Tag Archives: night

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Rhyolite Bank Ruins, Full Moon Light

April 29, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The light of the rising full moon illuminates the ruins of the old bank building against a star-filled sky in the ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada.

I have photographed the ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada on several occasions in the past, but always in the very early morning. (I have a habit of hitting Rhyolite before dawn, shooting as long as the light allows, visiting Beatty for cheap gas and breakfast, then heading back to Death Valley via Titus Canyon.) I have wanted to try photographing the location both at sunset and under a full moon, and the timing for both worked out on my late March visit to Death Valley National Park. Late on my second afternoon I headed east out of the Valley and over the pass and arrived at Rhyolite before sunset.

I spent some time wandering around the familiar locations in the unfamiliar late-day light. In the end, my suspicion that Rhyolite is more of an early morning location than an evening location seemed to be confirmed. At this time of year the sun sets a bit too far to the “right” as you look west, and the the light is blocked by a low hill at just the time it would otherwise become interesting. I did make some photographs of the ruins of the ghost town in the fading light… then I settled in to make a few night photographs of the tall bank building ruins.

I’m thinking of this as sort of a practice run for a return visit for more Rhyolite night photography. I think that the full moon timing has potential, but I want to try again and think more about the placement of the structures relative to the North Star. One more thing… when I arrived there was essentially no one else there. Soon a couple other photographers showed up, but the place was still relatively deserted. Then, after dark, I was surprised when a number of cars showed up. There was apparently some sort of night photography workshop visiting the place – perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised that they acted like they owned the place and that the rest of us didn’t matter. Most night photographers would know better than to drive into a shooting location with headlights blazing, and they might ask photographers who were already there if their light painting would interfere with shots underway. Just sayin’…

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.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM at 22mm
ISO 200, f/11, 432 seconds

keywords: death valley, national, park, nevada usa, north america, scenic, travel, nature, desert, full, moon, light, rising, rhyolite, ghost, town, ruins, abandoned, weathered, column, bank, building, wall, window, sky, star, trail, night, nocturnal, photography, shadow, historic, mining, stock

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Southern California

Star Trails, The Manifold, Zabriskie Point

April 1, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 7 Comments

Star trails above the Manifold, Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California.

One of my goals on my late-March trip to Death Valley was to do some night photography, in particular to take advantage of the nearly full moon near the end of my visit. Some of my plans did not quite work out – for example, on the night when I intended to do night photography of the moving rocks at the Racetrack Playa it was cloudy all night! However, on the final night of my visit the weather gods cooperated and I was able to make a few exposures from Zabriskie Point as the moon rose. As if to partially make up for messing up the intended Racetrack shots, the “cloud gods” were kind enough to provide me with a few high thin clouds at Zabriskie. This was one of those wonderful occasions when things actually did go as planned!

Anticipating the full moon at Zabriskie, I made a point of camping in the vicinity of Furnace Creek at the Texas Springs campground. (I expect that my habits mystified a few nearby campers. I drove in at about 2:00 p.m., grabbed a site and “marked” it by leaving a chair and a tarp, and almost immediately left – not returning until nearly 10:00 p.m. Then I was up and gone well before sunrise.) In any case, I headed down to the Badwater area in the late afternoon to photograph sunset light on the salt flats and evening clouds – following an impromptu “dinner” at the back of my car at the Badwater parking lot. It was getting fairly dark by the time I finished up at Badwater, so I headed straight up to Zabriskie. By the time I arrived the moon was just coming up over the mountain range to the east, with its light at times filtering through high clouds. During the hour I was there I made three exposures. With exposure times in the 8 to 12 minute range and followed by “dark frame exposures” of equal length, this was a slow and quiet process.

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.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM
ISO 200, f/8, 787 seconds (not a typo!)

keywords:

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

Brick Building, Ferry Street

March 11, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

The corner of a brick building at the intersection of Ferry and Nimitz Streets catches glow from nearby outdoor lights – Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California.

This is another photograph from my late-February night photography shoot a the historic Mare Island Naval Shipyard with The Nocturnes. The panoramic format image shows the corner of one of the brick buildings along Nimitz Avenue near the waterfront at Ferry Street. I’m almost always a sucker for old brick buildings, especially when photographed at night, but a few other things in this scene caught my attention. The right side of the building fronts that “main” roadway of Nimitz Avenue and is more brightly lit by street lights and security lights, while the left side is more in shadow and here is lit mostly by the light of the full moon. I was also intrigued by the contrast between the angular vertical and horizontal forms of the brick wall and the odd curving shape of the cable snaking up the side of the building in the center of the frame. I also noticed the glowing windows along the dark side of the building – the interior walls are picking up light coming in through the windows facing Nimitz Avenue. I also like the tiny bit of contrasting green color in the “Ferry St” sign.

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.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
ISO 200, f/11, 291 seconds

keywords: night, photography, nocturnes, brick, wall, building, structure, architecture, ferry, nimitz, street, avenue, mare, island, naval, shipyard, minsy, vallejo, california, usa, north america, wire, pipe, window, pane, glass, artificial, light, historic, sign, conduit, screen, shadow, perspective, corner, interior, light, cable, stock, panorama, panocturnist

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Textures, Photographs: Urban/Street

Dilapidated Garage, Virgil Street

March 10, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A very old and dilapidated garage with hand-painted sign along Virgil Street in the Mission District, San Francisco, California.

Believe it or not, this is street photography.

I know it looks more like scene from an old farm perhaps, featuring the worn doors of the barn or a storage shed. We can imagine that it sits along a pasture or near the farmhouse, and the bit of green might suggest unseen springtime growth nearby. But it was actually photographed in a narrow and very urban alley in San Francisco’s dense and busy Mission District. It was shot “street style” with a handheld camera equipped with only a 50mm prime as I wandered around on foot.

I had seen this garage and pair of doors many times before, and I had thought about photographing them. However the scene never quite seemed to work as a photograph. But on this day two things came together and provoked me to make a few images. First, the light was very interesting. It was a cloudy day, but occasionally the clouds would thin or almost part enough to let in brighter but still diffused light – and that is the light that I used to make this exposure. Second, the little bit of new plant growth (OK, it is a weed) lends a bit of color contrast and life to the scene.

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.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
ISO 200, f/8, 1/160 second

keywords: the, mission, san francisco, california, usa, north america, street, urban, city, district, garage, door, wall, paneling, hinge, rusty, window, brace, dilapidated, virgil, street, alley, plant, crack, parking, night, sign, peeling, paint, sidewalk, cement, geometric, form, structure, architecture, old, historic, worn, building, stock, gray

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