Happy Birthday to Me

Sunday, 29 August: my birthday. My friend Laurie and I spent the day in Half Moon Bay, shopping, talking, and eating lunch. On Main Street we chanced upon a store called "Half to Have It" which was littered with garden accents that we just had to have. Fortunately, we got hungry before we bought anything and left to find a restaurant by the wharf. We couldn't find the wharf. I knew there was a boat harbor, because once upon a time, I (and another) sailed from San Francisco to Half Moon Bay and spent a couple of days anchored near the harbor. Since this time I had traveled by land, I had no clue where that harbor might be. We drove back to downtown and picked an Italian restaurant with a patio.

We had spotted a few interesting garden places on the way into town and decided to check them out. We hit the mother lode of garden accents: dinosaurs, fountains, birdbaths, turtles, Buddhas, elephants, angels, gargoyles, and more. Laurie found a waterfall perfect for her back yard and I found ,not one, but two turtles that asked to be adopted together. How could I refuse? I also bought a birthday-discounted bird bath.

My birthday self-portrait

It took some logistical maneuvering to fit everything into Laurie's car, but we managed. We headed out of town again but spotted an Orchid Outlet that was having a sale; hundreds and hundreds of orchids, row upon row, lined up, waiting to be chosen. A white one with a yellow labellum, and a yellow one with pink chanted, "Pick me. Pick me." So I did.

We were more than happy with our acquisitions. The car would hold no more. We left town. It was a good birthday. Tomorrow the celebration continues with Janet & Donna, friends from Morgan Hill. Spending time in the company of good friends is the best way to celebrate a birthday.

San Francisco & the Golden Gate

August 24th, the day of the full moon. The moon wasn't going to rise until 7:45 and I figured that if I'm going to drive all the way to The City, I might as well go early and see some of the city. I parked along the Embarcadero, well away from Pier 39, a huge tourist attraction, and walked for awhile. The day was perfectly clear and very hot. 96 degrees in SF is rare. The view of the Bay Bridge was a good prelude to what was to come.

Click on the photos to see a large view.

I drove past Pier 39, through Fisherman's Wharf, and up Hyde Street behind a cable car. I was not prepared for the crowds. Doesn't anybody go to work during the day? Who were all these people? My next stop was the West Battery, which has a view of the Golden Gate that most people don't see. I was here in February and could hardly see the bridge through the thick fog. (Link: http://visual-journey.blogspot.com/2010/02/golden-gate-bridge-park.html )

My plan to be at the Marin Headlands (directly across the gate from where I took this photo) by 6 to get set up for the moon shots wasn't going to happen. With both commuters and tourists wanting to cross the bridge, the queue to the toll plaza was long and slow moving. By the time I got there, shadow had already covered part of the bridge, but the view was still spectacular.

I counted over 30 sailboats on the bay

I found a spot I thought would work and planted my tripod. I knew other photographers would soon arrive. A full moon rising over the city on a fog-less night would lure out all the lunatics.

Two Full Moons

My vision was to get the moon rising over the vineyards of Guglielmo Winery. I have photographed there before, but did not try to include the grape vines. I photographed these on the night before the actual full moon because it would rise early enough that the sky would still be light, and I needed the extra light to illuminate the foreground vines (barely). I got the shots I was looking for, but I also had a strong feeling of, "been here, done that." These photos were a little too similar to the ones I took a year ago. This is a link to those earlier photos: http://visual-journey.blogspot.com/2009/09/moon-rise.html

Click on the photos to see the full views.

So the next afternoon I drove up to San Francisco (see previous blog) to catch the moon rising over the city. Many photographers had the same idea. We were lined up on the edge of the Marin Headlands. I mean, literally, the edge; past the rope with the sign, "Danger! Do not go beyond this rope." No one fell off the cliff, and as you can see, the results were worth a little danger.

This last one is my favorite.
It is a composite of two photos and it really
shows just how stunning the view was.

I have completed my project to photograph the full moon every month for a year, but I plan to continue. It's too much fun, the moon is too beautiful, and I am too much of a lunatic to stop now. This is one last shot I took of the city before packing up and heading home.

Guglielmo Winery

I arranged a photography club shoot-out at Guglielmo Winery, right here in Morgan Hill. We had full access to the vineyards, the landscaped grounds and the buildings, including the cellar that housed the BIG barrels. The room was cool and the bouquet delicious.

Click on a photo to see it full size.

I set up the shoot because I wanted photographs of vines laden with grapes. The cool summer we've had this year has slowed the ripening of wine grapes all over the state (which will present problems if rain comes before they are ripe enough to harvest). The vines on this day held clusters of multi-colored grapes that I thought were just lovely. The harvest may be delayed, but the photographic yield was perfectly timed.The next visit will be to the tasting room.

There's No Place Like Home

My father grew up in a small farming community in Kansas. Then he joined the navy, discovered California, met my mother, and settled out here. He didn't want to live in Kansas, but we took many summer road trips "back to the farm" to visit my grandparents and aunt & uncle. Several times, my brother, sister and I flew back by ourselves to spend the summer gathering eggs, milking cows, and feeding pigs. To my eyes, not much has changed in Troy in the past 50 years, except now some of the corn is used for bio-fuel.

Click on the photos to see the larger view.

Kansas has some stunning sunsets. Because there are no surrounding mountains to block the view, you can watch the fiery globe until it disappears below the horizon. And if there are any clouds (which there almost always are), the entire sky is painted orange, yellow & red. These next two shots were taken from my aunt's front lawn.Back in its day, the Pony Express road right through Troy. I drove by this iconic metal sculpture every day on my way back to town.It was too damn hot to go outside for any extended period of time. On most days the temperature hovered around 99, cooling down to 90 at night. An "Intense Heat Advisory" was in effect almost daily, so I didn't spend much time outside. Fortunately, my visit coincided with the Perseids Meteor Shower. Since I was out on a farm, away from city lights, and had an unobstructed view to the northeast, I thought conditions would be perfect for photographing meteors streaking across the sky. For two nights in a row, I set the alarm for 3am, carried my tripod mounted camera outside, and waited for the show... and waited, and waited. St Joseph, MO is about 20 miles to the east and its lights polluted my night sky. The lights look almost like a sunrise, but these photos were taken at 4am. Be sure to click on the photos to see the stars.

I started experimenting by pointing the camera straight up,
just to see the stars.
This is a 25 second exposure.This 15 minute exposure shows star tracks.I took many 30 second exposures hoping to catch a meteor. When I finally did, I was ecstatic. I bounced around in the dark and boasted to the fireflies, "How good am I." Then I went back to bed.

Two days later, I was fortunate enough to experience an electrical storm. When the rain stopped for a few moments just at sunset, the light was truly magical. The air was perfectly still, amber light radiated everywhere, and the the top of the corn field literally glowed orange. I took some photos (how could I not?) and then moved away from my camera and just soaked in the scene. What a gift I was given; to be in this place at this perfect moment. It was so beautiful.

The storm was not over. Midwest lightening is just amazing. It can light up the whole sky. Once again, I pointed the lens toward the east, set the camera for 30 second exposures, and this time hoped for lightening. This was way more exciting than the meteor shower. The wind started blowing and the thunder wasn't too many "one-one thousands" away. As soon as I got this shot, I moved inside. I didn't want a lightening bolt to mistake my tripod for a lightening rod. And then the rain returned. What a wild night it was!

This link will take you to photos I took in Troy last September
http://visual-journey.blogspot.com/2009/09/kansas.html