Tag Archives: plants

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

Building 631, Mare Island

February 16, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 6 Comments

Building 631, with badly peeling paint and illuminated by garish artificial lighting, Mare Island Naval Ship Yard, Vallejo, California.

For some reason I often find myself down around the old power plant and in the alley next to Building 631 near the end of my nighttime shoots at Mare Island. The railroad tracks curve through this alley – though they aren’t particularly visible in this photograph – and the bizarre and garish light and grossly peeling paint on this wall seem different from many of the other subjects around here.

One of the fun things about this sort of night photography is that “white balance” is more or less impossible! This scene includes light sources ranging from some kind of bizarre blue-green lighting that I can’t identify (fluorescent?) to sodium vapor to tungsten to sky lit by the glow from Vallejo, across the bay from the island. When it comes to the right color balance… pick one! Or several! Or make one up! In the end, no matter what you choose it won’t really “look like” what you saw in the dead of night – but for me that isn’t really the object. Long-exposure night photography lets us reveal things that we cannot see with our own eyes and present them in ways that are imaginative and different from our usual reality.

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.

keywords: mare, island, naval, ship, yard, historic, vallejo, california, usa, nocturnes, night, photography, structures, building, 631, peeling, paint, wall, door, light, lamp, garish, artificial, window, road, track, sky, plants, old, abandoned, industrial, north america, conduit, boarded up, downspout, no parking, wire, perspective, convergence, stock

Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Titus Canyon

February 3, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Black and white photograph of Titus Canyon, Death Valley National Park, California.

This photograph was made on a trip to Death Valley a couple of years ago – I pulled it up recently while working on a post about photographing Death Valley at my web site. Titus Canyon is known for the lower section which is a very narrow and deep slot canyon with a road through it. The road is a spectacular drive, starting east of Death Valley near Rhyolite and Beatty, crossing the mountain range along the east side of Death Valley, descending steep canyons on the west side, passing though the very deep and narrow lower section, and finally emerging into Death Valley. I regard the route as one of the most spectacular drives that I’ve seen – though it isn’t an easy drive. You’ll want a vehicle with good ground clearance, 4WD is advised, and those unnerved by steep and winding gravel roads that sometimes pass across very exposed areas might think twice about driving it. (As of this writing, Titus Canyon has been closed by flooding during the recent southern California storms.)

This photograph was made in the lower portion of the canyon, but above the slot canyon section near where the canyon emerges into Death Valley. The mountains seen in the distance are on the other side of Death Valley and far to the west.

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.

keywords: titus, canyon, road, cliff, rocks, sky, clouds, trees, bushes, plants, desert, grapevine, mountains, landscape, scenic, travel, drive, california, usa, death valley, national park, stock, curve, rugged, desert, road

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

Shoreline, Upper Young Lake, Sunset

August 12, 2009 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

Sunset light on shoreline trees and rocks below rocky hillside above Upper Young Lake, Yosemite National Park.

This is another in the series of photographs I made on this late-July evening at Upper Young Lake, my favorite of the three in this string of Young Lakes in the Sierra Nevada back-country out of Tuolumne Meadows. This photograph was shot in the last moments before the sun, shining through a bit of smoke from a wildfire in the park, dropped below the rim of the high meadow holding the lake.

I probably could have stayed at this lake and photographed post-sunset light for another half hour beyond sunset. However, the thought of hiking in the dark down a mile-long trail that in places is more cross country than actual trail convinced me to pack up and leave shortly after this.

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: shoreline, upper, young, lake, tree, grove, forest, flora, grass, plants, flower, meadow, rock, boulder, talus, scree, cliff, bush, water, surface, reflection, ripple, pink, light, sunset, dusk, evening, yosemite, national park, california, usa, hike, backpack, wilderness, nature, landscape, sierra nevada, range, mountains, snow, stock, travel, scenic, stock, Pinus contorta, murrayana, lodgepole, pine, tamarack

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Wildlife, Photographs: Yosemite

Mule Deer, Tuolumne Meadows

July 23, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A mule deer grazing in the early evening light at Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park, California.

This California mule deer was conveniently grazing among the new wildflowers in this green meadow right next to the Tuolumne River bridge between the Tuolumne Campground and the Lembert Dome parking lot. How could I resist stopping and grabbing a few shots! When I arrived I first noticed another photographer working very close to the deer in the meadow, so I decided to shoot from the roadside rather than joining the other shooter – I didn’t want to be responsible for scaring the critter off and ruining his opportunity and mine. Eventually he retreated to a spot next to the bridge and the roadway so I slowly worked my way into a position that I thought might place some interesting light from the low sun on the deer. Most of the time the hungry deer kept its snout buried deep in the meadow plants, but every so often it would stand erect and look (and listen!) around, at which point I could squeeze off a few shots.

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: deer, mammal, wildlife, animal, nature, fur, ears, graze, evening, tuolumne, meadows, yosemite, national park, california, usa, grass, plants, face, heard, upright, alert, travel, mountains, sierra nevada, range, mule, Odocoileus hemionus

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