Going wide

I'm really enjoying my 16-35mm lens on a full frame digital. It was pretty good on an APS-C sensor, but really shines on a 35mm format.

Legion of Honor, front gate. As a native San Franciscan, I had a hard time figuring out what that weird blue stuff in the sky was.

Walking Stick

Here's the "Walking Stick" insect that caught my attention. From more than a foot or so away, it looks exactly like a twig - amazing!
Update: Lea asked, quite reasonably, where the head is on this creature - it really does look like a stick, which of course has no head.

The head is towards the top of the photo - you can see the antennae coming out of it. From normal viewing distance, you can't really see that there is a head. But just for real fun, here is a closeup of the head - I guess we should call her "Squinty?"

ShadowMan

An impromptu self-portrait. I was raking leaves when I spotted a "Walking Stick" (an insect that looks like a twig) on the stucco wall of our house. After taking a few photos, I noticed my shadow looked interesting against the texture of the brightly-lit wall.

I'm holding my Canon A620 digicam - it has a nifty twisty-flexy viewscreen, and the way I'm holding it reminds me of the way press photographers used Rollieflexes to shoot over the heads of crowds in the '40s and '50s.

Potbelly Seahorses

This was the first year that I have celebrated American Thanksgiving. I was visiting my boyfriend for the weekend which was really nice.

While I was out, we made a visit to the Seattle Aquarium, where I saw these potbelly seahorses. It's my favorite photo from the aquarium.


***
I have more pics which are spammerific if you want to check them out at ColourPixie. (too many for the forum.. so I am using them as a creative means of telling a story of my visit to Washington :)

Cafe, Berkeley CA

Yashica T4, Fuji Reala 100

I just finished this long forgotten roll of film in my T4 P&S. This was taken at Cafe Cacao in Berkeley.

--Warren

First snow this weekend

It's been fun seeing the peaceful sunset photos of the bay area recently! Up here in Spokane, we had a great Thanksgiving weekend, and received our first batch of snow that is sticking, this past weekend, with more coming by the end of the week.

I heard on the news this afternoon that there were 75 or so weather related accidents in town, or maybe it was for the whole state of WA, but still seems like a lot, for such a small amount of snow. I guess it's the first snow that throws everyone off a little.

We haven't driven much yet, but the snow isn't deep yet, where we are. Most folks aren't shoveling sidewalks yet, but the kids wanted to get out and play! 

New Toys

D200 35mm
This was my first shot with new equipment. Lots to learn on this camera and this lens. The challenge will be to learn to compose the shot. As Warren told me, I have to move around the shot not just zoom in and out. One item that I need to work on is using the alignment function built into this camera, which would allow for pictures to be originally and vertically correct.

I found this mask in a shell shop in the Florida Keys.

-Dolph

Winter in the Florida Keys

D200 70-300 mm
Looking out into the Atlantic Ocean in late November. The clear water, the cool breeze (65 degrees), and the feeling of no problem man.


So with all the shots of great sunsets looking out in the Pacific Ocean, how about one looking west towards the Gulf of Mexico.


-Dolph

Portrait of Curtis

Nikon D100, Tamron 24-135mm

I couldn't let him get away without a portrait :).

--Warren

Bee on Leaf by Guest Photographer: Curtis

Nikon D100, Tamron 24-135mm

Original shot by Curtis, join effort with me on the post-processing.

--Warren

Leaves and Striders

I did manage to grab the camera away from Curtis from time to time :). Here's the aforementioned Japanese pond that I was contemplating.

--Warren

Orb Abstract by guest photographer: Curtis

Nikon D100, Tamron 24-135mm

This photo was taken by my friend, Curtis, and the post processing work was done as a joint collaboration with me.

I'm hoping that Curtis will join this forum someday after he gets his Nikon dslr. Maybe seeing his pictures here will give him some incentive :).

I think he has a pretty good eye for pictures.

--Warren

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

I want to express my sincere and heartfelt thanks to everyone here on this forum for making it such a successful and fun place to hang out.

About this picture:

My good friend, Curtis from L.A., is in town this week to celebrate the holiday with his family. He has always been interested in getting a Nikon, so I took him to Golden Gate Park yesterday and let him go crazy with my D100. I'll post some more pictures from this session later.

Here is a shot of me contemplating the stillness of the Japanese pond in the botanical garden. This is my interpretation (edited and cropped) of his original shot.

(Nikon D100, Tamron 24-135mm)

--Warren

Thanksgiving Bounty

I was able to catch this photo at the Ferry Building in San Francisco. I used the funky cam (Holga) and some Kodak 120 400 ASA Ultra Color film. I had not posted a photo in some time and since this is Thanksgiving Day, I wanted to post something which represented good health and abundance.

I hope all of you had a good day and a nice holiday spent with loved ones. For our Canadian amigo, Thanksgiving Day in your neck of the woods is on a different day, but I hope you still had a great day with loved ones.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING ALL!!

Eric

Fire in the Sky #2

Nikon D100, Nikkor 85mm f1.8D

This was a taken a few minutes after the other shot with the 85mm instead of the 24mm, for a closer look.

--Warren

Fire in the Sky

Nikon D100, Nikkor 24mm f2.8

This was taken from my back window last Saturday, another spectacular and unique sunset sky. It happens once in a while, and sometimes I feel like taking pictures while other times I don't.

--Warren

Scaffolding Tunnel, Mid-70's, San Francisco

Nikon SLR, Kodak Plus-X B&W

Another shot from my archives. Does this one remind you of my recent post: "Doorsways"? It's interesting that I'm still "seeing" that 30 years later.

That old Mustang II at the end of the tunnel kind of gives away the vintage of this photograph :).

--Warren

Bumpers

D70 55mm

This is a bumper on the side of a loading dock where large trucks back up and drop loads of material. I was shooting down from above late in the afternoon. The bumpers are constructed of old tires that are cut and then bolted together.

Metal 2X4

D70 50mm

The company I work for was purchasing a company that had all this aluminum in various different shapes. I shot this down an aluminum 2 X 4 stud used in pool enclosures. The sun was setting at the other end of the 20 foot long metal stud, and the orange was painted on one end to identify the product being sold by the company.

Photographer, circa mid-70's, San Francisco

From time to time, I like to look through my archives of B&W negatives and slides for stuff to post.

Here's one from the mid-70's. It was shot on Kodak Plus-X film, either with a Nikomat w/Vivitar 200mm, or a Nikon F2 with Nikkor 200mm, and developed at home. Like today, I shot with all types of equipment back then, so I don't remember exactly what was used here.

Note the 70's fashion that seems to be back in vogue today :).

She is using a classic manual focus slr. I think it might be a Pentax because the focus ring on the lens looks like a Takumar. Any other guesses? :)


--Warren

Camouflaged Frog

Nikon D100, Tamron 24-135mm

We saw this tiny little frog during a hike in Jack London State Park at Glen Ellen, CA.

--Warren

Wildflower, Freestone, CA

Nikon D100, Tamron 24-135mm

This was taken at the same location as the "Truck and Silo" shots, at a place called Freestone, CA. I spied a bunch of wildflowers next to a bakery where we stopped to buy bread for our weekend trip.

--Warren

GG Bridge from the North Side

Fed 3B, I-61 52mm f2.5, Ilford XP2

Just catching up on posting some recent pictures. Here's the GG Bridge as seen from Marin County(the north side).

--Warren

Funny Face Again

Nikon D100, Nikkor 85mm f1.8D, 1/640 f2.5

Yes, you've seen her pictures here before. We named her "Funny Face" for obvious reasons :).

She is a feral cat who has adopted us. In the beginning, she would run away if you so much as looked at her. Over time, I gained her trust, and now she has become a lap junky.

We put a cat door in our patio so that she has shelter at night and on rainy days.

--Warren

Gourds in Black and White

Nikon D100, Tamron 24-135mm

Following Martin's theme from the previous post, this was taken last month at the Petaluma corn maze.

--Warren

Pumpkin in Black and White

I shot this at the Farmer's Market during the weekend.

Keep Us Out, Or Keep Ghosts In?

Nikon F4S, Nikkor 50mm f1.8d, Kodak UC100

This is the long abandoned Public Health Service Hospital at the Presidio. It is rumored to be haunted.

--Warren

The Mysterious Candle

This photo is blurred. It has bad lighting. But to me, it's like it has charisma despite these technicalities.

Is it the burnt wick. Is it the flowers in the back. Is it the limp lighting of the room. Is it the little candle standing as tall as he can despite his melted disfigurements. I don't know.

A photograph is great when it can do something for you. Bring a smile, remind you of friends, get you thinking about things. And honestly, I can't pinpoint what this one is doing for me... but oddly enough, I think it's great.

I can't see those flowers very clearly but I still know they're pretty :)

playing with picasa

With my last roll of film, I edited all of the images with Picasa, some very little, some quite saturated. The rest of these photos, mostly of an abandoned shed or barn, are on my blog site, with a link to the unedited ones on my fb photo share. 

Yet Another Dome!

Nikon D100, Nikkor 24mm f2.8

All these dome and ceiling shots jogged my memory that I also shot some at the new Bloomingdales/S.F. Center Mall last weekend! They did a great job of remodeling the old Emporium's space, and created a very nice mall with its restored dome.

--Warren

ceiling photos

Tom's Columbarian photos reminded me of some photos I took of a ceiling in Eastern Washington. Here's one of them, no PP, but the colors may be intentionally off as I was experimenting with white balance settings with a Pentax *ist DL as "digital filters"

Painted Sky

The evening sky in San Francisco was a bit more interesting than usual yesterday. Shot with a digital camera.

The Columbarium

I started the day shooting at the Legion of Honor next to my house. After a few pics there, I began taking landscapes of the Golden Gate Bridge. While walking around, I came across something that totally changed my mood, so I ended up making my way to the Columbarium.

For people unfamiliar with the place, it is cremains repository. There were quite a few sad stories there, especially the half filled nooks where someone eternally awaits a spouse that will never come. However, the general mood was upbeat. Many nooks were dioramas celebrating the lives of people who live or lived.

Once upon a time a dentist fell in love with a ballerina. Together they picked their place in the sun.

Post script. Once a year there's a cocktail party here. It's so people can get to know their future neighbors. Hey, this is San Francisco after all.

Day of the Triffids

Took a shot of these sunflowers that were on a the edge of a maze created in a corn field. Sounds bizarre, but it's true. This maze is in Petaluma, CA. If you are wondering about the title of this photo, Day of the Triffids was a sci-fi pic back in the late 50's early 60's about some giant plants which killed people.

Eric

Warning Sign

While hiking in the hills near Bodega Bay, I saw this warning sign to ships. It was in the bay on a cliff. I know nothing of boating, but I'm sure this sign said, "Danger. Stay Away."

Eric

Fort Point redux

Okay, last few shots. The first one is a granite spiral staircase. The second is the middle exposure of an HDR series I wanted to do. The yellow was from a single bare bulb. The highlights are a bit blown but preserved in the subsequent shot. And the last shot was a forgotten room. Wonder what purpose it served during the Civil War.

Fort Point Courtyard

Nikon F4S, Nikkor 35mm f2.0 ai, Kodak UC100

Okay, is everyone sick of Fort Point yet? :P

Here's another shot from that misty, rainy day at the fort.

Maybe when Tom has some time, he'll post more from his multiple visits there.

--Warren

Nikon F4S as Conversation Piece

For reference, here's a photo that I posted before, of my pair of Nikon F4S cameras:



Last weekend, I drove Gail to her get her hair done, and I figured I would go for a walk and some coffee while I waited for her. I brought my F4S with me to finish the roll of Kodak UC100 that was in it. It had the Nikkor 50mm f1.8D mounted, exactly as in the above picture (the one on the left). I went for my short walk, and I ended up at the Royal Ground coffee shop on Geary St. and 17th Ave. I ordered myself a latte, and was getting a lid for my cup when I heard someone say, "I see you're using a F4." I said, "Yeah, it's an F4, are you into photography?"

Since I had time on my hands, I decided to sit down at this guy's table and chat for a while. We proceeded to introduce each other and we had a very nice conversation about cameras, careers, spouses, and other topics over a cup of coffee. We ended by walking to his car where he showed me his newly acquired Nikon D80 which I never saw in person before that day.

I told him about this forum, and invited him check us out. Unfortunately, he only has dial-up at home, and he's not really into surfing the net. We did exchange emails so that I can email this portrait to him (of course, I took his picture with the F4).

Meet Dick, photographer and all around nice guy:


(Nikon F4s, Nikkor 50mm f1.8D, Kodak UC100)

--Warren

Sunrise in Golden Gate Park

Nikon F4s, Tokina 17mm f3.5, Kodak UC100

I was driving through the park one morning and I noticed that the morning fog was burning off, but enough mist remained to cause the sunray effect. So, I pulled over to grab some shots before the light and conditions changed. I didn't have much time to shoot this.

--Warren