Working Pier, Fisherman's Wharf

Leica M3, Leitz 50mm f2.8, Fuji Superia Xtra 400

Dolph, Dan, and I also explored the working piers at Fisherman's Wharf. The building with the blue awning is Scoma's Restaurant on Pier 47.

--Warren

Pier 7

Leica M3, Leitz 50mm f2.8

Picturesque Pier 7 on a beautiful fall morning. I was walking to meet up with Dolph and Dan, but of course I had to pause once in a while to take a shot.

--Warren

Dan in Marin (in San Francisco)

Leica M3, Leitz 50mm f2.8 Elmar

Well, convenience won out over quality once again. I had my 2 rolls of Fuji Superia that I shot when Dolph was in town, processed and scanned at Walgreens. It's decent enough, IMO.

This was taken during lunch with Dolph and me at Ghirardelli Square.

--Warren

Things are looking up!

I felt like posting this photo because I am in a really great mood! I am all moved into my new townhome in Boca Raton, FL. I have a "studio/office" room that I can now spread out in and get creative.

This was taken in San Antonio, TX over this past summer with my Canon PowerShot G9.

Another SF Fog Shot

Canon SD300

View of the perpetually moving SF fog bank from Municipal Pier at Aquatic Park last Saturday.

--Warren

Dolph Channeling Henri Cartier-Bresson

Canon SD300

Dolph was trying my Leica M3, and seeing him with the camera reminded me of a picture that I saw of the famous photographer, Henri Cartier-Bresson (one of my favorite photographers).

--Warren

The real Henri Cartier Bresson:

Diego Rivera Gallery - SF Art Institute

Canon SD300

The sun shining through the round window reminded me of the Oculus of the Pantheon in Rome. Here Dolph paused to look at the wall behind me which contained a huge Diego Rivera mural.

It was a great day for photography. We started out early in the morning and walked all over the waterfront, North Beach, Telegraph Hill, and Chinatown. Dan joined us in the morning and the three of us had lunch at Ghirardelli Square.

I decided to shoot with the Leica M3/50mm f2.8 and I ended up shooting two, 36-exp rolls of Fuji Superia. You won't see those pictures until I have a chance to process them. However, I also brought along the Canon SD300 for a few digital shots.

--Warren

Connected

Canon SD300

Dolph and I had coffee at Victoria Pastry Shop which is at the border of North Beach and Chinatown. I was just coming back to the table from the restroom when I spotted this scene. I quickly took the SD300 from the belt holster and shot a few pictures. This is the one that I settled on.

--Warren

Happy Halloween!

Taken February 12, 2007 at a park in Irving, TX (just west of Dallas) with Canon Powershot SD700 IS. This just appears very spooky to me and is perfect for the season.

winding path

Taken with a 21mm / f4 lens. No cropping or photoshop.

Lunch at Tiburon, CA

Nikon D100

This was the afternoon view from Tiburon. The fog was almost burned off by this time.

Foggy Morning View from Tamalpais

Nikon D100

These were taken on the same morning as the Twin Peaks pictures. Before I got to the view, I met a local Mt. Tam. lizard :)

The City blanketed in fog:

View of the Pacific Coastline south of Mt. Tam.:

A Golden Gate Bridge tower peaks through the fog:

Looking North:

Foggy Morning at Twin Peaks

Nikon D100

Looking Southeast:

Homes with views:

Looking East:

Two very recognizable downtown buildings:

The fog is constantly in motion:

Layers:

The New England Countryside

I got a shot of the Massachusetts countryside outside a small store that sold organic veges and fruits.

Where's Waldo?

He went that way!!

Ralph Waldo Emerson was one of the great historical figures that was buried in the cemetery in Concord. This stone sign shows you the way to his grave.

An Old New England Cemetery

In keeping with SteveR's theme, I'm posting an image I took from a cemetery in Concord, MA last July. It contains such noted personalities as Nathaniel Hawthorne and Louisa May Alcott. (It also had a lot of mosquitoes!)

Puttin' On The Ritz...

The inscription for the elegantly-dressed gentleman pictured here reads

Our beloved father

An honest and righteous man

Reb Moshe Yitzhak

son of Yehezkiel

At the very bottom of the image is inscribed the family name, Black (here phonetically spelled as "Bleck.")

In this cemetery in Woburn, I saw several tombstones from the 1920's and '30s with these little portraits of the deceased. This is something I've never seen in the Baltimore area, except in recent years among Jews who immigrated from the former Soviet Union since the 1970s.

Po Nikbara...

Po nikbara Yehudit bat Reb Mordechai...

Here is buried Yehudit (Judith) the daughter of Reb Mordechai...

Among Ashkenazi Jews, until recently, the first inscription near the top of a tombstone has been פנ, letters with the sounds of "P" and "N." These are the initial letters for the phrase פה נקבר (PO nik-BAHR*), meaning "here is buried."

I became interested in Hebrew tombstones when researching the history of my Dad's family. He came from a small town, Hoof, outside Kassel in Germany. Several years ago, an resident of Hoof generously sent me about 80 photographs of tombstones taken in the Hoof-Breitenbach cemetery that served the Jewish communities of the two neighboring towns.

Those old-style tombstones, dating from the early 1800's until just before WWII, were generously inscribed in Hebrew (many also had German) in a style rarely used by postwar Jews in America. But this past weekend, I stumbled across several old Jewish cemeteries in Woburn, MA, each containing a wealth of the older-style tombstones.

Here's an excellent guide to decoding a Hebrew tombstone inscription.

* note: Hebrew verbs indicate the gender of the subject or object. While nikbar is masculine, nik-bah-RAH(נקברה), as in the case of this stone, is femine.

For Eric - Judkins Pond

We were in the Boston area to visit our daughter Leah this past weekend. The weather was spectacular, and we were treated to an early (for us) display of fall colors.

I got up early Sunday morning to get some good light, and was rewarded with this scene in Winchester, the town next to where our motel was.

Alpine

I was on a hike this weekend at the Enchantments Lakes (near Leavenworth, WA). We through-hiked it in a day, meaning dark to dark.... BUT what an amazing place! The larches are bright yellow right now and it's like another world up there.... Thought these bright squiggley larches made for a good frame of the distant jagged mountains. Plus I was hypnotized by the yellow/blue contrast....@_@. =)



We climbed up that mountain pass in the 2nd pic.... From the top you look back down and wonder how it was possible! :) I adore the highlighted slopes in that shot.







The simplicity of the 3rd shot makes me daydream =] I like macro shots and seeing the little needles and tree rings so detailed!

The Patriots Jet Team

Nikon D100, Nikkor 300mm f4.5

They were part of the Fleetweek Air Show last Saturday.

--Warren

Waldo Grade and Marin Hills

Nikon D100, Nikkor 300mm f4.5

A view of the Waldo Grade and the approach to the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge as seen from across the Bay at Marina Greens.

--Warren

Pelican Pair

Nikon D100, Nikkor 300mm f4.5

Nature's formation flyers.

I practiced on the local seabirds from my chosen vantage point while waiting for the Blue Angels.

--Warren

Six Angels Fly By

Nikon D100, Nikkor 300mm f4.5

Today's Blue Angels airshow was cut short, only minutes after it began, because of fog. They flew by a couple of times, then it was over.

--Warren

A couple of Strange Shots at SFMOMA

I got a shot of someone thru some tinted pinkish glass. I later over-exposed a shot of a black bell with a museum guard standing next to it.

I know this kind of stuff isn't for everyone, but perhaps the spirit of modern art got into me. Whatever...

A Sample of Richard Avedon's Work

A few weeks back, I posted a couple of shots I took at the SFMOMA (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art). The main exhibit that day was Richard Avedon's work. Here's a sample of something he did. Though his fashion and celebrity shots were great, I think the best work he did was of everyday people in the Southwest. This shot of a drifter was my favorite. This is nothing but pure inspiration to me.

City Hall Reflection

Canon SD300

City Hall reflected in the San Francisco Ballet building.

--Warren

It's October...

Bring on the spooky!

This "work" involved some atypical "photography". First sketching myself, then a photo of the sketch, then some quick post-processing (via iPhone ArtCamera's Matisse & Frost filters).

Almost a curious button-eyed voodoo doll appeal (if that can really be appealing!? ha). The frost adds to the chill this image gives me! I thought it timely; Halloween being just around the corner.

So that's all. If you have any thoughts/ideas on it, please comment :)

Thanks!

Tri-Colored Alley

Nikon D100, Nikkor 28mm f2.8

This Italian tri-color painted wall in a North Beach Alley caught my eye.

--Warren

Pink Things

Nikon D100, Nikkor 300mm f4.5

The little girl's top just happened to be the same color as the balloons :).

--Warren