Tag Archives: structure

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Abandoned Building, Night

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Abandoned Building, Night

Abandoned Building, Night. Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California. March 8, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An abandoned building photographed under artificial light at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California.

This is another photograph from the early March visit to historic Mare Island Naval Shipyard with The Nocturnes for a round of (almost) full moon night photography. I’m not actually sure what this building is or was. I just happened to look up a deserted alley while walking down Nimitz Avenue, and I saw  it lit up by lurid sodium vapor lighting. For that reason the colors of the original photograph are a bit much. I had to make some subjective decisions about how to best tone them down. The brightly lit area at the lower left of the building was almost blown out in the red channel from this wild light. I decided to keep a bit of the yellowish tone but reduce it to a more “normal” looking level.

This highlights one thing I enjoy about working with night photography images made in the presence of artificial light. The whole notion of “accurate” is fairly meaningless. First, you almost never make a final photograph that is as dark as the scene actually was – in truth, you cannot “see” a scene like this at night in the way a camera can. Once you realize this, concerns about coming up with  “accurate” color rendition seem sort of pointless – and I just use my judgment and work toward a rendition that seems right to me.

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: mare island, naval, shipyard, minsy, night, photography, nocturnes, vallejo, california, usa, abandoned, industrial, structure, building, window, door, perspective, sky, steps, ladder, wire, railing, distressed, old, architecture, artificial, light, urban, historic, shadow

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Reflection, Building B-150

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Reflection, Building B-150

Reflection, Building B-150. Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California. March 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Night reflection of building B-150 in a rainwater puddle at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California.

This is a more or less a photograph that I had thought about for the past year or so. On a previous visit to Mare Island Naval Shipyard I attempted another photograph using this little rainwater pool to create reflections, but that photograph was not really a success. (It included a different subject, some old trucks and trailers parked nearby.) In any case, as odd as it may sound, a visit to this little puddle was on my agenda for the early March night photography shoot at Mare Island with The Nocturnes, and after I had shot in the more central area of the historic site I wandered down Nimitz Avenue toward this spot where I found “Building B-150” nicely reflected in the water and illuminated by nearby artificial 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.

keywords: mare island, naval, shipyard, minsy, night, photography, nocturnes, vallejo, california, usa, minsy, reflection, water, puddle, rain, building, structure, architecture, b-150, metal, light, artificial, street, asphalt, pavement, fence, sky, nocturnal, historic, nimitz, avenue

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Shipyard Structure and Star Trails

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Scaffold and Star Trails

Shipyard Structure and Star Trails. Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California. February 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Shipyard scaffolding illuminated by artificial light and moonlight with star trails – Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California.

One more night photograph from Mare Island, this one being the last frame I exposed before my shutter went to shutter heaven. (Well, actually it went to the Canon Factory Service Center a day later…) This was shot with the camera pointing almost straight up, with the north star just outside the frame at the lower right, and the star trails rotating around that position. The illumination is from a combination of light from the nearly-full moon and nearby artificial lighting – and a very long exposure. I don’t understand exactly how this massive steel structure was used, but it is part of the shipbuilding facilities at the historic Mare Island Naval Ship Yard. These structures tower over the old shops and other buildings at the facility.

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: shipyard, structure, equipment, truss, steel, beam, scaffold, overhead, above, sky, night, star, trails, yellow, blue, moon, light, artificial, mare island, naval shipyard, minsy, vallejo, california, usa, historic, bay area, nocturnes, nocturnal, photography, stock

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Mare Island Buildings With Moon Shadows

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Mare Island Buildings With Moon Shadows

Mare Island Buildings With Moon Shadows. Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California. February 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Shadows from moonlight passing through shipyard structures fall across walls on historic buildings at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California.

I have shot almost this precise scene previously, and under similar circumstances – on a night photography shoot with The Nocturnes, the SF Bay Area night photography group led by Tim Baskerville. Last night we were back at Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY) again, this time with perhaps 40 photographers.

After meeting up with everyone and getting organized, I wandered over near the MINSY museum to shoot some brick walls, shipyard structures, and – especially – the shadows cast by the nearly full moon on the ground and the building walls. It was to be a short shoot…

I composed this one with interest in the paired shadows on the walls – one on the green section and the other higher on the brick section – and the contrast between the brick colors and the green wall at the right. I also wanted to include the metal roof beyond and the power plant smokestack in the distance – and, of course, a few star trails above – and I was (and am) intrigued by the combinations of vertical, horizontal, and diagonal forms. I made this first exposure – nearly five minutes – and then set up a second shot while waiting for the dark frame exposure to finish.

After getting the second shot I framed another that included a different section of the brick wall and shadows plus the base of a huge steel shipyard structure. With everything ready I pressed the shutter… and something didn’t sound right. The camera didn’t make an exposure. I tried again – still nothing. At this point I checked the display and found the Canon “err 99” message that can crop up from time to time. The usual solution is to remove the battery, the lens, and perhaps the CF card and then try again – it almost always works. This time it didn’t. I tried a different lens. A different battery. I finally determined that something had gone very wrong with the shutter mechanism, which simply wasn’t opening. Argghhh. So, after making two exposures I packed up, walked back to my car and did the 90 minute drive back home.

Today I put the 5D a box and shipped it off to Canon. We’ll see what happens. I’m sort of inclined to get a 5D II and keep this body for backup after it is repaired. But wouldn’t you know it… while bodies were available last week from several vendors for about $2700, they all seem to be gone now. Double argghhh…

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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