Tag Archives: yellow

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert

Flowers at Dawn, Death Valley Dunes

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Flowers at Dawn, Death Valley Dunes

Flowers at Dawn, Death Valley Dunes. Death Valley National Park, California. April 4, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Wildflowers in dawn light at the Death Valley Dunes with the Funeral Mountains in the distance. Photographed more or less behind the main dunes near Stovepipe Wells.

I had hiked out “behind” the dunes before sunrise, starting a bit closer to Stovepipe Wells than many may. This affords an easier route the the part of the higher part of the dunes, crossing a more level route rather than slogging across the waves of sand. The sun rose just as I came around behind the dunes.

keywords: flowers, wildflowers, yellow, blossoms, sand, dunes, death valley, national park, california, usa, nature, landscape, travel, scenic, morning, dawn, light, plants, funeral, mountains, stock

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Spring Oak Leaves

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Spring Oak Leaves
Spring Oak Leaves. Calero Hills, California. March 8, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Some people might say I shouldn’t admit it, but there was an element of serendipity – actually, I made a mistake – in this photograph. (Some who imagine that all photographs should coalesce in the photographer’s mind in their final form before the shutter is clicked won’t want to hear about this.) I was working with a long lens and wide aperture to narrow the depth of field. My plan was to shoot the colorful foliage in the foreground and throw everything beyond out of focus. I set up, let the camera autofocus… and it focused on the “wrong” branches – the branches that are in focus in this shot. “Wait a minute,” I thought, “I kind of like the way that looks!” Instead of an in-focus foreground with everything else OOF, the middle ground is in focus and objects closer and farther away are OOF. It ended up being my favorite version of this scene; I like it more than the shot I was planning on.

keywords: spring, oak, tree, branches, leaves, bright, colorful, yellow, green, calero, santa clara, county, park, california, usa, nature, stock, landscape, morning

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Urban/Street

Building 65 and Alley, Night – Mare Island Naval Shipyard

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Building 65 and Alley, Night. Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California. March 22, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Building 65 lit by garish sodium vapor lamps, with a dark alley in the background and stars above.

This photo prompts me to post something about night photography and color that I’ve been thinking about for awhile. A scene like this one is lit by a variety of light sources – some natural light from moon and sky, tungsten lights, sodium vapor lights, and a gentle wash of mixed light sources from a nearby city. A question might be: “How do you accurately render the lighting of the scene?” My answer is, “You don’t.” Even if you could achieve an “accurate” rendering it would look nothing like what your night vision affected eyes “saw” since your eyes do not see the same way the camera does.

For me, one of the fun things about night photography – especially when artificial light sources are part of the scene – is that I can render to colors in whatever way makes the most sense for me.

photo, photography, building, 65, alley, fence, windows, sodium vapor, light, brick, road, night, nocturnal, blinds, wires, pipes, industrial, urban, star, trails, sky, trees, reflections, yellow, blue, mare island, naval shipyard, vallejo, california, historic, stock

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

Yellow Poles

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Yellow Poles
Yellow Poles. Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California. March 22, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A barrier of yellow metal poles around transformer boxes under garish artificial light at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California.

I thought I had finished photographing on the night of this shoot with a group of photographers from The Nocturnes. As I was about to pack up, on a whim I decided to wander around the other side of the Quonset building seen in the photograph, and I found this interesting arrangement of transformer boxes and poles illuminated by some of the most stark and garish light I had seen that night.

keywords: night, photography, nocturnal, yellow, poles, transformers, concrete, slab, block, building, structure, quonset, hut, shadows, blue, light, dark, mare island, naval shipyard, historic, vallejo, california, usa, industrial, urban, equipment, electrical