Here we’ve got a shot of the construction on the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge as shot from Treasure Island with the port of Oakland in the background.
Tag: Night
The Span
The Bay Bridge connecting Oakland and San Francisco is actually a pair of bridges, resting for a moment on the island of Yerba Buena. Attached to Yerba Buena is the ironically-named Treasure Island, a man-made island composed entirely of fill. From there, photographing either the East Bay or San Francisco itself works out quite nicely. Today’s shot of the western span of the bridge has a bit of the unlit Yerba Buena outcropping on the left and the hyperintense lights of AT&T Park (home of the SF Giants) under the bridge. On this particularly clear night, I was thrilled to be able to capture it all without a thick slathering of fog.
Oxford Research
Today, I’m posting another photograph of UC Berkeley’s greenhouses at their Oxford Research station. This area has a bizarre mix of well-maintained, modern facilities along with others that look as though they haven’t been touched since the 1960’s. The vibe reminds me a bit of certain levels in Portal 2. More than anything, it’s amazing that I was able to stand around in the parking lot of this fascinating place for 20 minutes taking photos.
The Neighbors
I’ve always loved the little details of a gorgeous house–the tiny trim pieces, or the leaded glass windows. This particular shot reminded me of playing in the yard as a child. In the winter time, the sun set before dinner, so when the time came to head in, the house had this unearthly blue glow that made the warm light from inside so much more inviting.
The Glowing Greenhouse
UC Berkeley has an enormous number of greenhouses just to the west of their main campus. The glow from inside them at night fit nicely with the streetlights reflecting off the low cloud cover on this particular night.
Stanley Hall at Night
This is another shot from the same night as the previously referenced environmental calamity (read: massive diesel spill) this time of ground zero. The iridescent facade looks interesting in the low light.
Trellis Shelter
These little alcoves on Berkeley’s campus are apparently great places to study. At night, in particular, their lighting makes for some fairly spectacular effects. This is the same area where Brendan found that great shot of the chessboard yesterday, and I thought it might be nice to show a broader view, too.
Chess Board at Night
My favorite part of this shot has got to be the contrast between the stone wall in the background and the brightly illuminated foliage just behind the table, providing an interesting backdrop for the aging wooden chairs and table.
Rear Window
Different types of lighting (e.g. incandescent, fluorescent, sodium vapor, mercury vapor…) produce light of different colors. Though that’s pretty common knowledge, mixing lighting types in one picture can have striking effects and add color to scenes that might be drab in daylight. I say, “scene,” because this picture strikes me as a bit cinematographic–or perhaps even like the set of a play. I can just imagine Sharks and Jets preparing to rumble around the corner…
Berkeley’s North Gate at Night (And Happy New Year!)
Here’s a shot where the power of HDR photography is really evident. We have regions, like the street lights and the lights on top of the gate, which are over-illuminated and other regions, like the trees and the texture of the gate pillars themselves, which are under-illuminated but when you apply some tone-mapping you get a great image where you bring out the cool lighting while still picking up the cool little details.
Christmas Purple
Though the suburbs can be an ugly place, at times, there’s no time when they become more attractive than the Holiday season. I was particularly fascinated by the way the individual red, blue, green, and yellow lights in the front porch of this house blended together to dye the whole scene violet. It speaks to the spectroscopic subtleties of Christmas lights that a similar display in the adjacent house produces very different results.
Sather Tower
It may be a bit trite but any photo blog based in Berkeley should probably have a picture of one of the most prominent structures on campus. I’ve always admired the way the Campanile is illuminated at night, making it seem much less isolated than it is in fact.
Doe Memorial Library
I really like this shot I took of Cal’s Doe library which makes the big north reading room seem so warm and inviting.
Bowles Hall, a.k.a. California Hogwarts
UC Berkeley’s Bowles Hall holds the distinction of being the oldest dormitory on campus, and probably the most durable; despite a huge variety of attempts to dismantle it or convert it to other purposes, the hall and its fraternity-esque traditions remain.
Designed by George Kelham, it also happens to be one of the most beautiful buildings on Berkeley’s campus. I’m a particularly huge fan of California Gothic and the way concrete is used in place of stone to similar, but cleaner, effect. The ability of HDR tone mapping to capture that texture without losing the detail in the windows is a great demonstration of the technique for a practical, as well as artistic, purpose.
Brand New Building
I recently had a chance to shoot the new Li Ka Shing Center. Brand-new buildings are so free of the dirt and grime endemic of everything else in a city; they always have this surreal quality, like something from a video game. I was particularly entranced by the texture of the sheathing laid over the densglass that comprises the building’s shell.
Decaseconds 