Tag Archives: the

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Detail, Face of The Watchman, Sunset

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Detail, Face of The Watchman, Sunset
“Detail, Face of The Watchman, Sunset ” — The last sunset light on a portion of the face of The Watchman, Zion National Park, Utah.

As this evening approached, I had a plan to be somewhere close to the Zion National Park visitor center above Springdale, where I had seen the nearly full moon rising behind the ridge near The Watchman before sunset the night before. With that timing of the moon in mind, I estimated that on this night, the moon might rise in roughly the same spot but just a bit later. In many ways, the prime time for doing photographs of the full moon is during the golden hour, when there is sufficient ambient light to permit the correct exposure for the moon. But there is no moon in this photograph – so you might wonder what the point is!

I did show up here to photograph the moon, and I did get some photographs of the moon rising over the ridge. But after making a few moon photographs, I began to scan my surroundings a bit more closely, and I saw that the line between the sunset glow and the deeper post-sunset shadows was slowly working its way up the face of the Watchman. So as light/shadow demarcation slowly moved up the face of the cliff below the summit of the Walkman Watchman (!), I turned my camera that direction and made a few exposures of the rugged rocky face as it was lit by the last light of the setting sun.

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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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco

Alcatraz Island, Dawn Sky

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Alcatraz Island, Dawn Sky
Alcatraz Island, Dawn Sky

Alcatraz Island, Dawn Sky. San Francisco, California. December 10, 2011. © Copyright 2011 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dawn light gently lights the morning clouds about San Francisco Bay haze and Alcatraz island.

After photographing the lunar eclipse over the Golden Gate Bridge – along with many hundreds of other photographers – I stuck around and turned my attention to other subjects, too. As sky began to lighten with the approaching dawn, and the eclipsed moon sank into the high clouds and generally murky atmosphere over the Pacific coast, I began to see other photographers look around and notice other elements of this urban landscape. But, surprisingly the larger number simply packed up their gear and left as soon as it became hard to see the moon!

I was quite surprised, to say the least. One one hand, it was something to see that so many photographers and other viewers had gotten up at a very early pre-dawn hour just to assemble and together watch this celestial event. On the other, once along the shore of this beautiful bay at sunrise on a mysteriously hazy morning, I’d expect that they might want to look around and try to sustain the experience. (OK, it was cold. They probably wanted coffee. And breakfast. But, still!) In any case, within a surprisingly short period of time, where people had been lined up almost tripod-to-tripod a few minutes earlier, there were few at all left to see the sunrise color come to the high clouds above the bay, here with the misty shape of Alcatraz along the horizon.

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.

Commentary, Community, Events, News, Shows

The Nocturnes 20th Anniversary Photography Exhibit

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The Nocturnes 20th Anniversary Photography Exhibit
Opening Reception: November 9, 2011, 6:30 – 9 p.m.
Free

Exhibit runs through December 3rd.

Harvey Milk Photo Center
50 Scott Street, Duboce Park
San Francisco, California 94117
(415) 554-9522

“In 1991, ten pioneering Bay Area photographers displayed their work as “The Nocturnes” in a curated show on night photography. Twenty years later, The Nocturnes are still having “full moon gatherings”, educating new photographers, and enjoying the camaraderie of like-minded artists that realize that some of the best photos are taken after the sun sets. This curated exhibit is a retrospective on the work of some of the most well-known night photographers as well as those just getting started.” (From the event web site.)

I’m pleased to say that two of my prints will be included in this show. If you are a San Francisco Bay Area night photographer, a fan of night (and other) photography, or happen to be visiting the area, I invite you to drop in and see some wonderful night photography by a diverse and talented group of photographers. Maybe I’ll see you at the opening reception on November 9!

Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

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 is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.