Spider Web / Fence (Point Reyes)

Spider Web, Poison Oak - Point Reyes  2026

Fence, Rain - Point Reyes  2026

Last of the photos from my little Limantour excursion.

Monday Finch Blogging

House Finch (Female) - Lake Lagunitas  2026

Lesser Goldfinch - Lake Lagunitas  2026

I posted a photo of a male house finch back in 2021.

I posted a photo of a goldfinch in 2025. (A goldfinch as opposed to a Lesser Goldfinch.)

Alders / California Buckthorn

Alder Trunks - Point Reyes  2026

California Buckthorn - Point Reyes  2026

Stopping by the Coast Camp trailhead area. I was able to use the Nikon Z7II for the alder photo . . . it's not that suitable for wet weather so hadn't brought it out for Limantour photos (Olympus has better weather-sealing).

The iPhone was able to identify the California Buckthorn - note how wet the leaves are

Everlasting Pea / Limantour Marsh

Everlasting Pea Blossoms - Point Reyes  2026

Trail, Everlasting Pea Blossoms - Point Reyes  2026

The distance from the Limantour parking lot to the beach isn't that great, so I decided to hike down the trail leading to Muddy Hollow. On the way I passed a grouping of Everlasting Pea flowers. Yes, now I can properly ID the plant.

Also, a nice alternate view of Limantour Marsh from the trail.

Limantour Marsh - Point Reyes  2026

Limantour Marsh / Ocean

Limantour Marsh - Point Reyes  2026

Ocean - Point Reyes  2026

There's a metal pedestrian bridge over the marsh that is not very camera-friendly. I have to poke the lens through the rails to get the photo, as in the marsh scene above.

If you're there it's always necessary to go visit the beach, although this time it was kind of bland with some uninteresting waves.

Bishop Pines

Bishop Pine Trunk - Point Reyes  2026

Bishop Pine Needles - Point Reyes  2026

There's a collection of Bishop Pines near the parking lot. I was using an Olympus E-M1II with a small 25mm (prime) lens equipped with an extended rubber lens hood used in wet weather.

Rain vs Drizzle

Morning Bun, Coffee - Point Reyes  2026

Side Window View - Point Reyes  2026

"Drizzle is liquid precipitation with small droplet size. In order to be classified as drizzle rather than as rain, the droplets must be less than 0.5mm in diameter; however drizzle droplets are significantly larger than cloud droplets. For an observer who cannot readily distinguish droplet size, rain droplets may be observed to splash as they hit a puddle and drizzle droplets generally do not."

Huh. My definition is, if I've got the windshield wipers going non-intermittently, then it's rain. If I need a parka, then it's rain. Both conditions obtained here, although the moisture was probably coming from the Bay Area's marine layer. 

Point Reyes Station

Fennel - Marin County  2026

Fence, Barn - Marin County  2026

Taken in July, but the weather was foggy and wet.

Check out some 2025 photos taken at the same spot.

Monday Cow Blogging

Cow (San Geronimo Valley) - Marin County  2026

Cow was interested in the photographer. Taken as I was making my way out to the Limantour area of Point Reyes last July.

Blackberries

Blackberries, Hill - Marin County  2026

Yes, my usual stop on the way to Point Reyes, this time using a Nikon Z7II with a 24-200mm lens.

Check out some 2023 photos taken at the same location.

Granite, Leaves (1996)

Granite, Leaves - Yosemite 1996

Another photo taken with a 4x5 view camera. Had to use a tripod, of course.

I'd guess that this location was somewhere in the eastern side of Yosemite Valley, on the trail to Mirror Lake, where it's shady for most of the morning.

Dogwood Blossoms, Merced River (1996)

Dogwood Blossoms, Merced River - Yosemite  1996

I wanted to find a spot where I could have the river in the foreground with some dogwood blossoms in the dark forest beyond. Took some driving and parking at various pullouts before I found this scene.

 I used a largeish Toyo Field 4x5 camera with a Nikon lens. This image is from a recent scan . . . a vertical crop from a 4x5 horizontal negative.

El Capitan (1996)

El Capitan - Yosemite  1996

The last 35mm shot in this series. I think that I was using Minolta SLRs during this time.

St. Catherine's Church (Hornitos) (1996)

Church (Hornitos) - Mariposa County  1996

I visited this church earlier this year during my unsuccessful Yosemite trip. 

The 35mm negatives for both this photo and yesterday's Soo Line photo were very detailed in the foreground elements, but the skies in both images were quite bad. I used Photoshop to perform a sky substitute for them both, then added artificial grain using Camera Raw. 

Soo Line (1996)

Soo Line - Central California  1996

" . . . [the Soo Line] is named for the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad (MStP&SSM), which was commonly known as the Soo Line after the phonetic spelling of Sault . . ."

So, "sault" is pronounced as "soo." Didn't know that.

I guess this was taken somewhere on the route to Yosemite. There's railroad stuff to be seen in Escalon, so maybe I saw the boxcar there.

Monday Deer and Coyote Blogging

Deer - Lake Lagunitas  2026

Coyote - Lake Lagunitas  2026

Top: an iPhone shot taken looking out of the car window.

Next: Coyote studiously ignoring me while I'm taking the photo using a Nikon Z7II.

Yosemite Fall (1996)

Yosemite Fall - Yosemite  1996

 I've been scanning some 1996 negatives recently. This photo was possibly taken in May during one of my routine Yosemite camping visits.

Sea Castle

Sea Castle Apartments - Santa Monica  1990

This had been shown on the blog before, but looking at the scan more closely this time I realized that there was a self-portrait hidden in the image:

Sea Castle Self-Portrait - Santa Monica  1990

Wooden Building / Hot Dog Stick (1990)

Wooden Building - Santa Monica  1990

Hot Dog Stick - Santa Monica  1990

Continuing with some 1990 film scans. 

Trees, Reeds, Reflections

Trees, Reflections - Lake Lagunitas  2026

Reeds, Reflections - Lake Lagunitas  2026

Two more Nikon Z7II photos taken last May.