Sunset

Trees, Grass, Sunset - Marin County  2014

Taken at the Devil's Gulch campground in SP Taylor Park in Marin County. Very pleasant day.

Kyoto Phones

Phone (Kyoto) - Japan  2014

Phone (Kyoto) - Japan  2014

I still have a great quantity of photos from our April trip!

On the Ferry

Wall Street Journal - San Francisco  2014

. . . heading into the Financial District, no doubt. Neat shot, made with an Olympus E-PL5 and a Panasonic 14-42mm lens.

Using a Tripod

Branches - Marin County  2014

Oak Tree (Glen Drive) - Marin County  2014

I took my tripod to the end of the street along with an Olympus E-PL5 camera and an Olympus 12-50mm lens.

I set the camera to a 2-second delay, turned off the image stabilization, turned the mode dial to aperture priority (f/8) and selected ISO 200. Whew!

Not bad!

Poison Oak, Fennel

Poison Oak, Oak Tree - Marin County  2014

Fennel, Clouds - Marin County  2014

Scenes from the end of our street (hand-held):

- Poison oak creeping up an oak tree.

- Fennel underneath monsoonal clouds.

Monsoonal Moisture

Fence, Clouds - Marin County  2014

Rainbow - Marin County  2014

Summer clouds here are relatively unusual, so I had to take advantage of the situation. Drove up and over White's Hill to the San Geronimo Valley, pulled over for these photos.

I used an Olympus E-PL5 and a Panasonic Lumix 14-42mm lens.

Monday Cow Blogging

Cow, Clouds - Marin County  2014

Monsoonal moisture! We got some rain with accompanying dramatic clouds. Not enough to change the drought situation though, alas.

Cow insisted on not looking at the photographer.

Jocko's

Jocko's Steak - Nipomo  2014

Jocko's Barbeque - Nipomo  2014

Jocko's in Nipomo. This is probably the third time we've eaten here, I'd guess. Oh right . . . I stopped here once for lunch on the way back to Marin from Los Angeles . . . but that doesn't count since they aren't barbecuing at lunch time.

Very thick ribeye steaks, barbecued over flaming hardwood. The chef uses a "pigtail" flipper to turn the meat; he also uses it to test for doneness. Results are excellent.

***

Something I just found out: Dorothea Lange's famous Depression-era photo, "Migrant Mother," was taken in Nipomo. Very interesting!

Jockos Exterior - Nipomo  2014

Showcase-By-The-Sea

Showcase-By-The-Sea Gallery - Pismo Beach  2014

Artwork in Window, Self Portrait - Pismo Beach  2014

Seen while wandering around Pismo Beach: art by Thomas Kinkade!

Pismo Beach #2

Volleyball - Pismo Beach  2014

Gull, Palm Trees - Pismo Beach  2014

Two more Pismo Beach sightems.

Pismo Beach #1

Ocean - Pismo Beach 2014

We scheduled an overnight stay at Pismo Beach before driving back to Marin County. Always nice!

Third Street

Ucy - Los Angeles  2014

Third Street Window - Los Angeles  2014

. . . is starting to become just a little bit trendy. A fōnuts store (baked and steamed doughnuts), a Swedish candy store, etc etc.

Alas, the Becca artwork is kind of messed up.

Fōnuts - Los Angeles  2014

Melrose Avenue #45: Taco Bear

Taco Bear - Los Angeles  2014

. . . on Melrose, with the Fairfax High School rotunda in the background.

Monday Mountain Quail Blogging

Mountain Quail - Yosemite  2014

. . . seen at the Yosemite Creek picnic area off Tioga Road. I had thought that maybe a bear would show up, hungry after hibernation, but no.

But the quail was a nice visitor.

Ansel Adams and Andy Warhol

Ansel Adams Mural - Los Angeles  1986

Andy Warhol Mural - Los Angeles  2014

Los Angeles murals twenty-eight years apart, one in 1986 and the other in 2014.

Helms Bakery

Helms Bakery Sign - Culver City  2014

. . . in Culver City. The building is now occupied by various "design"-type stores: not a bakery now, alas.

From Wikipedia:

Despite never being sold in stores, Helms baked products soon became known to millions of consumers. The Helms motto was "Daily at Your Door" and every weekday morning, from both the Culver City facility and a second Helms Bakery site in Montebello, dozens of Helms trucks, painted in a unique two-tone scheme, would leave the bakery for various parts of the Los Angeles Basin . . .

Each truck would travel through its assigned neighborhoods, with the driver periodically pulling (twice) on a large handle which sounded a distinctive whistle or stop at a house where a Helms sign, a blue placard with an "H" on it, was displayed in their windows. Customers would come out and wave the truck down, or sometimes chase the trucks to adjacent streets. Wooden drawers in the back of the truck were stocked with fresh donuts, cookies, pastries and candies, while the center section of the truck carried dozens of loaves of freshly baked bread.

However popular, the Helms method of neighborhood delivery was doomed both by the expense of sending trucks hundreds of miles each week and by the advent of the supermarket, which stocked products from other (less expensive) bakeries, which delivered once or twice each week. The Helms company ceased operations in 1969.

The part about the trucks is accurate. I know, because I used to run out to the Helms truck for donuts. They were good!

West Pico Self Portraits

Ladders, Reflections, Self-Portrait - Los Angeles  2014

Mirrors, Self-Portraits - Los Angeles  2014

While Hali was mulling over her choices in a fabric store, Mike wandered down West Pico seeking, and finding, self-portrait opportunities.

Also see these similarly-themed 2012 photos.

Highway 5

Highway 5 Palm Trees, Contrails - Central California  2014

Highway 5 Sky, Contrails - Central California  2014

We drove down to L.A. in July for a family visit.

Yes. It was hot. These photos were taken at about the midway point between the Bay Area and L.A.

Fennel

Fennel #1 - Marin County  2014

Fennel #2 - Marin County  2014

Wild fennel seen on a recent hike.

Barbara's Flowers

Begonia - Marin County  2014

Hydrangea, Stairs - Marin County  2014

. . . in her backyard garden.

Monday Marmot Blogging

Marmot - Yosemite  2014

Marmot, Truck - Yosemite  2014

Tioga Pass was open this year earlier than usual due to the drought. So Mike wanted to go up to Tuolumne Meadows and see what it's like without any of the crowds. On the way he stopped at Tenaya Lake to check out the view, only to have to chase away this marmot looking for a handout.

Buckeye, Canyon Wall

Buckeye, Canyon Wall - Yosemite  2014

I had noticed this complicated scene a number of times as I turned left onto the main road heading into Yosemite. I finally pulled over on the last morning I was there to take a photograph.

Driving Into Yosemite Valley

Cathedral Rocks, Merced River - Yosemite  2014

Bridalveil Fall - Yosemite  2014

I found a large, flat boulder jutting into the Merced River to stand on for this early morning shot of the river and Cathedral Rocks. And Bridalveil Fall was going nicely in May.

Dogwood

Dogwood, Merced River - Yosemite  2014

Not that much dogwood action this year. I was able to get this photo by standing on the Pohono Bridge looking down at the blossoms and the Merced River.

Tuolumne River Hike

Tuolumne River - Yosemite  2014

Tuolumne River - Yosemite  2014

Mike parked the truck at the Lembert Dome parking lot, then walked across the street to do a little loop hike up, across and back following the Tuolumne River. There were still a number of snowdrifts in the shade of the forest that made the going fairly difficult, plus an annoying stream crossing at the outlet from Elizabeth Lake. Still . . . it was worthwhile to end up at an eerily empty Tuolumne Meadows campground and eat lunch overlooking the river.

Snowdrift, Creek - Yosemite  2014

Olmstead Point

Half Dome from Olmstead Point - Yosemite  2014

Juniper, Granite - Yosemite  2014

Not many cars parked at Olmstead Point. Very intense light . . .almost too intense, actually.

Tenaya Creek

Tenaya Creek - Yosemite  2014

Tenaya Creek - Yosemite  2014

Mike drove into Yosemite Valley very early in order to get some pre-sunrise photos of Tenaya Creek, utilizing an Olympus OMD EM-1 mounted on a tripod. Lens used was an Olympus 14-150mm.

E-M1 on Tripod - Yosemite  2014

Monday Raven Blogging

Raven - Yosemite  2014

Mike had some leftover "free coffee" coupons from a 2012 stay at Yosemite Lodge. He got his coffee at the Yosemite Lodge cafeteria, then took it and a Svenhard's pastry that he had in his pocket to the outside patio where this very large bird was checking out the action.