Mt. Tamalpais

Mt. Tamalpais, Fog - Marin County  2023

Mt. Tamalpais, Sunrise - Marin County  2023

Top photo taken in October last year, the next one in November. Probably from the Sky Oaks area of Marin's Water District.

Ferns

Ferns, Log (Lake Lagunitas) - Marin County   2023

Ferns (Lake Lagunitas) - Marin County  2023

 More in my fern series.

Monday Phoebe Blogging

Phoebe (Lake Lagunitas) - Marin County  2023

Little bird with ripples on the lake in the background.

Photo taken with a Nikon Z5 using a 24-200mm lens.

Mt. Diablo

Mt. Diablo, Sunrise - Marin County  2023

Mt. Diablo, Sunrise - Marin County  2023

Sunrise photos taken from the viewpoint on Sky Oaks Road going towards Lake Lagunitas.

Winter Backpack - 5 (Kearsarge Pass, 1974)

Pines, Ponds, Snow - Sierra Nevada  1974

Stream, Snow Falling - Sierra Nevada  1974

The last of the Kearsarge Pass 1974 photos.

Photos were scanned using an Epson flatbed scanner. Dust and scratches taken off using Photoshop.

Winter Backpack - 4 (Kearsarge Pass, 1974)

Stream, Snow, Branches - Sierra Nevada  1974

Foxtail Pine Branches, Snow - Sierra Nevada  1974

So these are all new scans, never before printed by me (except for the "Foxtail Pine, Snow" photo. 

I had to keep rotating the pine branch photo until I decided on the final look . . . and then severely crop the image. 

Winter Backpack - 3 (Kearsarge Pass, 1974)

Backpack Tent, Snowing - Sierra Nevada  1974

Pat Brown, Snowing - Sierra Nevada  1974

I shared a tent with Pat Brown, one of my fellow students (her husband couldn't come.)

If memory serves, she was much more competent at this winter camping business than I was.

Winter Backpack - 2 (Kearsarge Pass, 1974)

Foxtail Pine - Sierra Nevada  1974

One of my favorites. Makes a nice print!

All of these photos taken with a Nikon F camera with a 50mm lens. I used Panatomic-X (fine grain) film.

Winter Backpack - 1 (Kearsarge Pass, 1974)

 

Branches, Snow, Trees - Sierra Nevada  1974

Hm. I somehow didn't take that many rolls of film in 1974 . . . probably due to the lack of a darkroom. So we'll see how many 50-year old photos I can post.

In 1974 I was taking a Sierra Club mountaineering course. One outdoor activity that they took us on involved rock climbing in Joshua Tree National Monument. 

One other trip involved winter backpacking . . . just as much fun as summer backpacking! They said.

So I have some photos taken in the winter of 1974 during a backpack trip out of Onion Valley going towards Kearsarge Pass.

Monday Pigeon Blogging

Pigeons (San Rafael) - Marin County  2023

These pigeons like to hang out by the Whole Foods market in San Rafael. They decided to fly off just as I walked by. Just as I walked by with my iPhone ready.

Bay Bridge, 2006

Bay Bridge, Clouds - San Francisco  2006

Wanted one more San Francisco photo, but couldn't find anything current. So, here's a photo from 2006.

Taken as I was rushing to catch the ferry back to Larkspur Landing. I saw the clouds as I approached the Ferry Building and jogged around the back to get this shot. I used an Olympus digital camera, a C8080.

Road, Wires

Road, Wires - Marin County  2023

Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, seen during one of my morning walks, this one taking me up to Baywood Equestrian Center.

Simón Bolívar

Bolivar Statue - Federal Building - San Francisco  2023

San Francisco Federal Building in the background, where I worked for one week.

Murakami / Zen Art

Murakami Exhibit Entrance - San Francisco  2023

Godzilla (Murakami) - San Francisco  2023

An internationally recognized artist, Murakami is also a major figure in global pop culture whose influence extends to fashion, consumer products, curation, and entertainment. With a boldly colored, upbeat style and a pop sensibility that draws inspiration from anime and manga, Murakami’s accessible and fun creations deliver more than meets the eye: beneath the surface of his work lies a nuanced examination of human behavior, informed by historical and art-historical references and a wry sense of humor.

We visited San Francisco's Asian Art Museum together with Maz, Shawna, Hanna and Nolan. I was particularly appreciative of Murakami's Godzilla, due to my previous Godzilla experience in Tokyo.

Also on display: ancient Chinese ink paintings of persimmons and chestnuts, done in the Zen tradition. (Alas, the persimmons art was gone when we went.)

Attributed to the 13th-century monk Muqi, these exquisitely subtle compositions were painted in China and then crossed the ocean to Japan, where they have been designated Important Cultural Properties and treasured for centuries at Daitokuji Ryokoin Zen temple in Kyoto. 

Zen Paintings (Poster) - San Francisco  2023

Golden State Warriors

Pregame Shoot Around (Chase Center) - San Francisco  2023

Chase Center Interior - San Francisco  2023

Exciting! I got to attend a Golden State Warriors vs Brooklyn Nets game in December! Wow!

We got there early for the "Pregame Shoot Around." This is a highly interesting practice event where one can watch with awe as the players routinely sink 3-point shots one after another.

Plus, the Warriors won! "[Curry] scored 12 straight fourth-quarter points on the way to 37, Klay Thompson added 24 points with back-to-back timely 3-pointers in the closing minutes, and Golden State snapped a three-game losing streak by beating the Brooklyn Nets 124-120 on Saturday night." (ESPN)

Warriors Win - San Francisco  2023

San Francisco Sightems

City Hall - San Francisco  2023

Building, Fire Escape Stairs - San Francisco  2023

The City Hall dome is slightly elongated, I think. Maybe because I used Photoshop's geometry correction tool for the flags.

We were interested to speculate how long it would take to walk down those fire escape stairs.

Monday Egret and Coot Blogging

Egret (Abbott's Lagoon) - Point Reyes  2023

Coots - Point Reyes  2023

The coots were paddling away from me as is their wont. 

Although . . . from their standpoint, maybe their paddling away caused me to leave? Cause that's what happened. I showed up, they paddled away, then I left. Huh.

Sunset / Basketball

Sunset Clouds - Marin County  2023

Maz, Nolan - Marin County  2023

I walked up to the school with Maz and Nolan to watch them shoot some hoops. As that was happening the evening clouds in the sky gradually became more spectacular. 

So I was able to get a cool sunset photo, as opposed to my usual sunrise ones.

Shadows

Backyard Stairs, Shadows (Fairfax) - Marin County  2023

Building, Tree, Shadows (Fairfax) - Marin County  2023

Photos taken in our backyard (actually, a common area) and across the street in the condos.

Beach, Ocean, Sky

Beach, Ocean, Sky - Point Reyes  2023

I guess I could have created something similar by using an AI prompt.

But I didn't.

Fern / Dune Grass

Fern - Point Reyes  2023

Dune Grass, Surf - Point Reyes  2023

I had hiked over towards the surf (keeping a respectable distance) to get the photos of the vultures and this one of some dune grass.

Road, Sky

Road, Sky - Point Reyes  2023

Driving out to the Abbott's Lagoon trail, stopping on the road and reaching for the Nikon to take this photo through the windshield.

Point Reyes Station Sightems

Blackberry Leaves - Point Reyes  2023

Fence, Barn - Point Reyes  2023

Photos taken at the Giacomini Wetlands.

Monday Turkey Vulture Blogging

Turkey Vulture, Sky - Point Reyes  2023

Turkey Vultures, Seal - Point Reyes  2023

From a recent trip to the Abbott's Lagoon trail. Overcast and blustery.

Bonus white-crowned sparrow below:

White-Crowned Sparrow - Point Reyes  2023

Hill, Clouds, Blackberries

Road, Clouds - Marin County  2023

Blackberries, Hill, Clouds - Marin County  2023

Taken at my usual photo op spot on the way to Point Reyes.

Subaru WRX

Subaru WRX - Bishop  2023

"Part sports car, part rally racer, the 2024 WRX is a performance powerhouse that shares merely a familial resemblance with Subaru's Impreza compact car. The WRX is its own animal, powered by a 271-horsepower turbocharged 2.4-liter flat-four which drives all four wheels through either a six-speed manual or a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). Like it or not, the CVT car is quicker, hitting 60 mph in 5.4 seconds at our test track. The manual car is more fun to drive through and it's not far behind, with a 60-mph time of 5.5 seconds."

Parked next to the RAV in the motel parking lot in Bishop. As I was admiring it the owner came out and I wondered if it had a stick shift. He was slightly miffed! "Of course it has a stick shift," he exclaimed.

Of course!

Leaves - 2

Leaves, Rain (Fairfax) - Marin County  2023

Leaves (Fairfax) - Marin County  2023

Photos taken just off Sir Francis Drake Blvd in the condos nearby. 

Leaves - 1

Leaves - Marin County  2023

Maple Leaves - Marin County  2023

Both photos taken with a new acquisition - a Nikon Z7II with a not-new 24-200mm zoom lens.

Buckeyes - black and white

Buckeye - Marin County  2023

Buckeye - Marin County  2023

Top photo taken with a Canon G5XII, bottom one with an Olympus E-M1II.