Monday Rabbit Blogging

Rabbit - Point Reyes  2017

Sometimes I call them rabbits, sometimes I call them bunnies. Taken during my morning walk down to the beach.

The creature was hanging around the campsites and obviously considered humans to be a non-issue.

Devils Gulch - 1

Bay Trunks - Marin County  2017

Bay Leaves - Marin County  2017

. . . is located in S.P. Taylor State Park. Hali camps there with her group around two times per year.

During a visit to the campground I brought my Olympus E-M10 along with a lightweight tripod for some more HDR experiments. Didn't use Photoshop, as I had done earlier, instead relying on the in-camera program to generate an HDR JPEG.

So I guess that the results are good, but you have to use a tripod. And we know what I think about tripods.

New iPhone

Flower Pot - Marin County  2017

Flowers - Marin County  2017

Didn't want to do it, but I hadda. Hadda I say.

Got an iPhone 7 Plus . . . the one with two lenses on the back. Above showing the same scene taken with the wide lens (top) and the narrow lens (bottom).

Point Reyes, Bear Valley Trail

Ferns - Point Reyes  2017

Photo from an earlier hike that Hali and I did on the Bear Valley trail. I set the ISO on my Olympus E-M10 to 400 and relied on the "in-body image stabilization" (IBIS) to allow the usage of slow shutter speeds. I used 1/5th second for the above.

Point Reyes, Early Morning

Stream, Ocean - Point Reyes  2017

Ocean - Point Reyes  2017

After an uneasy night's sleep (I had lost some tent pegs in the wind incident, so the tent kept flapping in the gradually decreasing wind) I got up and wandered down to the beach. No wind!

I searched some more for the missing iPhone, but no luck. I finally packed up and hiked on out, stopping at the ranger station to report my sad tale of woe.

Wind Incident

Stream, Ocean - Point Reyes  2017

Campsite, Jacket on Ground - Point Reyes  2017

I was looking right at it when it happened. I had arrived at the campground, set up the tent and taken a little rest. I was outside reading when a sudden gust of wind hit the campsite and inflated the tent like a wind sock, pulling it out of its stakes and flipping it up and over onto a extensive patch of blackberry, Queen Anne's Lace and poison oak. Jumping up I managed to grab the tent, lift it up and relocate it to more protected ground.

Then I saw that my jacket and clothes sack had been dumped out and were laying on top of the vegetation. Using my tripod I cautiously waded into the thicket and retrieved them.

It wasn't until after some time had passed that I remembered that my iPhone 6s Plus had also been in the tent. Yikes. A quick panic search revealed that unfortunately it was nowhere to be found. Alas, more extensive probing of the underbrush with the tripod was unsuccessful as well. How annoying!

Later that afternoon I ventured down to the beach but was driven back by the wind-blown sand. Not quite as bad as Death Valley, but still.

Looking for iPhone - Point Reyes  2017

Point Reyes Backpack

Point Reyes Backpack, June, 2017 from Mike Mundy on Vimeo.


Last month's (short) backpack. It was windy!

Monday Hawk and Crow Blogging

Hawk, Crow - Point Reyes  2017

Hawk being harassed by a crow. The crow was much more maneuverable than the hawk, who eventually retreated lower down into a tree. Seen while I was camping at Coast Camp.

I used an Olympus E-M10 with a 75-300mm zoom lens.

White

White Door, White Van - Fairfax  2017

White Wicker Chair - Marin County  2017

Top: iPhone photo.

Bottom: Olympus E-PL7 with 25mm lens.

Camellia Leaf

Camellia Leaf - Marin County  2017

This camellia has been in the front courtyard since we moved here in 1981; I've posted photos of it before.

So far this season the heat has been so intense that the plant is becoming defoliated.

Something Cool

Ice Cream at Scoop - Fairfax  2017

Kona Ice - San Anselmo  2017

Actually, we've been using Dreyer's slow-churned mint chocolate chip.

San Francisco Rain - 2

Front Yard, Rain - San Francisco  2017

Trees, Presidio, Rain - San Francisco  2017

Shutter priority, 1/500th second for the bottom photo.

San Francisco Rain - 1

19th Ave Liquors - San Francisco  2017

Gas Station - San Francisco  2017

Rain greeted us in San Francisco upon our return from Southern California. Photos taken with a Canon G5X from the Airporter bus.

San Francisco News

Reporter - San Francisco  2012

Reporter - San Francisco  2017

Top photo taken with an Olympus E-PL1 and a Panasonic 20mm lens.

Bottom, I used an Olympus E-PL7 and an Olympus 25mm lens.

Monday Lizard Blogging

Lizard - Marin County  2017

Lizard - Marin County 2017

Front and back yards.

Trees

Oak Branches - Marin County  2017

Bay Tree - Marin County  2017

Taken during a recent walk up the street. I used a wide-angle Olympus 9-18mm zoom lens.

Legoland! #2

Heartlake Girl - Legoland  2017

Trading Legos - Legoland  2017

Kids can bring in their old Lego figures and trade 'em for different ones.

Legoland! #1

Mike, Legoland Mens' Room - Legoland  2017

Mens' Room Sign - Legoland  2017

Wow . . . Legoland! (In Carlsbad, California.)

Alas, there were no such things as Legos when Mike was a boy, so this visit was understandably very special.

Marines

Marine Vehicle - San Diego County  2017

Seen while driving down to Carlsbad, at a highway 5 rest stop. Very close to Camp Pendleton, I believe.

Culver City Sightems

Lantana - Culver City  2017

Ticket Office - Culver City  2017

Lantana and the Kirk Douglas Theatre.

Yes, shot at ISO 12800. How annoying!

Culver City Restaurants

Sunflowers - Culver City  2017

Diner - Culver City  2017

We had lunch and a breakfast at two Culver City restaurants, both on Washington Blvd.

Lodge Bread top photo.

S&W Country Diner bottom photo.

Monday California Towhee Blogging

California Towhee - Marin County  2017

California Towhee on our front gate. Taken from inside the house through the screen door.

"When not foraging they may perch on shrubs, rooftops, and backyard fences, to sit and chip for long periods."

Jacaranda Blossoms

Jacaranda Blossoms, Front Yard - Los Angeles  2017

Jacaranda Blossoms, Sidewalk - Los Angeles  2017

Very pretty, but quite messy.

West Los Angeles

Blue House - Los Angeles  2017

Toys, Front Yard - Los Angeles  2017

We stayed at a Best Western on Sepulveda Boulevard, not far from Pico and Sepulveda. Sightems seen during our walk down to El Pollo Loco.

Melrose Avenue #60

Red Car - Los Angeles  2017

Allness (Melrose Avenue) - Los Angeles  2017

OK.

Belisarius

Belisarius - Marina del Rey  2017

Crew Member (Belisarius) - Marina del Rey  2017

Can be rented, for $35,000 per week.

Marina del Rey

Boats - Marina del Rey  2017

Del Rey Landing - Marina del Rey  2017

Not part of Los Angeles, as I had originally thought. An unincorporated part of L.A. County.

July 4th

Display, El Pollo Loco - Los Angeles  2017

Quilt - Berkeley  2016

Special holiday-themed pix.