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| Twin Peaks - San Francisco 1989 |
Last 1989 photo post, for now. Discovered the image when I was scanning the 1989 backpack photos. Thought I should put it up, given the recent July, 2025 Twin Peaks posts.
[Full Disclosure: I replaced the sky using a relatively new Photoshop feature. The skies in many (actually, most) of the 35mm film negatives are pretty messed up with grain, scratches, dust and whatever. So I've been trying out the replacement idea. We'll see.]
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| Devils Postpile - Sierra Nevada 1989 |
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| Postpile Meadow - Sierra Nevada 1989 |
I'm guessing these were taken on the way out after the backpack. I've revisited this area several times since then . . . check out two photos taken in 2014.
Like I said, the film I was using was Kodak's Panatomic-X, a very fine grain 35mm film. Not sure about the camera though. I suspect that it was a Minolta SLR that I had purchased for its autofocus feature.
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| Clyde Minaret - Sierra Nevada 1989 |
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| Cecile Lake - Sierra Nevada 1989 |
For the main event of the trip Kay, Laura and I hiked up to Cecile Lake at the base of the Clyde Minaret, passing by Lake Ediza and Iceberg Lake.
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| Iceberg Lake - Sierra Nevada 2010 |
During the 1989 backpack we hiked up from Lake Ediza, past Iceberg Lake to Cecile Lake. I couldn't find any good photos of Iceberg Lake taken in 1989, but luckily I have the above photo taken in 2010, using a Nikon D90 DSLR.
I don't think I've ever seen any icebergs in Iceberg Lake. Charis Wilson described it thus in 1937: "there it was; a little lake with cakes of ice and snow floating over its inky water." No icebergs now though. Wonder why.
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| Pine Trees, Granite - Sierra Nevada 1989 |
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| Trees, Fallen & Standing - Sierra Nevada 1989 |
At some point I'll go through the 1989 images to see if any of them should be printed.
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| Pine Trunk, Branches - Sierra Nevada 1989 |
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| Granite Wall - Sierra Nevada 1989 |
The trail to Lake Ediza had lots of interesting visual details!
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| Cat - San Francisco 1989 |
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| Cat - San Francisco 1989 |
No animal photos taken during the 1989 backpack, alas. I'm pretty sure that I saw this creature in San Francisco, possibly in Golden Gate Park.
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| Sunset, Mt. Ritter, Banner Peak, Shadow Creek - Sierra Nevada 1989 |
1989: Kay found an excellent campsite, dry, up and away from Shadow Creek, and overlooking the famous Rain Trip Meadow. Nice location for sunset photos!
Also could be used for early morning alpenglow photos. Mike returned to the same area in 2010 to get the image below of Ritter and Banner illuminated by the rising sun.
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| Sunrise, Mt. Ritter, Banner Peak, Shadow Creek - Sierra Nevada 2010 |
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| False Hellebore - Sierra Nevada 1989 |
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| Ranger's Buttons - Sierra Nevada 1989 |
Plants seen during the backpack. Are those Ranger's Buttons? Maybe.
False Hellebore! A favorite subject of Edward Weston's and me. Below, a 2007 image taken on the Kings River.
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| False Hellebore, Kings River - Sierra Nevada 2007 |
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| Granite, Mountains - Sierra Nevada 1989 |
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| Storm Clouds - Sierra Nevada 1989 |
All backpacking photos taken using 35mm film (Panatomic-X) developed using fine grain developer. Negatives are slightly "flat." Turns out there's a limit as to how much one can boost the contrast using Photoshop.
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| Shadow Lake, Storm Clouds - Sierra Nevada 1989 |
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| Shadow Lake, Rain - Sierra Nevada 1989 |
The storm didn't last that long. Just long enough for me to get some photos of some threatening clouds and rain on the lake.
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| Kay and Laura, Lake Ediza - Sierra Nevada 1989 |
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| Laura, Kay, Hail - Sierra Nevada 1989 |
My brother Joe had been scheduled to go on the trip, but had to back out due to his old foot injury flaring up. That left his wife Kay, her friend Laura and myself as the remaining backpackers.
We left El Portal, drove through Yosemite and then down highway 395 to Mammoth Lakes. We started hiking at the Agnew Meadows trailhead and had reached Shadow Lake when one of those Sierra cloudburst storm thingies occurred.
So, this was the pre-digital era: there are gaps in the timeline where there's no photo documentation. No photos in El Portal, the drive through Yosemite and so on. Oh well.
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| Granite, Minarets - Sierra Nevada 1989 |
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| Pines, Granite, Sky - Sierra Nevada 1989 |
In the olden times I had to be very selective in choosing what negatives to print. The whole process was very time-consuming, so a lot of images never really got looked at. This was the case with the photos that I took during a 1989 backpack in the Devils Postpile area: I printed some of the negatives but had to ignore most of the photos.
Anyway, I recently got out my old 1989 negatives - still perfectly usable - and, using my Epson V700 flatbed scanner, tried to scan more images than I could have printed in 1989.
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| Rabbit (Fairfax) - Marin County 2025 |
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| Rabbit, Fence (Fairfax) - Marin County 2025 |
Seen on a regular basis a few weeks ago, hanging around the school and at the end of our street. Photos taken with a Sony RX100.
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| Poison Oak on Rock - Marin County 2025 |
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| Oak Branches - Marin County 2025 |
Last of the photos taken in Roy's Redwoods during a hike using a Nikon Z7II with a 40mm lens. I need to go back soon to get some photos of the extensive restoration work that was done down among the redwoods.
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| Corvette (Fairfax) - Marin County 2025 |
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| Rivian (Fairfax) - Marin County 2025 |
. . . seen in Fairfax during our walks.
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| Trail (Roy's Redwoods) - Marin County 2025 |
This is part of the loop trail that switchbacks up through dense forest . . . going up, it's OK at first, but then starts to become a little tedious.
Nikon Z7II, 40mm lens.
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| Poison Oak - Marin County 2025 |
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| Poison Oak Leaves - Marin County 2025 |
The trail loops around this nice patch of poison oak.
Nikon Z7II, 40mm lens.
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| Grass, Rock, Trees - Marin County 2025 |
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| Poison Oak, Madrone - Marin County 2025 |
Nikon Z7II with 40mm lens.
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| Fencepost - Marin County 2025 |
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| Fencepost, Lupin - Marin County 2025 |
Some photos taken during a recent hike we took doing the Roy's Redwoods loop trail. Took longer than we thought!
I used this opportunity to take photos using a Nikon Z7II together with a 40mm prime (non-zoom) lens. As they say, using a prime lens means zooming with your feet sometimes.
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| Heron (Abbotts Lagoon) - Point Reyes 2025 |
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| Heron (Abbotts Lagoon) - Point Reyes 2025 |
I had thought that the sun would be out on my return to the trailhead, but no, fog and mist were quickly coming back. Top: Heron seen at the lower lagoon. Bottom: mist-enshrouded view of the upper lagoon.
Nikon Z7II photos.
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| Beach, Self Portrait - Point Reyes 2025 |
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| Dunes - Point Reyes 2025 |
Once you've crossed the lagoon bridge the trail peters out into a pathless, sandy area. Does this beach area have an actual place name?
I hoped to see some interesting birds, but no, not this time.
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| Walking to Restaurant (Tokyo) - Japan 2024 |
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| Touchscreen Menu (Tokyo) - Japan 2024 |
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| Skewers (Tokyo) - Japan 2024 |
During our 2024 trip to Japan we ate at two skewer (yakitori) restaurants, one in Tokyo and one in Kyoto. However and alas, I didn't keep any record of the names of the restaurants! But I wanted to have a record of them on the blog.
Above, photos of our Tokyo restaurant that I found by doing a Google search of "skewers near me." After a short walk using our iPhones we came to a busy street, looked for the restaurant, didn't see it, walked back and forth a while before realizing that it was on an upper floor accessed via elevator. As I recall, the food was nice enough . . . we were somewhat constrained in ordering because I was still getting over my "bug." No beer!
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Below, photos taken in Kyoto. We found the restaurant by walking around our neighborhood. This time, no constraints! Beer!
The corn was unusual . . . very good. Other items were quite tasty. Like I said above, didn't get the name of the place. Note to self: keep a dining journal next time!
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| Restaurant Menu (Kyoto) - Japan 2024 |
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| Pork Belly (?) Skewer (Kyoto) - Japan 2024 |
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| Corn (Kyoto) - Japan 2024 |
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| Branch, Lower Lagoon - Point Reyes 2025 |
A Nikon Z7II shot, cropped for a wide-screen look.
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| Abbotts Lagoon (Upper) - Point Reyes 2025 |
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| Abbotts Lagoon (Upper) - Point Reyes 2025 |
After walking through some severely overgrown parts of the trail the upper lagoon came into view. Nice subdued lighting!
As I approached the bridge I noticed an egret perched on it, reminding me of the time I found several vultures doing the same.
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| Egret on Bridge - Point Reyes 2025 |
