Melrose Avenue #51: Snake Pit; Fox That

Snake Pit - Los Angeles  2015

Fox That - Los Angeles  2015

I was using an Olympus E-M10 and the 14-150mm lens. Very versatile.

Monday Dog Blogging

Farley - Los Angeles  2015

Farley, thinking.

Elvis and Marilyn

Elvis & Marilyn - Los Angeles  2015

. . . together, on Fairfax Avenue.

Melrose Avenue #50: Dr Scholl's & Dita

Dr Scholl's - Los Angeles  2015

Dita - Los Angeles  2015

Wow . . . the 50th Melrose Avenue post!

Melrose Avenue # 49 : Mannequins, Butt

Mannequins - Los Angeles  2015

Betta Butt - Los Angeles  2015

Butt billboard actually on Fairfax just south of Melrose.

Agaves

Lion, Agaves - Los Angeles  2015

Agaves - Los Angeles  2015

Top: Photo taken on a residential street near our motel.

Bottom: Taken after dark in West Hollywood.

L.A. Visit

El Taquero - Los Angeles  2015

Bougainvillea - Los Angeles  2015

Once again we stayed at a fairly low-end motel on Beverly Boulevard, mainly for its excellent location. Within walking distance of the Farmers Market and typical L.A. landscapes.

Highway 5 Sightems

Highway 5 Rest Stop - Central California  2015

Fountain at Harris Ranch - Central California  2015

Top: Rest stop right after highway 580 meets highway 5.

Bottom: Fountain at Harris Ranch. I always stop there to use the restroom.

Both photos taken during a recent trip down to L.A. using the Olympus 9-18mm wide angle zoom.

Monday Horse Blogging

Tuffy - Marin County  2015

Tuffy, patiently waiting for his horse cookie. Happy 32nd Birthday!

Backyard / Wide Angle

Backyard (Wide Angle) - Marin County  2015

Pine and maple trees . . . taken with the Olympus 9-18mm lens at 9mm (18mm equivalent) in February.

Toddler, Self-Portrait

Toddler, Self-Portrait - Marin County  2015

. . . in Fairfax.

High ISO Shots

Tree, Early Morning - Marin County  2015

Madrone - Marin County  2015

Tree, top, taken using an Olympus E-PL5 and a 45mm lens, ISO 3200.

Madrone, bottom, taken using an Olympus E-M10 with the same lens, ISO 4000.

Not half bad!

Sonoma County - 2

Funny Business (Santa Rosa) - Sonoma County  2015

Janis Joplin (Santa Rosa) - Sonoma County  2015

Some photos taken as we walked back to our car.

Sonoma County - 1

Redwood Gospel Mission (Santa Rosa) - Sonoma County  2015

Brick Wall (Santa Rosa) - Sonoma County  2015

We were up in Santa Rosa recently for a Diners' Club dinner. I took some photos using an Olympus 9-18mm wide angle zoom lens mounted on an E-PL5.

Contra Costa County - 3

Union Pacific - Contra Costa County  2015

Ship Services Boat - Contra Costa County  2015

Returning from Davis.

Monday Cow Blogging

Cows, Hills - Yolo County  2015

. . . somewhere in Yolo County, from the train.

Amtrak (Video)

Video taken using an iPhone 5s. Edited so as to appeal specifically to the 2-year old toddler demographic.

Davis - 2

Thai Restaurant Mural - Davis  2015

Nails by Tam - Davis  2015

Davis sightems.

Davis - 1

Free - Davis  2015

The train fare to Davis was - to us - surprisingly high. Close to $100 round trip, and that's the senior rate. Anyway, once in Davis (home of University of California at Davis) we walked around, ate lunch and ended up back at the train station.

Contra Costa County - 2

Refinery - Contra Costa County  2015

Refinery, Benicia Bridge - Contra Costa County  2015

Refinery photos from the train. Industrial sights here are in sharp contrast to all the tech stuff to the south.

Contra Costa County - 1

Carquinez Bridge - Contra Costa County  2015

Mahanadi Spirit - Contra Costa County  2015

The Amtrak line winds through Contra Costa County, closely following the shoreline of San Pablo Bay and affording views that you couldn't get in a car. Contra Costa County's name is Spanish for "opposite coast" because of its location opposite San Francisco. (Wikipedia.)

Amtrak

Amtrak - Yolo County  2015

Hali and Mike took a little excursion last month, traveling to Davis from Emeryville via one of the Amtrak "Capitol Corridor" trains, something they'd wanted to do for some time.

Getting to Emeryville via Highway 80, though, was extremely trying due to interminable stop and go traffic. Should have known.

Monday Pelican Blogging

Pelicans - Sausalito  2015

Taken near the Spinnaker Restaurant in Sausalito. I attribute the abundance of pelicans, gulls and seals to the presence of herring . . .seems reasonable. There were a few other viewers taking photos with their smartphones but just one "real" photographer.

Me.

Spinnaker Restaurant - Sausalito  2015

Japantown Photos

Dolls - San Francisco  2015

Kishimen - San Francisco  2015

After dinner we wandered around Japantown for a while. Alas, Kinokuniya Bookstore was closed. At least I got some pix.

Ramen

Ramen - San Francisco  2015

Kippu - San Francisco  2015

Our dining group met in San Francisco recently for some ramen in Japantown. Quite good!

Tassels (New Growth)

Tassels - Marin County  2015

Tassels - Marin County  2015

Taken in January . . . new growth in the San Geronimo Valley.

Richmond Bridge in the Fog

Sun, Gull, Bridge - Marin County  2015

Yes. Bridge is a little hard to see.

So, non-fog pix.

Golden Gate Bridge in the Rain

Cypress, Bridge, Rain - Marin County  2015

Window, Bridge, Rain - Marin County  2015

Conditions were very problematic. I used my usual rain protocol: Olympus E-PL5 with a Panasonic 20 mm lens with a rubber lens shade affixed. Ran over to this view point, pulled out the camera and took the top shot.

Compare to my earlier photo taken in the same (almost) spot.

For the photo from inside one of the Discovery Museum's buildings I used an Olympus E-M10 and an Olympus 45 mm lens.

Monday Varied Thrush Blogging

Varied Thrush - Marin County  2015

A large number of varied thrushes showed up in the neighborhood at the beginning of winter. Not just here, but also in Southern California. Very pretty birds!

The fence has been seen before. Earlier fence shot, with turkeys.

Container Ship, Bay Bridge

Container Ship, Bay Bridge - San Francisco  2015

Returning on the ferry from San Francisco to Marin County. Upon seeing this ship outside one of the windows I grabbed my camera and dashed to the back of the ferry.

That is to say, the "stern."