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Commentary

High Line Park, Evening

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High Line Park, Evening
High Line Park, Evening

High Line Park, Evening. New York City. August 19, 2011. © Copyright 2011 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Evening along the High Line Park as thunderstorm weather approaches, New York City.

This was a fun photograph to make and a bit of a challenge. I decided to shoot with just a 50mm prime as we walked the Highline Park in New York City, trying to keep things simple and shooting quickly and handheld. Our plan was to be there a bit more than an hour before sunset so that we could see and photograph the evening light. That didn’t quite work out…

About the time we started walking at the south end of the Highline we noticed a big electrical storm developing over the water in New Jersey. While the giant storm to our west spoiled our chances of sunset light, it created other interesting opportunities as the sky darkened. In fact, it becomes so dark an hour or so before sunset that hand held shooting was becoming difficulty, even at ISO 800, f/2 or f2.8 and as low as 1/15 second! But because there was still some light, as streetlights and other lighting came on there was still enough illumination to register the unlighted or less lighted areas – it was almost like doing night photography without the need for the tripod or the super long exposures!

This shot was handheld, probably at the lower end of the range of my ability to shoot this way, but there was enough light to still make the sky and buildings visible, yet give the appearance that the scene was largely artificially lit.

G Dan Mitchell Photography
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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.

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Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Breakwater, San Francisco Bay

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Breakwater, San Francisco Bay
Breakwater, San Francisco Bay

Breakwater, San Francisco Bay. San Francisco, California. July 8, 2011. © Copyright 2011 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Anchored ship and ship yard cranes of the port of Oakland beyond a breakwater, San Francisco Bay.

I made this photograph on one of my summertime San Francisco visits on which I head up there on the train very early in the morning, and then I walk wherever my nose leads me, making photographs. On this visit I left the train station and ended up crossing a bridge to the inlet behind AT&T park, sometimes called “McCovey Cove.” From along the far side of this inlet I could see across the San Francisco Bay to the towering cranes at the port of Oakland. They were backed by a fog bank that completely obscured the city of Oakland and all but the very tops of the East Bay Hills.

This morning light coming across the Bay can be very special. As it often shines through the moisture laden air over the water and sometimes through clearing fog, it can take on a luminous glow and can even be almost too bright to look at. This was that sort of morning, so I let the sky exposure go as close to white as I could and still retain some sense of the thick air. The dark object at the left is a concrete breakwater outside the entrance to South Beach Harbor.

G Dan Mitchell Photography
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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.

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Commentary, Events, Shows

Night Photography Exhibit: Mare Island Nocturnes

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“Mare Island Nocturnes,” an exhibit of night photography done at the iconic Mare Island Naval Ship Yard and featuring the work of  San Francisco Bay Area night photographers opened today on Mare Island. The exhibit is sponsored by The Nocturnes and the Mare Island Historic Park Foundation, and is part of the year-long celebration of the 20th year of The Nocturnes, the influential San Francisco Bay Area night photography group.

Yellow Buildings, Shadows, Moving Clouds
Yellow Buildings, Shadows, Moving Clouds

Yellow Buildings, Shadows, Moving Clouds. Mare Island Naval Ship Yard, California. February 26, 2011. © Copyright 2011 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The Mare Island Naval Ship Yard is a remarkable historical and visual treasure. The place was the major west coast ship yard for the Navy since early in the 1800s, and was decommissioned in the 1990s. While portions of the island have been and continue to be “redeveloped,” the historic core of historic ship yard buildings remains. This area has been a favorite of night photographers for some years and a lot of wonderful photographic work has emerged from this subject. I have photographed there many times during the past five years or so.

The exhibit runs through September 15 at the Mare Island Historic Park Foundation Museum, 1100 Railroad Avenue, Mare Island – see the flyer below for specific days and times of viewing.

The reception for the artists is on Sunday, August 14 from 2:00-4:00 p.m. Five of my prints are in the show, including “Yellow Buildings, Shadows, Moving Clouds,” the image shown above. I’ll be at the reception – hope to see you there!

Press release follows:

"Mare Island Nocturnes" Night Photography Exhibit Press Release
"Mare Island Nocturnes" Night Photography Exhibit Press Release

G Dan Mitchell Photography
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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.

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Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: People, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Stairs, Person Walking

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Stairs, Person Walking
Stairs, Person Walking

Stairs, Person Walking. San Francisco, California. July 15, 2011. © Copyright 2011 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A person walks past the bottom of a stairway along Stockton Street, San Francisco.

When I posted a color version of this photograph a week or so ago I mentioned that there was also a black and white version – and that I was up in the air about which I prefer. I’m still not certain, though I’m leaning more towards this monochrome version. While there are some aspects of the subtle colorations in the other version that I am hesitant to give up, I think that the angles and forms and masses of dark and light may be more the focus in this version.

Since I told the story on the original post I’ll keep it short here. I was in the Stockton Street area of Chinatown in the morning and had crossed the “bridge” at the termination of a dead end alley that sits above Stockton. There were two stairways down to the street level where Stockton emerges from a short tunnel. As I went down the stairs I thought that the angles and the light in the stairwell looked interesting as forms and was working out a composition or two when the figure walked through the frame and I reacted quickly to make a photo that is quite a bit different from what I was thinking of when I started.

G Dan Mitchell Photography
About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

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.

(Basic EXIF data may be available by “mousing over” large images in posts. Leave a comment if you want to know more.)