Tag Archives: nocturnal

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Shipyard Structure and Star Trails

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Scaffold and Star Trails

Shipyard Structure and Star Trails. Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California. February 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Shipyard scaffolding illuminated by artificial light and moonlight with star trails – Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California.

One more night photograph from Mare Island, this one being the last frame I exposed before my shutter went to shutter heaven. (Well, actually it went to the Canon Factory Service Center a day later…) This was shot with the camera pointing almost straight up, with the north star just outside the frame at the lower right, and the star trails rotating around that position. The illumination is from a combination of light from the nearly-full moon and nearby artificial lighting – and a very long exposure. I don’t understand exactly how this massive steel structure was used, but it is part of the shipbuilding facilities at the historic Mare Island Naval Ship Yard. These structures tower over the old shops and other buildings at the facility.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: shipyard, structure, equipment, truss, steel, beam, scaffold, overhead, above, sky, night, star, trails, yellow, blue, moon, light, artificial, mare island, naval shipyard, minsy, vallejo, california, usa, historic, bay area, nocturnes, nocturnal, photography, stock

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

Building 65 and Alley, Night – Mare Island Naval Shipyard

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Building 65 and Alley, Night. Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California. March 22, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Building 65 lit by garish sodium vapor lamps, with a dark alley in the background and stars above.

This photo prompts me to post something about night photography and color that I’ve been thinking about for awhile. A scene like this one is lit by a variety of light sources – some natural light from moon and sky, tungsten lights, sodium vapor lights, and a gentle wash of mixed light sources from a nearby city. A question might be: “How do you accurately render the lighting of the scene?” My answer is, “You don’t.” Even if you could achieve an “accurate” rendering it would look nothing like what your night vision affected eyes “saw” since your eyes do not see the same way the camera does.

For me, one of the fun things about night photography – especially when artificial light sources are part of the scene – is that I can render to colors in whatever way makes the most sense for me.

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Mare Island Chimney and Buildings, Night

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Mare Island Chimney and Buildings, Night
Mare Island Chimney and Buildings, Night. Mare Island Naval Shipyard. March 22, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white night photograph of the smokestack and industrial buildings at Mare Island Naval Shipyard. While I usually shoot this subject in color, I like the stark quality of this one in black and white, along with the way that the monochrome rendition emphasizes the forms of the buildings.

keywords: black and white, photograph, mare island, naval, shipyard, MINSY, industrial, shops, factory, street, tracks, fences, quonset, hut, building, brick, wooden, windows, night, sky, nocturnal, stars, trails, historic, vallejo, california, usa, travel, stock

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

Yellow Poles

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Yellow Poles
Yellow Poles. Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California. March 22, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A barrier of yellow metal poles around transformer boxes under garish artificial light at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California.

I thought I had finished photographing on the night of this shoot with a group of photographers from The Nocturnes. As I was about to pack up, on a whim I decided to wander around the other side of the Quonset building seen in the photograph, and I found this interesting arrangement of transformer boxes and poles illuminated by some of the most stark and garish light I had seen that night.

keywords: night, photography, nocturnal, yellow, poles, transformers, concrete, slab, block, building, structure, quonset, hut, shadows, blue, light, dark, mare island, naval shipyard, historic, vallejo, california, usa, industrial, urban, equipment, electrical