Glowfari

 

Giraffes - Oakland  2021

Porcupine - Oakland  2021

"The lanterns were created by one of the event's partners, the Chinese company Tianyu Arts & Culture, Inc. Harrison said the zoo staff collaborates with Tianyu on choosing the animals and diorama designs for Glowfari. Once the lanterns have been fabricated in China, Tianyu ships at least 16 containers worth of sculptures to Oakland in October and sends a staff to live here for a few months to erect the lanterns and maintain them throughout Glowfari's run."

A light exhibit at the Oakland Zoo. We were all mightily impressed!

Tteokbokki

 

Tteokbokki Package - San Francisco  2021

Tteokbokki in Bowl - Marin County  2021

"Tteokbokki is a Korean street food that consists of a sweet and spicy pepper paste sauce mixed with chewy rice cakes, boiled eggs, and fish cakes." Pronounced as toke-bokey (or talk-bokey).

We didn't have the boiled eggs or fish cakes, just the unadorned tteokbokki. It was good! Pretty spicy though.

H Mart

 

H Mart - San Francisco  2021

Kimchi (H Mart) - San Francisco  2021

We had been to H Mart once before . . . Shawna had taken us there in her car together with the kids. But that was on a Sunday afternoon. Too crowded!

This time we left Marin County early in the morning and drove to the southern part of San Francisco where H Mart is located. Much better . . . but somehow very chilly inside.

They specialize in Korean food items, but other Asian countries are well-represented. (Below, some beer from Kyoto that they carry.)

So for those of us who regularly watch K-Dramas on Netflix the store is quite interesting.

Kyoto Beer (H Mart) - Marin County  2021

Monday Cat Blogging

Cat - Marin County  2021

For some reason this cat had decided to visit our front yard and play in the decorative grass. It left that particular clump of grass quite bedraggled. 

Very friendly creature! We've seen it before on our neighborhood walks where it comes up to us wanted to be petted.

Hanna, Cat - Marin County  2021

Local Black and White

 

Plants - Marin County  2021

Plants, Door (Fairfax) - Marin County  2021

Photos taken during some random Fitbit hourly walks (iPhone).

Agaves

 

Agave, Doorway - Berkeley  2021

Agave, Signs (San Rafael) - Marin County  2021

Top photo: walking around Berkeley with a Canon G5XII camera.

Bottom: Near the San Rafael Trader Joe's with a Nikon Z5.

Oak, Sunrise

 

Oak Tree, Sunrise - Marin County  2021

Same tree as yesterday. No cutting and pasting done though.

Oak, Fog

 

Oak, Fog - Marin County  2021

Shot at 24mm using a Nikon 24-200mm zoom lens. 

Yes, I copied the upper right hand corner, flipped it horizontally, then pasted the selection into the left hand corner.

Oak, Clouds

 

Oak, Clouds - Marin County  2021

Returning books over at the Fairfax Library . . . there's some really nice oak trees on the property. I used an iPhone 7 Plus.

Oak Branches

 

Oak Branch - Marin County  2021

Oak Branches - Marin County  2021

Bottom photo: Looking up standing under trees across the street from us. I could be wrong, but I don't think that those trees were there when we first moved in.

Monday Turkey Vulture Blogging

 

Turkey Vulture - Marin County  2021

Again, walking very slowly towards the bird. Taking a shot. Then more steps. Then another shot. Finally the bird lumbered off. 

I used a Nikon Z7II with a 24-200mm lens.

Oak Tree

 

Oak - Marin County  2021

Taken on my morning walk. I used a Nikon Z5 . . . did a nice job of not overexposing the sky area.

Mt. Tamalpais - 5

 

Mt. Tamalpais, Haze - Marin County  2021

Alas, "stagnant air" is fairly typical in late Fall and Winter in the Bay Area nowadays. I've complained about this before.

Mt. Tamalpais - 4

 

Mt. Tamalpais, Fog - Marin County  2021

Recently I've been mainly taking photos of Marin County scenery. I rented a Nikon Z7II in November (above photo taken with that camera.) I wanted to try it out in a variety of circumstances so I visited a few of my favorite Marin locations. I bought a parking pass for the Water District area (where I took the above picture) so I had to go there, as well as Point Reyes.

Mt. Tamalpais - 3

 

Coyote Bush, Mt. Tamalpais - Marin County  2021

Likely taken while hiking up on the Loma Alta fire road. This and the last two photos were taken in October, 2021.

Mt. Tamalpais - 2

 

Mt. Tamalpais, Fog, Clouds - Marin County  2021

Taken during my morning walk on the fire road at the end of our street.

Mt. Tamalpais - 1

 

Mt. Tamalpais, Clouds - Marin County  2021

Most of my favorite hiking spots come with a view of Mt. Tamalpais.

Monday Dog Blogging

 

Retriever (Fairfax) - Marin County  2021

Retriever (Fairfax) - Marin County  2021

A familiar face regularly seen on my morning walks.

Sunrise (Beach)

 

Beach, Ocean, Sky - Point Reyes  2021

Wave, Sky - Point Reyes  2021

Most of the Coast Camp photos were taken with an Olympus E-M1II and a 14-150mm zoom lens. This combo provides high quality images along with a light weight package ideal for backpacking. (I decided that the Nikon Z5 was just too heavy.) And I used the iPhone 7 Plus for a few shots, of course.

After the morning photo session I returned to camp and packed up. The tent was quite wet! 

Tent and Stuff Sacks - Point Reyes  2021

Backpack - Point Reyes  2021

Sunrise (Pond)

 

Pond, Beach AM - Point Reyes  2021

Eucalyptus, Ocean AM - Point Reyes  2021

As soon as it was light enough, I headed down towards the ocean. Once there I got out my iPhone and took a panorama shot of the pond and sky.

Sunset (Beach)

 

Sunset, Pond - Point Reyes  2021

Sunset, Taking Photographs - Point Reyes  2021

After the sun went down the air turned damp and chilly. After fussing around the campsite for a while I finally ducked inside the tent and clambered into my sleeping bag.

Sunset (Campsite)

 

Sunset, Clouds - Point Reyes  2021

Sunset, Contrail - Point Reyes  2021

Two photos taken from Campsite #2. 

Afternoon Waves

 

Waves - Point Reyes  2021

I kept heading down to the beach to monitor the various light permutations. I was using an Olympus E-M1II and a 14-150mm zoom lens.

Afternoon (Coast Camp)

Coyote Bush, Hills - Point Reyes  2021

Grass - Point Reyes  2021

Walking around the campground as the sun was moving to the west.

Monday Song Sparrow Blogging

 

Song Sparrow - Point Reyes  2021

Perched on a coyote bush next to my tent.

Evening Eucalyptus

 

Eucalyptus, Evening Clouds, Ocean - Point Reyes  2021

Eucalyptus - Point Reyes  2021

The famous eucalyptus tree at Coast Camp. It's always nice to camp overnight here and be able to view the evening light.

Fritos & Beer

 

Fritos & Beer, Olympus Camera - Point Reyes  2021

Tent, Morning Cloud - Point Reyes  2021

Everybody wants campsite number one (good view of the ocean), but I prefer campsite number two (more secluded, but still has easy access to the ocean). 

Thank goodness I got to use my pricey Big Agnes tent at least once during these past two years.

Finally, a Fritos & Beer photo op! It's been way too long. Yes, there's been quite a few of those posts over the years.

Tent, Table, Ocean - Point Reyes  2021

Trail to Coast Camp

 

Vetch - Point Reyes  2021

Alders - Point Reyes  2021

Scenes from the hike to Coast Camp. (You can view a video of my 2017 hike.) 

Thanksgiving

 

Turkey (Fairfax) - Marin County  2021

Taken last May up towards the end of our street. I used a Canon G5XII.