Chinatown Rain

Street (Chinatown) - San Francisco  2018

Alley (Chinatown) - San Francisco  2018

No umbrellas for us, however! We had our Patagonia parkas.

Valencia Street Sightems - 2

Residences - San Francisco  2018

Serra Mortuary - San Francisco  2018

Both of these photos were taken with an Olympus E-PL7 and a 25mm (50mm equiv) lens. I have to admit, though, that sometimes that combo wasn't quite flexible enough, causing me to switch to my iPhone 7 plus.

Can't be sure, but I expect I did perspective correction in Photoshop.

Valencia Street Sightems - 1

Sasquatch - San Francisco  2018

Mural (Valencia St) - San Francisco  2018

Valencia Street is in San Francisco's Mission District . . . it appears to be rapidly, um, gentrifying. Quelle horreur!

San Francisco Colors

Red Door - San Francisco  2018

Red Tile - San Francisco  2018

Walking around San Francisco last March.

Yellow Tile - San Francisco  2018

Monday Cedar Waxwing Blogging

Cedar Waxwing - Marin County  2018

Taken last March. Hali spotted a group of  Cedar Waxwings noisily foraging in our (volunteer) privet tree. I got out an Olympus E-M10 with a 75-300mm lens attached and shot a number of photos through a sliding glass door. No burst mode used, single shots only.

So checking out the photo data, I see that I used a shutter speed of 1/2000th second with the lens pushed out to the 300mm max (600 35mm equiv.). What's interesting is the ISO that the camera used: 16,000! Wow . . . I would have thought that an ISO that high would have resulted in a completely unusable file. But no: not half bad!

View from Twin Peaks

View from Twin Peaks - San Francisco  2018

Hali had never been to Twin Peaks before, but Mike had.

So, not as dramatic as the earlier shot, but still pretty impressive.

Rogue One

Rogue One - San Francisco  2018

Mural seen near Hayes Street.

In Mike's HO, Rogue One has been the best of the reconfigured Star Wars movies, The Last Jedi the worst.

San Francisco MOMA - 2

Sitting on Floor (SFMOMA) - San Francisco  2018

Sitting on Ledge (SFMOMA) - San Francisco  2018

Wow, people photos!

San Francisco MOMA - 1

Staircase (SFMOMA) - San Francisco  2018

Buildings Through Screen (SFMOMA) - San Francisco  2018

Hali and I spent some time last March in San Francisco. Heavy rain! One of our sightseeing items was the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art . . . we went not to see any particular exhibit, but because we hadn't been in a long time, and we were in the vicinity.

Hali, Anselm Kiefer Painting (SFMOMA) - San Francisco  2018

Maxwell Sightems - 2

Jefferson (Maxwell) - Colusa County 2018

Christmas (Maxwell) - Colusa County  2018

We the people of the 23 counties of Northern California, hereafter known as Jefferson, formally demand an immediate Article 4, Section 3, (U.S.) state split. We declare the State of California is in open rebellion and insurrection against the government of the United States.

Governor J. Brown, Lt Governor G. Newsom, Senate Pro Tem K. León, Speaker A Rendon, States Attorney General X. Becerra, Senator K. Harris, and the majority of voting members of the California Legislature, have openly and publicly declared war on the government of the United States.

Ironic, indeed, that Colusa County is Jerry Brown's future home!

Maxwell Sightems - 1

American Legion ( Maxwell) - Colusa County  2018

Bakery Painting (Maxwell) - Colusa County  2018

Shooting from the car with a Canon G5X.

Monday Buffalo Blogging

Buffalo - Colusa County  2018

I searched on Google for a "buffalo" "Colusa County" match, trying to see if anyone else had seen or posted about these animals. Alas, nothing of significance.

I saw them just west of Maxwell on the Stoneyford road. For some reason, I can't remember if I shot from the car or whether I was able to get out for the photo. Hm. I used an Olympus E-M1II with a Panasonic 12-60mm lens. So maybe I was out of the car.

Colusa County Weather

Houses, Storm Clouds - Colusa County  2018

Grain Elevator, Clouds - Colusa County  2018

Very impressive storm system . . . cloudbursts off and on.

Storm Clouds - Colusa County  2018

Colusa County Oak Trees - 2

Oaks, Dark Sky - Colusa County  2018

Oaks, Two Hills -  Colusa County  2018

So anyway, Jerry Brown is planning to build a retirement house in Colusa County.

Hope he's considering turning it into a B&B for at least some of the time. I'd definitely go.

Colusa County Oak Trees - 1

Oak - Colusa County  2018

Oaks - Colusa County  2018

Even though I've been here before, I wasn't quite prepared for just how photogenic Colusa County's oaks are.

Colusa County Sightems

Cattle Pen - Colusa County  2018

Hills - Colusa County  2018

I took a quick drive west of Maxwell for some sightseeing. Actually, I had been here before, when I camped at Dixie Glade campground in the Mendocino Highlands. That was in the 90's I expect.

(OK, it was in 1994.)

Nice clouds! And some very heavy rain, on and off.

Sacramento Wildlife Refuge Sightems - 2

Thistles, Marsh, Clouds (Sacramento NWR) - Colusa County  2018

Geese - Colusa County  2018

I was at the refuge early, but not early enough for the fly-off. Below, the sunrise fly-off taken in January, 2008.

Fly-off (Sacramento NWR) - Colusa County 2008

Sacramento Wildlife Refuge Sightems - 1

Marsh (Sacramento NWR) - Colusa County  2018

Tree, Reeds (Sacramento NWR) - Colusa County  2018

My search for a positive tree ID was inconclusive, alas.

Monday Ring-Necked Pheasant & Snow Geese Blogging

Ring-Necked Pheasant (Sacramento NWR) - Colusa County  2018

Snow Geese (Sacramento NWR) - Colusa County  2018

Driving around the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, early in the morning. Maybe the first to go through!

I was using an Olympus 75-300mm lens on an Olympus E-M10 camera, taking photos out the driver's and passenger's side windows. Results, as always, were hit and miss using a telephoto lens with that much reach.

Sacramento Valley

Sutter Buttes - Colusa County  2018

Road 68 - Colusa County  2018

I had gotten to the Best Western in Willows much later than I had expected. GPS issues . . . don't ask. I walked across the street for a burrito at La Cascada (pretty hefty!) and then to bed.

I got up early in order to head over to the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge. Very dramatic views of the Sutter Buttes in the distance, storm clouds overhead.

Cameras

Cameras - Nevada  2018

A photo taken in my Nevada motel room of the cameras I used during my March trip.

At the top, a small Canon GX5. Bottom row, left to right: an Olympus E-PL7, an Olympus E-M10 and an Olympus E-M1II. I won't bother to list the lenses.

Left unseen: the camera taking the photo: an iPhone 7 Plus.

Westbound Highway 80 Rain

Highway 80  West - Sierra Nevada  2018

Truck, Rain - Sierra Nevada  2018

Very heavy rain. I had to concentrate on the right hand lane markings in order to follow the road.

But, no snow! So, my cables have still not been put to the test!

Below, the Toyota parked at a rest stop in the downpour. After the stop I eventually made my way to Willows, no thanks to the iPhone's GPS services.

Toyota RAV, Rain - Sierra Nevada  2018

Cisco Grove Offramp

Branches, Trees, Snow (Placer County) - Sierra Nevada  2018

Trees, Snow (Placer County) - Sierra Nevada  2018

As I drove west on highway 80 I decided to get off the freeway for some possible snow photos. (Just as I had done in 2016.) I took the Cisco Grove offramp and found a parking spot near a bridge over the Yuba River. Very nice - not heavy snow but just enough to provide a good backdrop for the trees and leafless shrubs. As I finished up and walked back to my car it started to rain.

As in 2016, I'm having some issues with printing the images.

Truckee Sightems

Mobil (Truckee) - Sierra Nevada  2018

Shacks (Truckee) - Sierra Nevada  2018

Variations on a few of last year's photos.

So, I had changed my plans. Instead of Alturas, I started driving towards Willows, hoping to take some photos at the nearby Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge nearby. The forecast called for a storm approaching from the west, so after a brief stop in Truckee I got back on highway 80 . . . heading west.

Amtrak

Amtrak (Truckee) - Sierra Nevada 0318

Amtrak - Nevada  2018

Top photo: Amtrak train stopped at the Truckee station.

Next: Amtrak heading into Reno.