Tag Archives: stark

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Colin P. Kelley

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Colin P. Kelley
Stark light on an old building on Colin P. Kelly Street, San Francisco

Colin P. Kelley. San Francisco, California. August 14, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Stark light on an old building on Colin P. Kelly Street, San Francisco

Most often when I go out to make photographs I do not have extremely specific ideas about my subject or even about how I will photograph the subjects I encounter. Usually, and especially with street photography, it is more a matter of tuning in to my surroundings and essentially hunting, conspiring to be in places where I think I might find interesting things, paying attention, and being ready to take advantage of whatever opportunities arise. On the other hand, I often do have some general ideas about the sorts of things that might interest me, and on my way to this morning on San Francisco streets I had specifically thought about a sort of image that might be black and white and which might use rather stark light a bit later in the morning — so when I saw this building on a corner near the train station I didn’t hesitate to photograph it.

What about the name of this photograph? It was simply a practical matter. I usually do not like to name photographs in ways that tell the viewer how to think of the photograph — most often I feel that if the photograph has anything to say to the viewer, the viewer should be allowed to figure that out from the visual content. (Yes, there are some exceptions.) So in this case the choice to use the words on the street sign near the right side of the frame was simply a practical decision… especially since I forgot to look for any other name on the building! However, I did wonder who Colin P. Kelley is/was. Most likely the street is named after a man known for being “one of the first American heroes of the war [who sacrificed] his own life to save his crew” in World War II. (There are lots of interesting little San Francisco streets with unusual and surprising naming histories like this.)

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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Ridge Above Tucki Wash, Dawn

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Ridge Above Tucki Wash, Dawn - First dawn light on a stratified ridge above Tucki Wash along the base of the Panamint Range, Death Valley National Park.
First dawn light on a stratified ridge above Tucki Wash along the base of the Panamint Range, Death Valley National Park.

Ridge Above Tucki Wash, Dawn. Death Valley National Park, California. January 5, 2012. © Copyright 2011 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

First dawn light on a stratified ridge above Tucki Wash along the base of the Panamint Range, Death Valley National Park.

I spent a good portion of the week following New Year’s Day in Death Valley National Park. My goals were to earlier in the seasons when the days were shorter and more “good light” was available, to perhaps encounter cloudy skies from a passing weather system or two, and to both shoot some new subjects and shoot some familiar ones in somewhat different ways. I think that I succeeded with most of these goals, though those storm front clouds were elusive. (This is a very strange and troubling season for California weather. At a time when the Sierra are usually covered in winter snows… all of the high trans-Sierra passes are still open, and the east side of the range looks pretty much like it might normally look in, say, July.)

On one morning I decided to visit a favorite overlook high in the Panamint Range very early in the morning. I’ve shot here a number of times in the past, but always late in the day during sunset and dusk hours. While getting up an hour and a half before dawn to drive to such a place is always a bit of a challenge, at least the sunrise isn’t quite as early at this time of year. On the other hand, it is colder! (Those unfamiliar with the Death Valley seasons may think of it as an entirely hot and dry place, but it gets quite cold there this time of year.) When I got up the temperature down in the Valley at my camp site at Stovepipe Wells was in the thirties. Surprisingly, the temperature rose into the low fifties as I ascended into the mountains, and when I reached my goal at a bit above 6000′ it was no colder than the Valley at this hour.

I arrived before dawn, but just as the pre-dawn light show was beginning. On this morning I had perhaps the best clouds of the entire trip, and they lit up shortly after I arrived and got my equipment ready. (Photos of that moment will likely come a bit later.) As the sun finally rose above the horizon the interesting light began to work its way down, starting with the higher peaks and then descending past the lower ridges to finally reach the Valley itself. This photograph shows the first light striking an unnamed (as far as I’ve been able to determine) spur ridge the projects eastward into the Valley from the massive bulk of Tucki Mountain. In the far distance are the low mountains and washes along the far side of the Valley, and the are also just beginning to pick up the first light.

Shooting in these rapidly evolving conditions that are not entirely predictable is more of an action sport than a sedate and contemplative experience, at least during the first minutes of light as it works its way across and down the landscape, often surprising me by showing up in places I had not thought to look. At one point I had photographed the cloud-filled sky but lamented a bit that the mountains below that shot were a bit dark and drab. I look away for a moment and when I looked back this intense and saturate light had hit those very mountains… so I turned and quickly began to photograph them.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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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.

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Abandoned Mining Cabin Ruins, Panamint Range

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Abandoned Mining Cabin Ruins, Panamint Range
Abandoned Mining Cabin Ruins, Panamint Range

Abandoned Mining Cabin Ruins, Panamint Range. Death Valley National Park, California. March 29, 2011. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of the ruins of an abandoned mining cabin high in the Panamint Mountain Range of Death Valley National Park.

There are a number of things that make Death Valley National Park, to the best of my knowledge, rather unique. One is the extensive history of human habitation inside the park boundaries, quite a bit of which is visible –  though some takes a bit more effort and attention to spot. The history of mining in the park is well-known, and many of the icons of the park have connections to this history. If you visit Furnace Creek, for example, you cannot miss the displays of old wagons and so forth used to move ore out of the Valley. It doesn’t take a lot of careful study to figure out that many park roads originated in an era of prospecting and mining. There are several well-known examples of structures left over from that era in and around the park, too.

It is largely because of this history that many areas of this national park are (or have been – some are now reverting to wilderness status) accessible by gravel road or four-wheel-drive routes. I would argue that you can’t really get to know this park if you just stick to the paved roads and the points of interest that they access. If you drive any of these other routes and keep your eyes open you will often be surprised by the left overs from relatively recent mining and prospecting, much of which isn’t really written about or described in the usual guides to the park. (And I’m not going to offer specific details about where to find such places here, since I don’t want to be even a little bit responsible for damage to them. If you do visit, treat them with care and respect.)

As I drove along a gravel road in one of the many mountain ranges of the park, returning from a site that is somewhat well-known, I began to notice evidence of fairly recent mining and prospecting. Faint tracks depart from the main “road” and cross valleys and hills, here and there tailing piles and mine entrances are visible, and sometimes you come across old structures such as cabins, storage bunkers, or wooden towers above mine entrances. I spotted the ruins of this old cabin above the road at one point and decided to walk up and investigate.

I’m almost always surprised at how “modern” many of the traces found at these places seem to be. I guess I am expecting something from the 1800s, but quite a few of these places look like they were build and occupied much later than that. I find modern things like linoleum flooring or modern-looking nails or electrical wire in many of them. There obviously isn’t much left of this cabin now, but from the detritus lying around near it and the form and materials found here, it must have been a reasonably comfortable place to live. As I walk around such places I often try to imagine what it must have been like to wake up every morning in this silent desert and head out for another day of physical labor.

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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.

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Morning Sky Reflected in Desert Stream

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Morning Sky Reflected in Desert Stream
Morning Sky Reflected in Desert Stream

Morning Sky Reflected in Desert Stream. Death Valley National Park, California. February 21, 2011. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of water from a salt spring reflecting cloudy morning sky above Death Valley.

Moments before I made this stark and, I think, desolate photograph of the shallow stream from a salt spring flowing slowly over the flats of Death Valley and reflecting the light from morning clouds, the Panamint Range mountains at the left side of the frame had been briefly lit by colorful sunrise light. But this light lasted only a couple minutes and shortly everything went largely gray.

The patterns of the very shallow and slowly flowing water as they spread out across the flats and reflected the light from the cloud filled sky intrigued me as soon as I arrived at this location. But before I made this photograph I had taken a different approach, positioning the camera down very low and very close to the water so that its reflective surface filled a larger portion of the frame and then lining things up to catch the first light on the Panamints and its reflection. But when that passed so quickly, it seemed like the flat and gray effect could also make an interesting photograph. When I made the exposure I wasn’t quite certain, but I think I was leaning towards a black and white rendition of the scene. Frankly, there wasn’t a lot of color to work with! The sky was mostly clouded over, though there was a hint of faded blue in a few spots. Any color in the Panamints was muted by the distance and haze. The mud is essentially gray and white (where salt has formed) and the water held less color than the sky!

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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.