Tag Archives: track

Ship Yard Towers and Fog, Night

Ship Yard Towers and Fog, Night

Ship Yard Towers and Fog, Night. Mare Island Naval Ship Yard, Vallejo, California. August 30, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Night photograph of tall ship yard towers and old buildings backed by glowing fog at the historic Mare Island Naval Ship Yard, Vallejo, California.

OK, I lied. I do have more photographs from my late-August night photography shoot at the historic Mare Island Naval Ship Yard in Vallejo, California.

This one includes the view up Nimitz Street past the main ship building area and the includes the huge overhead structures apparently used to move equipment from the shops to the dry docks and the waterfront. The scene is backed by the strange glow of the ground light sources illuminating the high fog coming in from the San Francisco Bay.

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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keywords: mare, island, naval, ship, yard, minsy, vallejo, california, night, nocturnal, photography, historic. brick, building, shop, window, door, roof, gable, smoke, stack, fog, cloud, overcast, glow, diffuse, rust, decay, old, dilipadated, steel, tower, structure, industrial, equipment, truss, steps, stairs, nimitz, street, road, rail, track, railroad, sky, metal, quonset, building, urban, stock

Towers, Mare Island Naval Ship Yard

Towers, Mare Island Naval Ship Yard

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

Shipyard towers and other structures against a background of fog illuminated by artifical light along Nimitz Street, Mare Island Naval Ship Yard, Vallejo, California.

Another “ship building towers at Mare Island in the dark” photograph. Indeed. This was one of the last photographs I made during my recent late August visit to this historic site to do night photography. By this time the fog was really moving in and covering much of the sky – and with long exposures the overcast picks up the light from all around and diffuses it in some pretty interesting ways.

The location of this shot is near the museum in the core of the old ship-building area along Nimitz Street next to the waterfront. The large structure was, from what I understand, used to move very large components to the ships in dry dock or at the waterfront. The railroad tracks in the foreground run along much of Nimitz Street and you can see some of the towering cranes along the waterfront beyond.

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, nimitz, street, track, rail, railroad, tower, gantry, structure, truss, steel, industrial, equipment, building, asphalt, manhole, cover, lights, fog, clouds, shadow, artificial, light, glow, usa, stock

Paceline – American Velodrome Challenge

Paceline - American Velodrome Challenge

Paceline – American Velodrome Challenge. Hellyer Park Velodrome, San Jose, California. June 26, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The pack is strung out as the pace increases in a bicycle track race at the American Velodrome Challenge, Hellyer Park, San Jose, California.

The paceline in the late stages of a miss-and-out race at the American Velodrome Challenge at the Hellyer Park Velodrome in San Jose, California. Yes, another “blurry bike racers” shot! And it won’t be the last.

I was having great fun shooting this series. There are a few tricks that I use to make this work. Before I make the exposure I decide where in the frame I want the relatively focused rider to be – in this case I wanted him closest to me on the right side of the frame. I selected a single autofocus point on the camera and made it the one furthest to the right from the center. I used the AI servo mode on my Canon 5D II since it continuously adjust the AF and since it attempts to predict the position of moving objects, thus tending to keep them in focus… as long as you can manage to keep the AF point on the target as it moves by very fast and very close. So the trick was to begin to follow the riders around the far end of the turn that you can see at top left, and then to work carefully to keep this AF point on the lead rider – not as easy as you might think – while also keeping a watch on the positions of the other riders. Making this even more “fun” is the fact that I had absolutely no control over what the riders would actually do when they came around. Sometimes a rider might come up the bank and block my shot; sometimes a single rider might be too far separated from the others to make the composition I had in mind. Generally – but not quite always – I shoot anyway, and I’m more than willing to admit that there is a certain element of luck in making this work.

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: bike, bicycle, racing, track, velodrome, national, professional, san jose, california, usa, pack, group, peloton, rider, racer, competitor, participant, cyclist, biker, helmet, red, blue, orange, white, blur, motion, speed, santa clara, county, night, stock

Three Sprinters, Women’s Keirin – American Velodrome Challenge

Three Sprinters, Women's Keirin - American Velodrome Challenge

Three Sprinters, Women’s Keirin – American Velodrome Challenge. Hellyer Park Velodrome, San Jose, California. June 26, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Three sprinters round a turn in the final sprint of a women’s keirin race at the American Velodrome Challenge, Hellyer Park Velodrome, San Jose, California.

In this photograph the three lead riders in a preliminary heat of the women’s keirin race event round the second to last turn and crank up their speed with just more than half of a lap remaining before the finish line.

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: bike, bicycle, racing, track, velodrome, national, professional, san jose, california, usa, women, racer, rider, competitor, sprint, national, shadow, yellow, turn, curve, speed, helmet, challenge, stock