the sky was beginning to lighten up a bit and shedding a bit of natural light on the bridge. It was still quite challenging to get even a workable shot. The wind was blowing stiffly, making the necessary long exposures a bit tricky. In the end I think I got one or two that are interesting.

A vertical format version of this scene is posted here – I still haven’t decided which I prefer!

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.

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The Nocturnes 20th Anniversary Photography Exhibit

November 3, 2011 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

The Nocturnes 20th Anniversary Photography Exhibit
Opening Reception: November 9, 2011, 6:30 – 9 p.m.
Free

Exhibit runs through December 3rd.

Harvey Milk Photo Center
50 Scott Street, Duboce Park
San Francisco, California 94117
(415) 554-9522

“In 1991, ten pioneering Bay Area photographers displayed their work as “The Nocturnes” in a curated show on night photography. Twenty years later, The Nocturnes are still having “full moon gatherings”, educating new photographers, and enjoying the camaraderie of like-minded artists that realize that some of the best photos are taken after the sun sets. This curated exhibit is a retrospective on the work of some of the most well-known night photographers as well as those just getting started.” (From the event web site.)

I’m pleased to say that two of my prints will be included in this show. If you are a San Francisco Bay Area night photographer, a fan of night (and other) photography, or happen to be visiting the area, I invite you to drop in and see some wonderful night photography by a diverse and talented group of photographers. Maybe I’ll see you at the opening reception on November 9!

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco

Seagulls, Night Sky

October 14, 2011 G Dan Mitchell 5 Comments

Seagulls fly through artificial lighting at night, San Francisco, California.

I wouldn’t mind if you speculated about how in the world I managed to get this king of lighting on a photograph of birds in flight. Let’s see, it couldn’t be on-camera flash since the light is coming from the side. Perhaps I concocted some elaborate multiple flash setup and then waited for the birds?

I’m afraid that the explanation is much more prosaic. To be honest, we were at a San Francisco Giants game on this evening. We go to Giants games for several reasons: the hope that the Giants might actually play well (not at the moment!), the great views from AT&T park, garlic fries (!)… and for me, photography. I always bring a camera and a lens, and partway through the game I usually take advantage of the upper areas of the stadium to photograph San Francisco and the Bay, often at sunset and dusk.

One more fact. Giants fans who attend games have discovered something astonishing about wildlife, namely that the sea gulls seem to be able to tell when it is the seventh inning or so. At about this point in the game, flocks of them begin to assemble over the park, circling above the field and the stands… and waiting for their chance to feast on the discarded food that is left all over the stadium. (My working theory is that they have somehow learned to associate a full stadium with the appearance of good stuff to eat about two or three hours later. They are apparently as fond of garlic fries as we are.)

So, on this evening when the gulls showed up they began to fly in and out of the stadium lighting, creating a somewhat stark and dramatic effect against the dark sky.

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Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

High Line Park, Evening

August 21, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Evening along the High Line Park as thunderstorm weather approaches, New York City.

This was a fun photograph to make and a bit of a challenge. I decided to shoot with just a 50mm prime as we walked the Highline Park in New York City, trying to keep things simple and shooting quickly and handheld. Our plan was to be there a bit more than an hour before sunset so that we could see and photograph the evening light. That didn’t quite work out…

About the time we started walking at the south end of the Highline we noticed a big electrical storm developing over the water in New Jersey. While the giant storm to our west spoiled our chances of sunset light, it created other interesting opportunities as the sky darkened. In fact, it becomes so dark an hour or so before sunset that hand held shooting was becoming difficulty, even at ISO 800, f/2 or f2.8 and as low as 1/15 second! But because there was still some light, as streetlights and other lighting came on there was still enough illumination to register the unlighted or less lighted areas – it was almost like doing night photography without the need for the tripod or the super long exposures!

This shot was handheld, probably at the lower end of the range of my ability to shoot this way, but there was enough light to still make the sky and buildings visible, yet give the appearance that the scene was largely artificially lit.

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.