At My Peak

At My Peak - Los Angeles  1984

I've been scanning some 1984 negatives recently, for fun. Back then I was doing some billboard photos as a series until I ran out of subjects.

Yellow Oak Leaves

Yellow Oak Leaves - Marin County  2024

Yellow Oak Leaves on  Ground - Marin County  2024

Virtually all the oak tree leaves in Marin were turning yellow this winter, due to, I believe, a "Twohorned oak gall wasp—Dryocosmus dubiosus."

Fortunately, according to the linked article, "Gall wasps are naturally killed by a complex of fungi, parasites, predators, and competing insects (primarily moth larvae and other wasps) that live within galls. Although aesthetically undesirable, these oak gall wasps do not seriously threaten tree health. No control is known or recommended."

Sausalito Views

San Francisco Skyline, Clouds - Sausalito  2024

Johnson Street, Boats - Sausalito  2024

I was using an Olympus 14-150mm zoom lens . . . very useful for both wide landscape shots and tight telephoto ones.

Sausalito Whimsy

Bench, Wall Art - Sausalito  2024

Pink - Sausalito  2024

iPhone photos.

Sausalito Boats

Boats, Clouds, Reflections - Sausalito  2024

J.H. Madden, Clouds - Sausalito  2024

Nice clouds. This time I was walking around with an Olympus E-M1II and a 14-150mm lens.

Monday Grebe Blogging

Grebes - Sausalito  2024

"A grebe is not a duck. Grebes have lobed toes, an adaptation they use to propel themselves underwater to get food, and a duck has webbed feet. Grebes have an ancient lineage and research has shown they are most closely related to flamingos. However, these species show no outward resemblance to each other."

March Parking Lot

Parking Lot - Marin County  2024

I often visit the Starbucks in Marin City prior to wandering around Sausalito. This time the parking lot there was still wet from some March rain . . . I used the wide-angle option on the iPhone.

Tesla "Cybertruck"

Tesla (Fairfax) - Marin County  2024

Seen in my gym's (shared) parking lot. Apparently it's quite heavy (stainless steel body). Also, some visibility issues. But the first reviews were somewhat favorable, so . . .

We'll see.

St. Patrick's Day Dinner at Barbara's

Corned Beef Pot - Marin County  2024

Corned Beef Serving Platter - Marin County  2024

Yum!

St. Patrick's Day Beer - Marin County  2024

 

Sausalito (February)

Masts, Mt. Tamalpais - Sausalito  2024

Agaves - Sausalito  2024

Quite cold . . . my fingers were freezing!

Golden Gate Overlook

San Francisco Skyline - Marin County  2024

Skyline Observers - Marin County  2024

Returning from San Francisco and stopping at the overlook. Very blustery! Taken with a Canon G5XII.

Cow Sign Fence / Spirit Rock

Cow Sign Fence (San Geronimo Valley) - Marin County  2024

Spirit Rock (San Geronimo Valley) - Marin County  2024

March photos. I had to take advantage of the really cool clouds.

Monday Cow Blogging

Cows (San Geronimo Valley) - Marin County  2024

It was a foggy and damp morning in the San Geronimo Valley when I pulled over to see if there were any cows at my favorite valley viewpoint. There were!

Redwoods / Buckeye

Redwoods (San Geronimo Valley) - Marin County  2024

California Buckeye (San Geronimo Valley) - Marin County  2024

Taken during a recent early morning hike up through the redwoods in the San Geronimo Valley. I used a Nikon Z7II / 24-200mm combo.

Presidential Memorabilia

Nixon Stuff (Fairfax) - Marin County  2024

Reagan Task Force Invite (Fairfax) - Marin County  2024

Alas, I never ordered the "jeweled Swiss movement" Nixon watch. Haven't used the stamps on the appropriate envelope either.

Oh . . . and lest we forget:

Guidelines for America (Fairfax) - Marin County  2024

Trees, Fog, Clouds

Trees, Fog, Clouds (San Geronimo Valley) - Marin County  2024

Another January photo. Taken with a Nikon Z7II / 24-200mm lens.

Runners / Pond, Fog

Runners (San Geronimo Valley) - Marin County  2024

Pond, Fog (San Geronimo Valley) - Marin County  2024

January . . . very cold. The runners came up from behind and quickly vanished into the fog.

Waterfall / Fence and Vines

Waterfall, Vines (San Geronimo Valley) - Marin County  2024

Fence, Vines (San Geronimo Valley) - Marin County  2024

Seasonal waterfall, that is. These photos were taken last January, during periods of heavy rain.

Winter Backpack - 7 (Big Pine Lakes, 1974)

Big Pine Lake, Snow - Sierra Nevada  1974

Young Pine, Snow, Clouds - Sierra Nevada  1974

The final pix of my 1974 snow backpack. I have to be honest . . . this was basically it for me as far as snow backpacking was concerned. I've tried using snowshoes a few times over the years, and they're OK, I guess, but I've never used them on a regular basis.

Monday Hawk Blogging

Hawk - Marin County  2023

Taken last July. Making a lot of noise! I used an Olympus EM1II with a 14-150mm lens.

Winter Backpack - 6 (Big Pine Lakes, 1974)

Temple Crag - Sierra Nevada  1974

Temple Crag. Neat. Some online photos show a lake in front of the peak, but not this one.

Winter Backpack - 5 (Big Pine Lakes, 1974)

Steam Laundry - Mojave  1974

The route to the Sierras from Los Angeles goes through the desert town of Mojave. So I would have gone through here on my way to my 1974 Big Pines backpack.

There have been a few extra photos taken in Mojave on the blog, by the way.

Winter Backpack - 4 (Big Pine Lakes, 1974)

Snow, Creek - Sierra Nevada  1974

Mountains, Snow - Sierra Nevada  1974

Again, for these photos I used a Nikon F SLR with a 50mm lens. (I also had a 135mm lens, but don't remember using it here.) Film was Panatomic-X developed in FR X-22 fine grain developer.

Winter Backpack - 3 (Big Pine Lakes, 1974)

Canyon, Snowfields, Lake - Sierra Nevada  1974

Frozen Lake, Pine Trees - Sierra Nevada  1974

There are a number of lakes on the Big Pine Lakes trail, but I'd guess that I only made it to the first or second lake. When I got there I set up my tent and bear bag (can't remember about the bear bag - did I bother with one? There were no bear cannisters at the time.) 

As I looked around at the setting . . . snow, trees, granite summits in the distance I thought to myself "How barren and sterile. Why did I bother struggling all the way up here?" At that point I clambered into the tent and took a well-deserved nap.

After a short rest I exited the tent, looked around and thought to myself "Wow! This is amazingly gorgeous. Snow, trees and granite summits!" This was one my earlier experiences of how altitude can be mood-altering.

Winter Backpack - 2 (Big Pine Lakes, 1974)

Falling Water - Sierra Nevada 1974

Granite Slope - Sierra Nevada  1974

So I've never seen some of these photos before. It took me a while after scanning the top photo's negative this year to figure out exactly what I was seeing. 

Contact sheets: so, in the olden times I'd take a developed roll of film and cut it into strips. In the darkroom these strips would be pressed against a sheet of photo paper, under glass, and exposed to light. After developing the paper, the result would be a series of mini-photos, a physical record of one’s work that could be used in the future. In this case, 50 years later. 

Back then it wasn't possible to make prints of all the photos on each roll however. Had to pick and choose. So like I said above, most of these photos have never been seen before, even by me. 

Winter Backpack - 1 (Big Pine Lakes, 1974)

Trees, Snow, Granite Cliffs - Sierra Nevada  1974

Trees, Snow - Sierra Nevada  1974

After my Sierra Club winter backpacking excursion I decided to try a solo winter trip. I took the trail near Big Pine up towards some lakes high in the mountains. At this point in time I really don't know if the above photos are of a snow-covered meadow or a snow-covered lake. Maybe a lake because I set up my camp near a lake.

Below, a photo of me in my winter garb, ice axe and all, taken during my earlier Sierra Club hike.

Mike, Backpack & Stuff - Sierra Nevada  1974
(Photo by P. Brown)

Monday Geese Blogging

Geese (Lake Lagunitas) - Marin County  2024

An iPhone photo. Compare to earlier 2022 shot also taken at Lake Lagunitas.

Branches, Sunlight, Lake

Branches, Sunlight, Lake (Lake Lagunitas) - Marin County  2024

Standing on the trail, camera (Nikon Z7II) pointed down towards the lake. Sunlight streaming in from the right.

Might make an interesting print.

Sebastopol Sightems

Wash Plus (Sebastopol) - Sonoma County  2024

Brick Wall, Drainpipe (Sebastopol) - Sonoma County  2024

Our diners group in January met in Sebastopol for a nice meal at a Japanese/fusion-type restaurant.