Tag Archives: old

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

Detail, Brick Buildings

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Detail, Brick Buildings

Detail, Brick Buildings. Mare Island Naval Ship Yard, Vallejo, California. August 30, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Details of the walls, windows and roof of brick buildings at the historic Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California.

This may be the final photo in the recent Mare Island series for a while. (Or maybe not… ;-)

This photograph shows the details of some of the old brick buildings not far from the power plant. They were photographed in twilight as I was wandering around prior to beginning the real night photography work. Although it is difficult to see in this small jpg, there is some really wonderful light on the small structure atop the roof that comes from the open view towards the sunset to the west. Also a bit hard to see here – but perhaps visible in a larger print – are the puffs of fog that were just starting to blow in off of the water and which catch a bit of the reddish early evening light.

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.

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keywords: brick, wall, detail, window, roof, pipe, blinds, round, skylight, vent, distressed, old, historic, metal, frame, sill, mortar, broken, dilapidated, mare, island, naval, shipyard, minsy, building, architecture, industrial, sky, fog, cloud, evening, warm, light, angle, structure, california, vallejo, usa, stock

Photographs: Night

Dry Dock Detail, Night

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Dry Dock Detail, Night

Dry Dock Detail, Night. Mare Island Naval Ship Yard, Vallejo, California. August 30, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A portion of the wall of an old dry dock at the historic Mare Island Naval Ship Yard near Vallejoy, California is lit by garish artificial light.

Along the waterfront at historic Mare Island Naval Ship Yard in Vallejo, California runs Nimitz Street. This is the area where, if I understand correctly, ships were constructed for over a century until the closure of the facility in the 1990s. There are several large dry docks here and I’ve been trying to figure out the most effective way to photograph them at night. It isn’t easy; they are blocked off by chain link fences, there is little light down in the dry docks, and there are a number of fairly bright lights above that are difficult to control.

I don’t think I’m there yet, but I thought this photograph of the tremendously complex and busy inside wall of the dry dock, illuminated by artificial light, was interesting. (I think it might hold up better in a large print than in this small jpg since there is some much detail in the shot.)

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.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


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

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

Building 101, Night

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Building 101, Night

Building 101, Night. Mare Island Naval Ship Yard, Vallejo, California. August 30, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Night photograph under artificial light of a portion of the front of Building 101 near the core of the historic shipyard at Mare Island, Vallejo, California.

I’ve been intrigued by the windows, doors, peeling paint, grafitti, and general appearance of Building 101 at Mare Island in the past, but this was the first time that I set about to photograph it apart from the surrounding buildings. Rather that try to place it in its surroundings in this shot, I decided to just shoot it straight on with a prime lens and simply “show” the front surface of the structure as it is.

Believe it or not, the color balance of this image is “as shot” – the front of building is starkly lit by sodium vapor lamps and the right side is even more strongly lit by the same sort of lighting. The “sky” is fog covered, and the fog is illuminated by a lot of artificial light, coming for the most part here from the town of Vallejo across the water. (As I worked on this image I thought about how different it would have been had the light at the upper right corner of the building been operating!)

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.

Web: G Dan Mitchell Photography
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keywords: mare, island, naval, ship, yard, minsy, vallejo, california, night, nocturnal, photography, historic, industrial, old, historic, dilapidated, run down, defaced, grafitti, peeling, paint, metal, corrugated, window, door, frame, pipe, conduit, fence, chain, link, lamp, light, shadow, asphalt, sign, yellow, sky, peach, orange, brown, dark, pane, usa, stock, broken, glass

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

Pipes at Base of Ship Yard Tower, Night

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Pipes at Base of Ship Yard Tower, Night

Pipes at Base of Ship Yard Tower, Night. Mare Island Naval Ship Yard, Vallejo, California. August 30, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Night photography of a convoluted assemblage of pipes at the base of a ship yard construction tower at Mare Island Naval Ship Yard, Vallejo, California.

This is a closer view of some of the old and somewhat mysterious industrial equipment and structures at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California – again shot at night during my visit to this historic location on August 30. This mass of pipes and valves and wires and what not is at the base of one of the tall structures that cross the roadways around the center of the shipyard along Nimitz Avenue.

When I made this exposure I was not sure whether it would end up as black and white or color, but when I saw the intensely yellow color of the light on the painted surfaces of the metal it was, well, too much – so I have gone with the black and white rendition.

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.

Web: G Dan Mitchell Photography
Twitter: http://twitter.com/gdanmitchell
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keywords: mare, island, naval, ship, yard, minsy, vallejo, california, night, nocturnal, photography, historic, night, nocturnal, photography, black and white, monochrome, pipe, valve, wire, hose, bolt, nut, steel, tower, support, cement, concrete, block, metal, corrugated, building, wall, roof, vent, truss, base, tower, mechanical, industrial, historic, old, usa, shadwo, door, stock