Tag Archives: boat

Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Morning Light, Venice

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Morning Light, Venice
Morning light on a canal and buildings in Venice, Italy.

Morning Light, Venice. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Morning light on a canal and buildings in Venice, Italy.

This week I began sharing landscape photographs from California once again, including recent work from a late-summer visit to areas just east of Yosemite. But I’m not done with the Europe photographs yet — not by a long shot! There will be more of the nature photography, but today I’m back in… Italy, Venice to be specific.

Venice is a complex place. It is city that is quite crowded with tourists, especially during the summer months when we visited. (It is possible to escape the worst of that by being selective about where you stay, where you go, and the times of day when you wander.) I was out in the morning on this day, and there were hardly any other people. There’s a lot going on in this little composition — a bridge and a boat, of course, but also a building showing the impact of rising water in this old city, and some surprising shapes on some of the walls. There is also some wonderful low-angle light that reminded me of what I find in the red rock canyon country of Utah.

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” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Departing The Golden Gate

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Departing The Golden Gate
A ship and barge head out off the Golden Gate and into a Pacific Ocean sunset.

Departing The Golden Gate. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A ship and barge head out off the Golden Gate and into a Pacific Ocean sunset.

Oddly, so many photographs seem to have a different and unexpected context in this time of social distancing and relative confinement to our homes and neighborhoods. Some photographers are moving to photographs of things in or around their homes. (I’ve done a bit of that, too.) Some are reaching back into their image archives to discover photographs that they/we had left behind. And a few are ignoring the guidelines and heading out into the field… or else taking advantage of the loosening of restrictions as the new announcements come out. (I’m hoping for a bit of that soon, too!)

Although the evening of this photograph was eight years ago, I recall it fairly well. I had been photographing somewhere else north of the Golden Gate. I started back home in the late afternoon, pausing in this area before crossing the bridge to San Francisco — the timing was fortuitously right to be here at sunset. It was an evening of beautiful sky, with bands of clouds stretching to the horizon as a ship and barge headed out into the ocean.

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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.

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

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Night, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

San Francisco Waterfront, Night

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San Francisco Waterfront, Night
Downtown San Francisco waterfront at dusk.

San Francisco Waterfront, Night. San Francisco, California. April 30, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Downtown San Francisco waterfront at dusk.

I made this photograph on a lovely, slow, spring evening in San Francisco, where I had gone to meet up with a small group of street photographers. First I joined them for dinner in Chinatown, and then we all headed out to do some photography. While I usually do street photography completely on my own, relishing the ability to move fast from place to place or stay put for long periods of time, it is enjoyable to work with others at times, too. Several folks in the group were interested in the waterfront where downtown San Francisco meets the bay, so we headed that way first, and eventually everyone ended up on a popular pedestrian pier with good views back towards the City.

A few years ago I realized that the image quality and high ISO capabilities of very small digital cameras was making it entirely possible to go out into the street and do handheld photography after dark. Before that time my night photography was almost invariably the long-exposure type, with the camera on a tripod and exposure times measured in minutes rather than fractions of seconds. Then, during a weeklong visit to New York, it hit me that I could push things enough to shoot night, and I was immediately hooked. So when I found myself in front of this subject, one that would typically be a tripod-only subject, I thought I’d give it a try even though I was traveling very light — one small camera, one prime lens, no tripod. And even in this late dusk light it turned out to be quite possible.

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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

Crew Members, Staten Island Ferry

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Crew Members, Staten Island Ferry
Two crew members against a railing in morning light on the Staten Island Ferry, New York, City

Crew Members, Staten Island Ferry. New York City. October 7, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two crew members against a railing in morning light on the Staten Island Ferry, New York, City

The photograph is something I grabbed while riding the Staten Island Ferry from Manhattan to the island. It is almost a bit embarrassing to admit this in retrospect, but I made the photograph while the whole family was on the ferry on the way to the wedding of our youngest son. They hired an actual wedding photographer — there were two of them, actually — but, of course, I could not leave my camera behind. I had been making a lot of informal photographs of the wedding party when I saw these two guys against the orange-painted steel of the ferry.

Technically the photograph was a little bit tricky. Not only were parts of the scene in deep shadow, but the two figures were backlit and the sunlight on the urban landscape beyond was extremely bright. I exposed to (barely!) keep a bit of detail in those bright areas, planning to bring the shadow details back in post. Amazingly, it worked! :-)

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” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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