Tag Archives: ship

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

Brick Wall and Fence, Railroad Avenue

2 Comments
Brick Wall and Fence, Railroad Avenue
Brick Wall and Fence, Railroad Avenue

Brick Wall and Fence, Railroad Avenue. Mare Island Naval Ship Yard, Vallejo, California. February 6, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of a night scene on Railroad Avenue at Mare Island Naval Ship Yard with cyclone fence, brick wall, pipes and tank, window, and speed limit sign.

I was thinking about the Panocturnists group when I made this photograph at the Mare Island Naval Ship Yard during the first weekend of February. The location is in many ways pretty mundane – one of the first areas that most first-time Mare Island night photographers shoot near the entrance to the so-called “historic core” of the site, and nothing that would warrant a second look during daylight hours. Not surprisingly, most photographers here are initially attracted to a nearby turnstile or to the massive steel structures overhead. I’ve shot here enough now that, while I’ll still shoot those subjects, I usually look for less-obvious subjects that I may not have tried previously. So while some new folks photographed right behind me I decided to see what I could do with the street light-illuminated fence, wall, and collection of pipes in this corner. (And, as the long exposure was underway I was able to help out the first-timers… :-)

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.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

keywords: mare, island, naval, ship, yard, vallejo, california, usa, san francisco, bay, area, 30, mph, speed, limit, sign, pole, cyclone, fence, crosswalk, sidewalk, street, brick, wall, building, structure, industrial, window, shadow, pipe, tank, wire, night, photography, the, nocturnes, nocturnal, black and white, monochrome, panorama, historic, stock, panocturnes

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

Brick Wall and Windows, Reflection

Leave a comment
Brick Wall and Windows, Reflection
Brick Wall and Windows, Reflection

Brick Wall and Windows, Reflection. Mare Island Naval Ship Yard, Vallejo, California. February 6, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Night photography of structures in the “historic core” of the Mare Island Naval Ship Yard with reflection in a rain puddle – Vallejo, California.

A few times each year I have the pleasure of photographing at the Mare Island Naval Ship Yard with The Nocturnes, the San Francisco Bay Area night photography group founded my Tim Baskerville and now an important resource for information about night photography, night photography workshops, and fine night photography. During the first weekend of February I joined a small group for a visit to “the dark side” at Mare Island. In contrast to typical shoots there, this time there was no moon. However, since it had rained earlier in the day the clearing clouds and left-over reflecting puddles provided special conditions that aren’t usually available.

This scene is probably familiar to almost anyone who has shot at Mare Island. The brick wall and windows belong to the museum located in the “historic core” of the facility at the corner of 8th and Nimitz, where the huge overhead structures were used to move heavy equipment and parts to the ship construction area along the waterfront.

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.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

keywords: mare, island, naval, ship, yard, historic, vallejo, california, usa, historic, site, 8th, street, nimitz, avenue, night, photography, nocturnal, the, nocturnes, window, frame, brick, wall, museum, building, architecture, scaffold, crane, sky, cloud, water, rain, puddle, pool, reflection, sidewalk, railroad, tracks, stop, sign, asphalt, urban, industrial, old, stock, san francisco, bay, area

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco

Morning Winter Haze, San Francisco Bay

Leave a comment
Morning Winter Haze, San Francisco Bay
Morning Winter Haze, San Francisco Bay

Morning Winter Haze, San Francisco Bay. Marin Headlands, California. December 18, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Thin winter low fog and haze over Alcatraz, Yerba Buena, and Treasure Islands and the Bay Bridge, San Francisco Bay, California.

Depending upon time of day, time of year, and the luck of the weather, the view of the Golden Gate and San Francisco Bay can vary from crystal clear with seemingly-saturated colors to completely socked in by fogs and clouds. On winter mornings (and on the right day during other times of the year) a general haze and fog that is not the more familiar coastal fog can lie over the Bay. It reduces the intensity of the colors and the contrast of the scene and if you watch long enough various landmarks gradually come into view and then may drift out of view again.

On this December morning these were exactly the conditions. Central Valley tule fog was spilling its moist and hazy air though the delta and creating this bluish haze over the Bay. I made this and a series of related photographs from the Marin Headlands above the Golden Gate.

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.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

keywords: california, usa, travel, scenic, san francisco, bay, area, golden, gate, national, recreation, area, park, stock, alcatraz, treasure, yerba buena, island, oakland, bay bridge, boat, ship, haze, fog, clouds, mist, water, east, hills, sky, morning, glue, berkeley, scenic, travel, landscape, urban, stock

Commentary

Building 101, Corner View

Leave a comment
Building 101, Corner View

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

The corner of building 101 under artificial light and with fog overhead – Mare Island Naval Ship Yard, Vallejo, California.

Like I said, I guess I’m not finished with this series yet.

This is the same Building 101 that I photographed from several different perspectives late in the evening of my August 30 visit to the historic Mare Island Naval Ship Yard in Vallejo, California to do night photography with some other Flickr folks. The other photographs of Building 101 are straight on and explore various portions of the front of the building. For this one I shot straight at the corner of the building instead, for several reasons. For one, I wanted to include the different types of light striking the two visible sides of the building. Almost all of the light is artificial aside from a bit of moonlight, but the light striking the right side comes from a very close and bright – and very yellow! – sodium vapor light. It was all I could do to handle the saturated yellows on this wall. The front of the building is lit by lights that are a bit weaker, though they only appear less garish by comparison to the almost hallucinatory yellow light on the right side. Above this are some interesting converging angles of roof and walls and overhead the fog glows in the artificial light from sources below.

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
Friendfeed: http://friendfeed.com/gdanmitchell
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gdanmitchell

keywords: mare, island, naval, ship, yard, minsy, vallejo, california, night, nocturnal, photography, historic, building, structure, 101, yellow, artificial, light, bright, window, door, roof, pipe, wire, metal, texture, rust, peeling, dilapidated, old, worn, out, shadow, reflection, grafitti, paint, urban, industrial, lamp, fog, overcast, sky, glow, stock