Tag Archives: wall

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

Green Shop Doors

May 3, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Green doors to an immense industrial shop building, Mare Island Naval Ship Yard

I’m intrigued by doorways, especially doorways painted in interesting colors, or which suggest a size different from their reality, or which hint at something beyond the doors. These doors, both the obvious small door at the left, and the larger three section doors to its right that you’ll see if you look a bit more closely, are along the front of a gigantic shop building at Mare Island. Many years ago they were, no doubt, devoted to work related to the ship construction that went on here for many decades. That work ended decades ago, the facility was decommissioned, and much of it was left vacant for a long time.

More recently things have begun to move again on the island. While some areas still lie dormant and others have succumbed to weather and vandals, many others still stand and quite a few of them are now used by small operations. Looking through the windows on this night, portions of the interior were dimly lit and it appeared that a few workers were busy inside. Incongruously, it looked like at least one computer screen glowed on a desk near a window.

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.

Photographs: Night, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Wall, After Rain, Night

April 20, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Night photograph of the walls of an industrial building reflected in a pool of rainwater, Mare Island Naval Ship Yard

Recently I returned to the Mare Island Naval Ship Yard with my friends from The Nocturnes, a group of folks who focus on night photography. The Nocturnes have been photographing there for many years and the group forms a core of San Francisco Bay Area night photographers. Mare Island has become something of a mecca for night photography in the area, to the point that you can often find photographers shooting there in the dark and so that certain images from the location have achieved an almost iconic status. I first photographed there about a decade ago, and I’ve gone back at least a couple of times each year, to the point that I now have quite a few images of the place.

Having shot there so much, the way I approach the subject has evolved. At first, like anyone else getting to know the place, I focused on the well-known shipbuilding machinery—steel towers and cranes, dry docks, and so forth. Eventually, I began to look for other subjects, and I also began to understand the patterns of the place. Shooting on a full moon night is one thing, while shooting on a completely dark night another. Clear skies bring different opportunities than clouds. (I’m still waiting for a foggy night there!) More recently there have been changes to the area lighting on the island. The lighting is part of what has made photography there so interesting. It includes a wild range of sources—sodium vapor, mercury, fluorescent, tungsten, moonlight, and more—and sometimes turns otherwise bland structures into brilliantly colorful subjects. (Or at least it did. Now the older, colorful lighting is gradually being replaced with sun-white LED lights!) The weather is a major player, and it had rained the week beforehand. Because of this I was on the lookout for puddles and pools that might reflect the images of Mare Island structures, and here I found a very large puddle right in front of the wall of this large building.

Events, Gallery, News, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

A Reprise: “Fractured Granite, Reflections”

February 28, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Fractured Granite, Reflection, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks — “Fractured Granite, Reflection” — The base of a rugged granite wall reflected in the still surface of a sub-alpine Sierra Nevada lake

Today I am reprising a photograph that I shared previously since it is part of the Yosemite Renaissance XXIX exhibit opening this weekend in the Yosemite Museum Gallery in The Valley.

An exhibition of contemporary art of Yosemite and the Sierra
Saturday, March 1 to Sunday, May 11, 2014
Yosemite Museum Gallery, Yosemite National Park

The first event of the show is tonight…

The public is invited to the
Awards Reception, Friday, February 28 from 5:30 to 7:30 PM

Perhaps I’ll see you there!

Now, to the text of the original post, plus a more recent addition…

The base of a rugged granite wall reflected in the still surface of a sub-alpine Sierra Nevada lake

A few days ago I returned from a 9-day trip into the back-country of Kings Canyon National Park. I was one of a group of four photographers who traveled to a remote location at about 11,000′, where we remained for more than five days, photographing the surrounding terrain morning and evening. We followed the common routine of such work – up before dawn and off to investigate and photograph some valley or lake, back by mid or late morning for breakfast, generally hanging out and doing camp chores during the midday period when the light is often less exciting, then back out in the late afternoon for a few more hours of exploration and photography before returning to camp for a post-sunset dinner. Unlike a typical backpack trip, where one rarely stays in the same place for long, we remained in the same camp for six nights, allowing us to really get to know the surrounding area very well.

With so much time, we were frequently able to return to places that we had already visited – perhaps coming back in the evening after a morning visit, returning to try again to catch a subject that didn’t have the right light the first time, or shooting the subject in various conditions ranging from clear skies to rain. This bit of interesting rock was next to a lake that I walked to on a number of occasions, and on this morning I arrived when the lake was still in shadow but illuminated by light reflected from nearby rock faces. Because it was so early the air was very still, allowing me to photograph this very sharp reflection of the fractured granite cliff where it entered the water. A bit of vegetation just above the waterline has taken on early fall colors.

Addendum: It occurred to me last week that there is a (perhaps tenuous?) connection between this photograph – with its theme of a vertical rock face above placid water – and this one by Ansel Adams that I had an early connection to: http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/photographs/ansel-adams-lake-precipice-frozen-lake-and-5056399-details.aspx – I have a personal connection to the place, which I wrote about here: https://gdanmitchell.com/2010/01/14/a-photograph-exposed-submerged-boulders-precipice-lake

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.

Commentary, Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Textures

Illuminated Wall Panel

February 11, 2014 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Woven wall panel photograph — “Illuminated Wall Panel” — The patterns of an illuminated and woven wall in a New York City Chinese restaurant

We had arrived in New York earlier this afternoon, taking the subway in to Manhattan from Kennedy to get to our hotel on Canal Street. The plan was to get settled there — where we would stay for the next week — and then meet up with family and friends and walk to the Chinatown district for dinner. Christmas Eve, New York City, meeting friends and family, Chinese food – what could be better?

We found the restaurant and some of our party were already there. In a city like New York I almost always carry a camera and, yes, I took one to dinner with me. Most of the photographs are of people in our group – and I won’t likely post those here. But as we sat down, across the table was a very interesting wall — wide panels of some material that looked like very thin wood were woven together and lit from behind. I thought that the pattern might make an interesting photograph, so I made a single exposure… and went back to paying attention to the party!

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G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: wall

Green Shop Doors

Wall, After Rain, Night

A Reprise: “Fractured Granite, Reflections”

Illuminated Wall Panel

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.