Apink

Apink - San Francisco  2015

Pink Memory!

Poster seen in San Francisco's Japantown. Jeez. I wonder if tickets are still available?

(A K-Pop group, you know.)

Garden Decor (Horses)

Horses - Marin County  2015

Cute weather-beaten horse sculpture (?) in the back yard.

Taken with the Sony RX100 II. Probably the last photo from the Sony that I'll post. As I've said, it's been returned (now replaced with a Canon G5X). Took nice enough photos.

Redwoods, Maple Leaves (Cold Hike)

Redwoods, Maple Leaves - Marin County  2015

Taken during a bitterly cold morning hike that Hali, Hanna and Mike took last November.

We went up the trail, over the bridge, up the other side, and under a fallen tree to get to this view. Then of course we turned around and went down the trail, under the tree, over the bridge and down the other side and then back to the car.

Wow!

Going for Hike - Marin County  2015

Monday Dog Blogging

Dog, Truck - San Francisco  2015

King Street, south of Market.

Big, and I mean big, construction going on in the neighborhood . . . gigantic apartment complexes everywhere you turn. One can only imagine what the traffic will be like next year.

Ferries, Sunrise

Ferries, Sunrise - Marin County  2015

I had to park the car, grab the camera and run over to the pedestrian overpass over Sir Francis Drake Boulevard. This is a two photo shot combined using Photoshop.

Rain

Mexican Sage, Rain - Marin County  2015

Maple, Rain - Marin County  2015

It's been raining pretty regularly here, but still under normal. Starting to come up, though.

Japantown Xmas

Xmas Window (Japantown) - San Francisco  2015

. . . in San Francisco. Very minimalist.

Happy Holidays!

Takoyaki

Takoyaki (Japantown) - San Francisco  2015

Yum. Taken during a recent visit to Japantown in San Francisco.

Tree (Canon G5X)

Tree - Marin County  2015

As a continuation of yesterday's post I'm putting up a (backlit) photo taken with the Canon G5X shot at 800 ISO.

Tree Shadows, Buildings (Sony RX100 II / Canon G5X)

Tree Shadows, Leaves, House (Sony RX100 II) - Marin County  2015

Tree Shadows, Leaves, Building (Canon G5X) - Marin County  2015

I've been looking for a replacement for my Canon G12. I liked it a lot, but I wanted to be able to shoot HD for my - infrequent - videos. I tried using a Nikon P7800, but the write time when taking RAW images is way too long.

So I got, and used for a time, the Sony RX100 II, which has gotten excellent reviews. And it was good! But it turned out that the ergonomics weren't suitable for my particular needs. It was a little too small and slippery to use successfully one-handed. So it got returned.

In the meantime the Canon G5X was recently introduced. Not that many reviews were out yet, but camera specifications were impressive enough that I bought one. So far, so good! Looks like a keeper . . . I'll have to do a full pros and cons post at some point.

(Interesting. I'm not at all intrigued by any other Canon products: DSLRs, printers, etc. But I quite like their smaller cameras.)

[Update: DPReview recently published their review.]

Monday Fell Pony Blogging

Catori (Fell Pony) - Marin County  2015

Catori (Fell Pony) - Marin County  2015

Catori, a fell pony, two paddocks over from Tuffy.

Truckee

Food Shop, Mountains (Truckee) - Sierra Nevada  2015

Shed, RR Tracks (Truckee) - Sierra Nevada  2015

Mike has always liked Truckee . . . and other high-altitude towns. The light seems more intense, somehow. We had a nice visit!

In spite of Mike's lingering cold.

Aspens

Aspens - Sierra Nevada  2015

Mike had hoped to be able to photograph some fall aspen color. Alas, he was too late for that, but as it turned out the bare aspen branches were nice enough on their own.

Plumas-Eureka State Park #3

Mining Structure - Sierra Nevada  2015

Wood Siding - Sierra Nevada  2015

The main attraction in the collection of old mining structures had to be this fairly large building, which looked to be right on the verge of falling over. Many "Danger, Do Not Enter" signs around.

Plumas-Eureka State Park #2

Assay Office - Sierra Nevada  2015

Mining Equipment - Sierra Nevada  2015

In the event, we found that the snow had covered the ground to the extent that we couldn't really do any kind of a hike. Instead, we explored the old mining structures adjacent to the parking lot.

Plumas-Eureka State Park #1

Roof, Siding, Snow - Sierra Nevada  2015

Tracks in Snow - Sierra Nevada  2015

We wanted to visit this state park to try and get in a little walk/hike. But as we drove west from Graeagle the snow patches became more frequent, and by the time we arrived at the Visitor Center (closed for the season) the parking lot was covered in snow. But ruts in the snow (now filled with ice) indicated that others had been there before us. I cautiously eased Hali's trusty Highlander onto the snow, drove over to a dry patch and parked. No problem!

Graeagle

Graeagle Sign - Sierra Nevada  2015

Graeagle Store - Sierra Nevada  2015

Blink and you might miss it. Hidden away, though, are high-end golf courses and pricey resorts.

Monday Cat Blogging

Stable Cat - Marin County  2015

Stable cat. Very soft 'n fluffy.

Sierra Fields

Field - Sierra Nevada  2015

Highway 89, Shadow - Sierra Nevada  2015

This section of the Sierra Nevada lacks the granite crags seen to the south. We don't know if these fields were forested at one time or not. Taken on a drive we took north of Truckee on highway 89 to the obscure little resort town of Graeagle. (Pron. Gray Eagle.)

[Update: I've since heard that the fields are somehow connected to past glacier activity. Maybe.]

Golf Course, Frost

Golf Course, Snow (Truckee) - Sierra Nevada  2015

Frost, Taillight (Truckee) - Sierra Nevada  2015

Our motel was next to a golf course randomly covered by thin blankets of snow. The next morning the taillight on our car had intricate filigrees of frost.

Winterized Plants

Winterized Plant (Truckee) - Sierra Nevada  2015

Winterized Plants (Truckee) - Sierra Nevada  2015

We were puzzled by these ubiquitous wrapped plants . . . some kind of conceptual art?

No, they've been "winterized," bundled up to protect against the coming winter.

Truckee Overnighter

Snow in Corner - Truckee  2015

Pine Cones Outside Window - Truckee  2015

We spent two nights in Truckee at the Best Western. It had snowed recently (not a lot) so there was little traces of snow here and there.

Sierra Nevada Snow Shed

Snow Shed - Sierra Nevada  2015

Snow shed on the mountain, seen from the Donner Lake scenic overlook.

Vacaville Outlets

Spirit Night - Vacaville  2015

Xmas Sweater - Vacaville   2015

We stopped at the Vacaville Outlet stores on the way to a two-night stay at Truckee last month.

Monday Gull & Black Crowned Night Heron Blogging

Gull, Black Crowned Night Heron - Sausalito  2015

. . . sharing the fountain in Sausalito's Vina del Mar park.

Autumn

Poison Oak Leaves - Marin County  2015

Red Leaves - Marin County  2015

Autumn in Marin.

San Francisco Event, 1998

White Uniforms - San Francisco  1998

Sidewalk Closed - San Francisco  1998

I'm thinking these two photos were taken at the same event. Can't remember what event it was, though. Clue: sign on booth (upper right) says "Welcome Race Fans."

Cindy's

Cindy's (Coalinga) - Central California  1997

In Coalinga, just past the oil fields. Another one from the 90s.

Marin County Civic Center #3

Courtroom Floor, P.M. - Marin County  2015

Just after 5 PM.

Marin County Civic Center #2

Civic Center #3 (Outside Courtyard) - Marin County  2015

Civic Center #4 (Shadows) - Marin County  2015

iPhone photos.

Marin County Civic Center #1

Civic Center #1 - Marin County  2015

Civic Center #2 (Ficus Tree) - Marin County  2015

As I've said, the only thing good about pulling jury duty in Marin is that you get to wander around the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Civic Center.

I was called for jury duty last month. Didn't get selected, however.

I used an Olympus wide-angle zoom for the above photos.

Monday Flamingo Blogging

Flamingo (San Francisco Zoo) - San Francisco  2015

Taken at the San Francisco Zoo.