Tag Archives: old

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Rusted Gate and Concrete Wall, Battery 129

July 25, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Rusted gate against a weathered concrete wall at the entrance to a tunnel at Battery 129, Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

At the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge, Conzelman Road leads up into the Marin Headlands along the San Francisco Bay side of the ridge. This road is a favorite place for overlooking the Golden Gate and its famous bridge along with a large expanse of San Francisco and its Bay and points east. In mid-July the road was not accessible from the usual spot near the end of the bridge, so I detoured around towards the “back entrance” via the road to Rodeo Beach. From this road I turned up into the hills and joined Conzelman near its summit. I made a few foggy photographs of the Bay, but my main interest was in trying to find photographs in the old batteries and other abandoned military facilities along the ridge running out toward Point Bonita.

At the summit of the hill, before the road becomes very narrow and many people turn back, is “Battery 129.” There are several tunnels into this facility from alongside the road and a separate route leads up the hill to the old structures on the summit. I took one of the two tunnels under the hill and as I entered the second section I saw this old metal gate against a weathered concrete wall, illuminated by light leaking in from the end of the tunnel.

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Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco

Pier, San Francisco Waterfront, Morning

July 13, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

An old pier along the San Francisco Bay waterfront, morning light.

When I take the train to San Francisco early on summer mornings, it is frequently the case that the sun is out as I walk along the Embarcadero waterfront, and the light greats a bright glowing atmosphere as the haze and light fog above the bay are backlit. It can be almost too bright to look at. Often the buildings of the east bay and the cranes of the Port of Oakland are faintly visible on the horizon, as they are in this photograph. There is actually a range of east bay mountains above these structures, but they are not quite visible through the glowing atmosphere in this photograph.

The Embarcadero, the road that runs along the waterfront of the bay on the east side of The City, is lined with many old piers. They range from those that have been restored and turned into tourist areas (think of Pier 39 with its souvenir shops), others that house businesses and even a museum or two, some that are primarily parking areas, and a few others that have been left to rot in the sun. In some ways, those in the latter group are the most interesting to photograph, though there are fewer of them now that the value of this waterfront real estate has once again been recognized. Originally, this was a working port with passenger and freight ships. Now most of that business has gone across the bay to Oakland. However, today the bay front properties are probably more valuable for other purposes anyway.

I have photographed this particular pier before, but this time I liked the very bright sky, barely visible structures across the bay, and the morning light that is just hitting the left side of the buildings on the pier.

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

Saint Patrick’s Church

July 10, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Black and white photograph of walls, windows, and roof lines of the side of Saint Patrick’s Church, San Francisco.

I don’t know the full history of this church in downtown San Francisco, but I do know that it is visually interesting. It has the appearance of an old cathedral, with the emphasis on old. Parts of the structure appear to be made of reinforced concrete, parts of brick, and a few sections of newer construction. Bits and pieces of all of that appear in this photograph, with some rather old and weathered materials in much of the structure, but with a much more modern-looking outbuilding at lower right.

While there is a large park (Yerba Buena Park) right across the street, much of the other surrounding architecture is quite modern for the most part. Most striking is the deep blue cubic structure of the Contemporary Jewish Museum right next door, but all around much taller and vastly more modern buildings are found. (Some of the light filling the shadows in this photograph is reflected from those buildings.)

I think that this photograph has a lot in common with a number of my photographs of mountains, especially the Sierra Nevada. In fact, I don’t think it is too hard to find parallels to some of the recent photographs of Mount Conness towering above the shorter Polly, Pywiack, and Medlicott Domes near Tenaya Lake along Tioga Pass Road.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Lodgepole Pine, Evening Shadows

May 29, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The evening shadow cast by a nearby high ridge approaches a lone lodgepole pine and an old snag near Tioga Pass, Yosemite National Park.

One of my favorite kinds of light is that found at the edges of shadows from higher peaks as they move across lower terrain. (A secret: Among other “tricks,” I like to find and follow these margins when I shoot in Yosemite Valley, too.) Because this light most often happens during the relatively early and late hours of the day, the color quality of the light tends to be warm and the angle low. As the patterns of light and shadow move across the landscape, individual elements may get picked out the light and can often be isolated against darker backgrounds, as in this photograph.

The Sierra is full of trees pretty much like this one, and such meadows with the isolated small and large trees and scattered boulders are not hard to find. This particular tree is in one of the extensive meadow areas in the general area of Tioga Pass. The photograph was made in the very late afternoon as the tall ridge to the west was blocking the sun.

Despite the still and tranquil nature of the scene, this is an example of a sort of shot that reveals the wrongness of the idea that all landscape is done slowly and methodically and with all the time in the world to work. Sometimes that is the case, but when you work the margins of shadows (or many similar dynamic subjects) there may only be brief seconds when the light is where you want it. An observer might find it humorous to watch the photographer run to get into position and then work very quickly.

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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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Tag Archives: old

Rusted Gate and Concrete Wall, Battery 129

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Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.

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Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.