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.

Moon Light

My quest to photograph every 2010 full moon is off to an interesting start. The January full moon rise was only 15 minutes before sunset, and with the sky darkened by storm clouds, and the moon taking at least 40 minutes to clear the local hills, I didn't have much light to work with. With the thick clouds, I was afraid I might not see the moon at all. I could only hope that there would be a break in the clouds at the right time and place.
I was so excited to see this first glow of light.In this second photo, there is more here than just glow.

If you look very closely, you can make out
the top edge of the moon as it peeks over the hill.

I didn't realize what I had captured in this third photo until I saw it on my computer. Look closely again and you can see the shape of almost the whole sphere. I cropped this quite a bit so the moon would be bigger and easier to recognize. This was the last shot of the moon I got that night. It disappeared behind the clouds and even though I waited patiently for over an hour, it never showed itself again.

I enjoyed being out at night. When was the last time you were out at night? I mean actually outside, not just away from home after dark. It's a little strange and wonderful at the same time. As I took my attention away from the moon I could no longer see, I marveled at the colors still in the sky. If it hadn't been so muddy, I would have sat down and just looked up for awhile. When the rain started to fall, I went home.

That was on Friday night. On Saturday night, I had a plan to shoot a reflection of the moon in one of the many puddles around town. For this, I had to wait until the moon was well up in the sky. There I was, out again after dark. My plan didn't work out very well because puddle water is pretty muddy and the moon looked pretty bland. Then I thought of the pond in Community Park. I didn't get the photo I had imagined, but I like this shot with the moon reflection and the Centennial Recreation Center in the background.

And I liked wandering around outside again after dark.

After the Rain

Ahhh, finally a break from the rain. As much as I enjoy it and as much as we need it, cabin fever had set in, and so on Saturday, as soon as I saw the sun was out, I set out. I wanted to photograph, but mainly I just wanted to be outside. I had a plan, but I was open to any photo opportunity that presented itself. My first destination was a red barn I spotted several months ago. I thought the green hills, blue sky, and white clouds would be a good combination. I was right.

As I drove on, I was on the look out for puddle reflections. I headed for an orchard that I thought might be flooded. It wasn't exactly a lake, but there was a lot of standing water. I had to wait for a huge black cloud to pass overhead so I could get blue sky in the reflection, but I didn't mind waiting. It was a beautiful day and I was happy to be outside.

My next stop was Coyote Creek. I was still looking for reflections since that is the photography club's January theme. I parked along side the road and walked until I saw a spot where I could move in closer to the creek. I liked the way these leaves framed the reflection of the trees on the other bank. Since the creek is swollen from such recent rainfall, it is still quite muddy. I hiked down a bit farther and saw this pretty scene.

And then I looked down and saw this.

More rain is due in this afternoon and Monday and Tuesday.
I don't mind.

I had my day in the sun.

Pinnacles National Monument

The photography club held a shoot-out at the 26,000 acre Pinnacles National Monument, located some 60 miles south of Morgan Hill in the southern end of the Gabilan Mountain Range.

The monument was founded to protect a unique ecosystem that includes rolling chaparral, dramatic rock formations, talus caves (formed by huge, falling boulders that became wedged in narrow fractures), and a diverse mix of plants and animals.
The park has over 30 miles of hiking trails. We chose the one that would take us through the caves and up to the photographically desirable Bear Gulch Reservoir, which was only one mile away. The caves are fairly easy to negotiate if you are just carrying a flashlight (necessary), but I was also packing a camera, a bag with an extra lens, and a tripod. Trying to stay balanced while sidestepping through rocks that were only 18 inches apart, ducking under boulders with only a 3 foot clearance, and sliding down on my bum, all the while holding onto the tripod and trying to shield the camera from dents & dings, was a challenge. That short, one mile hike , which ended with 100 steps up from the last cave exit, took over an hour. As wonderful as the caves were, please imagine my relief and happiness as I cleared the last step, looked up, and saw this pretty, little reservoir.

Ranger Tammy was just waiting for some hikers to show up to hear her presentation on the park; specifically, the reservoir and how and why it was built (by the CCC to help control the amount of water that runs through the caves). We were a willing audience, quite content to sit and rest for a few minutes.After working up a sweat in the caves, the cold temperature felt refreshing, but the overcast meant no blue skies for our photographs. I reconciled this by composing pictures that included just a bit of sky or none at all. The beauty is not in the color, but in the forms and reflections.

I like this next photo because you can hardly tell
where the rocks end and the reflections begin.

We were not up to tackling the caves again,
so we took a different path back,
one that included some beautiful vistas.
Once again, I kept the gray sky to a minimum...

or out of the composition completely.I enjoyed concentrating on the smaller aspects of the scenery.
The diffused light was perfect for photographing
the colorful rocks.

The San Andreas Fault is only a stone's throw away from the park. I couldn't help but think of earthquakes as I clambered through the caves, trudged up the steps, and hiked around giant boulders.

This was a delightful photographic escapade
You can see more photos of the Pinnacles on my Flickr site:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/suebrazelton/

Happy New Year

Once in a blue moon...

A blue moon is a second full moon in the same month, or a fourth one in a season. It happens only about every two and a half years: thus the phrase, "once in a blue moon." The next one will occur in August, 2012. I couldn't scout ahead of time for a location for this one because in the days preceding the full moon, thick cloud cover obscured all light. On Thursday evening, I still wasn't sure the moon would shine through, but I returned to a location I had used previously, set up my tripod and camera, and hoped and waited. I was not disappointed. The moon was beautiful and the clouds provided some unexpected special effects.

I am more of a lunatic than ever.

My goal is to photograph every full moon for a year.