February Full Moon

I never had a full appreciation of winter light until I started photographing the full moon. The sky is so beautiful, maybe because all the rain has washed away the gunk, often leaving wispy clouds to reflect the colors of the setting sun. Fortunately, the February full moon fell between storms. Twenty-four hours earlier, on the night I usually scout for a location, rain poured down and the moon was nowhere to be found. I went back to a spot I had used before and it didn't matter. Conditions are different every month. Each full moon is unique.

As the moon moves higher and the sky darkens, I usually pack up and go home. The full moon is very bright and it's difficult to get the right exposure for both it and the sky. Then I noticed this tree. It had, of course, been there all along, but my attention was on the moon. I moved back across the road so I could use it to frame the moon.

It was so dark by the time I took this one,
that I had to overexpose the moon to see the tree branches at all.

I like the way these photos turned out, but I don't yet have that quintessential full moon photo; the one that will cause a gasped, "Wow" by all who view it. Fortunately, I have an opportunity to try again every month of the year.

One Year Today

I created this blog one year ago today. My original goal was to post something every week. That didn't happen, but so what? It's the journey that counts. Over the course of the year, I started photographing the full moon and turned that into a monthly project, and I have a few others in the works. I love to look back at the photos I've posted, but even more so, I look forward to wherever this journey may take me

Golden Gate: The Bridge & The Park

On Thursday I drove to San Francisco on a reconnaissance mission. The forecast was for dense fog in the morning and then partial clearing. Even though I didn't expect to see much sun, I wanted to take advantage of a day without rain and scout out locations for future shoots. My main destination was Golden Gate Park, a place I have never visited. One wrong turn and I totally bypassed the park and ended up at Chrissy Field. This wasn't too bad of a mistake. I planned on photographing through the fence at Fort Point anyway.
I also wanted to find the West Battery, a place I had been once before (but didn't really know where I was), which presents a different view of the bridge. I found the right side road, parked and walked down a path, looking for the bridge. This was surreal. I knew it should be right in front of me, but I couldn't see it. Just as I began to doubt I was at the right place, I spied the faintest structural outline. Thirty seconds after taking this picture, the bridge disappeared again.

I drove back across the freeway to the visitors' center at the south end of the bridge. I have been here before (see "Coastal Excursion" in June 2009). The place was teeming with tourists, both on foot and on bikes. I walked out as far as the start of the suspension cable. I added an arrow to to this photo to show where I was standing when I took the top photo.

The cable disappeared into the mist.

As I was standing on the bridge, I saw a sail boat near Alcatraz, heading for the gate. This brought back some memories. In a previous lifetime (when I was married), we owned a sailboat and going under the Golden Gate was always a thrill. We often sailed out under the bridge, turned around and sailed home. I walked back to an over look (with a hole cut in the fence), and waited patiently for the boat to approach the bridge

Remember, my primary destination was Golden Gate Park. I had done some research and had a general idea of the layout of the park, which is HUGE, even bigger than Central Park in NY. Since it is spread out over 1,000 acres, I was not expecting it to be crowded with so many cars and people. I chanced upon a parking space near the entrance to the 55 acre Botanical Gardens, and quickly pulled in. This is a metal sculpture at at the entrance

Few people venture down to the west end of the park, where the Dutch Windmill and Tulip Gardens meet up with Highway 1 and the ocean. The windmill craves a photographic blue background sky, but that was not available this day.

Once again, the fog made a great light diffuser,
eliminating harsh shadows while
illuminating the beautiful colors

There was so much I didn't see in the park,
but at least I now know what's there.
Mission accomplished.

Cold Coyote Bike Ride

I haven't been on my bike in quite awhile, but I needed to do something different (than walking & lifting), so I wiped it off, pumped the tires, packed it in my car, and headed for Coyote Creek Trail. I wanted to see what the area looked like before it had a chance to dry out. I was hoping for some flooded sections, but there were none. The forecast called for a sunny day, so I left early enough to ride before the fog lifted. I didn't realize just how cold the fog would be when it hit my face.

Some might have called the day dreary, but since I planned to photograph, I appreciated the fog-diffused light. This was no time to yearn for the backdrop of a bright blue sky. When the day is gray, the photographer has to look for a more intimate landscape, and that was just what I wanted to do. Look how the colors pop in this picture. That would not have happened on a sunny day.

Even though there were no flooded sections,
there was still plenty of standing water.

I planned to ride only 5 miles out, but I was enjoying the scenery so much that I kept on pedaling and didn't turn around until I got to the Bailey Road over crossing, just over 6 miles. I had expected the sun to be out by now, but as you can see, it was not. Along some sections, I rode very slowly so the wind would not whistle past my ears. Yes, I'm sure that's why I rode slowly. I wanted to hear the natural sounds of the still morning.

On the ride back I spotted this glistening web and made an immediate stop. It was so light that any small breeze sent it swaying. What was interesting was that as I rode back, I saw fields with hundreds of them that I had totally missed on the ride out. Once I saw this one, the others became obvious.

This is a side path between two small lakes. The colors were just so pretty that I had to stop and enjoy them on foot. For most parts of the country winter can look pretty bleak. But around here, winter looks green (at least when we're not in a drought).

I loved these colors.

It's still winter, but trees are starting to bloom. I am going to ride out here at least once a week because I don't want to miss the manifestation of spring blossoms that will most certainly follow our very wet winter.

A friend told me that she didn't like to ride alone because it was lonely. Not for me. I was so glad that I could set my own pace, stop when I wanted, and enjoy the sounds around me. And I was never alone. In addition to the other riders, runners and walkers on the trail, I am always open to animal encounters, and appreciate their allowing me to share their space for even a brief moment. Some people think that seeing an animal is a chance meeting. I prefer to think of it as a spontaneous rendezvous. I was on the trail for over two hours. The sun appeared just as I arrived home.

Between Storms

Soooooo many days of rain, but I am not complaining. I love all the rain. At least now the storms are not continuous, and the time between storms creates some wonderful photographic opportunities. Big, white clouds are not the norm around here, but lately, as one storm system is leaving, another is approaching. The key is to get outside with a camera at the right time. On this day I went looking for photographs and for this one, I didn't even have to get out of my car.

This rainbow appeared while I was driving home from work one day.

This is one half of a full rainbow that arched over Santa Teresa Road. I was on my way to work and didn't have much time, but I pulled over and took two photos with my P&S Canon. I was hoping to merge them into a panorama, but the merge didn't work (probably because the photos were taken hand held through the windshield).These next two photos were taken on Friday along McKean Road. I could hardly believe how beautiful the day was. The combination of blue and green set off with white ,was just amazing. I was on my way to an appointment and had not planned on taking any photographs, but the colors were so vibrant I had to stop and shoot. I only had my small Canon camera with me so I couldn't use a polarizing filter, but it looks like I didn't need it.

These next three photos I took today (Super Sunday). I saw the sky clear a bit, so I dropped what I was doing and headed out. The clouds were not quite as magnificent as they were on Friday, but I had an idea. I wanted to shoot the clouds through a tree. I found just what I was looking for on a side road off Hale Ave. This one is looking north.

This one is looking toward the south.

Another storm was approaching,
and within an hour the white clouds had turned gray.

We'll see what happens tomorrow.