Tag Archives: two

At the Front – American Velodrome Challenge

At the Front - American Velodrome Challenge

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

Two track riders at the front of the group and coming out of a turn in front of the stands – American Velodrome Challenge, Hellyer Park, San Jose, California.

I’m curious… there were quite a few other photographers at this event. Has anyone seen any other photographs from them yet?

This is yet another in the recent “motion blur photographs of bicycle track racing” series. To add one note to this series – it occurred to me today that these are a type of night photography. I do quite a bit of night photography, though it is usually the more typical tripod-based stuff. However, these images were made in lighting conditions not all that different from some of my urban night photo 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, two, rider, racer, competitor, sprint, bank, curve, turn, santa clara, county, hellyer, park, night, pack, group, peloton, american, challenge, stock

Birds and Winter Surf

Birds and Winter Surf

Birds and Winter Surf. South of San Francisco, California. January 12, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Birds congregate along a stream with winter surf and bluffs above the Pacific Coastline in the distance – south of San Francisco, California.

I frequently stop along this section of the Pacific Coast between San Francisco and Santa Cruz, in a location where the road descends to almost the level of the beach. On this winter day the low clouds and fog were backlit by the sun as large winter surf rolled in. These birds appeared to be feeding in the creek near where it entered the surf and were just starting to take to the air as I exposed this photo.

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: seascape, landscape, beach, bluff, surf, wave, pacific, ocean, coast, sand, water, reflection, bird, gull, flock, flight, creek, stream, hill, seaweed, two, people, highway, one, california, usa, fog, mist, cloud, travel, scenic, stock, black and white

Templo la Hermosa

Templo la Hermosa

Templo la Hermosa. San Jose, California. January 4, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Front doors and entrance of Templo la Hermosa de los Asembleas de Dios, San Jose, California.

Very late in the day, as the low sunlight hit the front of this rather plain brick church near the train station in down town San Jose head on, I walked past and noticed the very thick arch and old wooden doors, along with the bushes casting shadows on the front of the entry.

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: afternoon, building, california, city, county, downtown, evening, san jose, santa clara, urban, church, temple, templo, de hermosa, asembleas de dios, arch, brick, wall, steps, porch, entry, two, doors, wooden, sign, bush, plant, railing, wrought iron, usa, stock

Two Pelicans, Sunset

Two Pelicans, Sunset

Two Pelicans, Sunset. Pacific Coast, California. September 2, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two pelicans fly above the Pacific Ocean along the California coast at sunset.

I’ve posted photos from this set before, but since it has been a while I’ll share the story again. I had taken by son over to Santa Cruz, where he goes to school, and we decided to drive north up the coast in the early evening and look for photo opportunities. Although this section of the coast is always interesting, on this evening the first few places we stopped just didn’t present any obvious photographic opportunities. Finally I decided to just head for a roadside turnout that I had visited before. It is located right at the edge of the steep bluffs above the ocean, and large sea birds often fly right along the edge, apparently catching the updraft from the wind coming in off the ocean. You can see the birds coming for hundreds of yards in either direction, track them as the approach, and if you are lucky they will pass by mere feet from your position.

Making this setting more interesting and/or more challenging on this evening, the sun was setting behind a bit of off-shore fog – and as I panned to follow the birds the exposure went from fairly normal light on either side of my position to the intensely colorful and very bright light coming through the fog when I was aiming directly out to see as in this photo.

Yes, it really was this color.

keywords: pelican, two, bird, wildlife, fly, wing, sunset, fog, orange, gold, ocean, pacific, coast, light, highway, one, scenic, travel, flight, california, usa, davenport