Victoria Harbour

The first one -- I thought it was a fun shot, nice, almost summer warm feel. The shadows kind of reminded me of Warren's Sunset Striped Path.






Second one -- I really liked the angle of lighting. Thought it worked well for the ledges and steps and different shapes here.

Shot of a Warehouse Window

Got a shot of this old window in an abandoned warehouse at Crissy Field in San Francisco. It's very interesting. The City has converted this area to a great outdoor recreation area, and many of the old warehouses there have been converted to recreational facilities. There's everything from fun gym classes for kids to rock climbing.

Be Careful or the Monster will Gitcha!

I was walking around Crissy Field one afternoon and this monster tried to get me. Oooooo...scary.

Scarecrow of Romney Marsh?

Nope. It's the Scarecrows of Healdsburg, CA. There were a bunch on display and got a couple that decided to stand still for me.

Do you folks remember "The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh"? It's an old Walt Disney film about a rural vicar in Ireland in the 1700's who dressed up at night and became...THE SCARECROW OF ROMNEY MARSH. He terrorized and fought the British occupation forces at the time. He was also a Robin Hood-type character. If you remember it now, or if you don't and you are interested in checking it out, you can see the movie on Youtube in a few parts. It's a lot of fun.

Photogenic Bridge

Nikon D100, Nikkor 50mm f1.8D

It was a crisp and clear day last Wednesday. We thought we were heading up to Sonoma for a day trip, but when we got onto the bridge, a five car pileup ensued, and we were stuck in a midspan parking lot. I asked the other drivers to let us turn around, and we stopped briefly at the vista point to walk around a bit. We ended up spending the day in SF instead.

I could not resist taking yet another standard shot of the bridge. It's just so irresistibly photogenic, I was obligated to take this :).

--Warren

Still Together

Nikon D100, Nikkor 50mm f1.8D

This elderly couple was walking slowly down a Chinatown alley. It was cute because most Chinese of their generation are not this intimate in public. It makes me want to sit down with them to hear their stories, but alas they were just strangers walking by.

--Warren

There's One in Every Crowd

Nikon D100, Nikkor 50mm f1.8D

Non-conformist, there's one in every crowd. :)

So there I was taking this picture at Russian Hill when a woman calls out from a window above, "May I ask why you're taking pictures here?". I replied, "Because I'm a photographer!". That seemed to satisfy her...

--Warren

Lonely Squash

Nikon D100, Nikkor 50mm f1.8D

The lone reminder of the holidays at this front door.

--Warren

Have a Great Thanksgiving Everyone!

I took this photo up in Sonoma County at a Farmers' Market. I liked the colors, it represented Autumn, my favorite time of the year, and to me it represented abundance & Thanksgiving.

Over time, Thanksgiving has become my favorite holiday. To me, it symbolizes health, plenty, and family and friends - good medicine for these tough times.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Ocean Beach

Nikon D100, Nikkor 50mm f1.8D

View of Ocean Beach in the late afternoon from the Cliff House.

--Warren

Golden Gate Bridge at Sunset

Nikon D100, Nikkor 50mm f1.8D

For reference, this is what that photographer in the previous post was shooting.

--Warren

Photographer at Land's End Trail

Nikon D100, Nikkor 50mm f1.8D

This photographer was intent on shooting the Golden Gate Bridge at sunset time, but as I walked by, I noticed the golden streak of sunset light underneath him.

--Warren

Sunset Striped Path

Nikon D100, Nikkor 50mm f1.8D

The sun was about to set, and it cast long shadows on the walkway.

--Warren

Two Friends

Nikon D100, Nikkor 50mm f1.8D

--Warren

Sunset at Land's End

Nikon D100, Nikkor 50mm f1.8D

Seen yesterday on the Land's End trail near the old Sutro Bath ruins.

--Warren

Portrait of My Mom, Circa 1977

Doris Tang (May 31, 1931 - November 16, 2009)

My mom passed away on Monday, Nov. 16, 2009. A few years ago, I was looking through some old b&w negatives that I had from years ago. I found this portrait that I took of my mom in the 70's. I think it was 1977. At that time, I was shooting with a Nikon F2, and probably a Nikkor 50mm f1.4 with Kodak Plus-X film. I developed the film at home. Well, at the time, I was just practicing my portrait technique, and I never thought that I would be using this picture 32 years later for her memorial service.

--Warren

Class Assignment - Self Portrait

Held a flashlight in my feet to get some fill light. Hard to gauge when shoot with film.

Adjusted the tone in Light Room to add some green.

This was a difficult assignment, since I had never really done self-portraits and for that matter have limited experience doing portraits. My teacher wanted us to emphasize different types of light.

My silver gelatin print does not have the post process vignetting or the slight blue tone that I added in the scanned file.

All in all taking pictures of yourself is a little humbling.

Dan

White Mountains

These first two shots at 10,400' in the White mountains along the CA and Nevada Border are obviously with IR film. A real pain to use since it was my first experience.

The starkness and brilliance of the sky is incredible, the Bristlecone Pines, (most in excess of over 500 years old and listed as the oldest living organisms on the planet) start at 10,000 feet. Oddly the harsher the conditions the older and better they survive. The climate changes we are experiencing are making them grow faster and more susceptible to disease. Most of these color shots were taken above 11,000' in early October with the temperature around 55 degrees.

This last shot is on the way down from the Bristlecones forest stands and depicts the high desert juniper and pinon pine scrub vegetation.

Dan

Les Shoes in Paris

These are being posted for Dolph because I think he likes these shots.

These were taken on Champs Elysées in Paris, France. I had to put my lense right on the window of the shoppe to eliminate the glare. Too bad they didn't have a price tag on them. Honestly, I think they were merely decorative - a work of art truly.

Bodie State Park

Bodie State Park is an abandoned Gold Rush Town that functioned until the Depression. Located in the Eastern Sierras at 8500' it is desolate. Nearest town of "significance" Lee Vining and it takes 4 miles on a dirt road to reach this gem.

Since it is in the high desert most of the abandoned equipment and structures remain relatively intact.

Couldn't resist the John Ford type shot since I was feeling like part of the Old West

Dan

A Walk to Vernal Falls

The walk takes you from the Valley through a predominately conifer forest along the Merced River. The climb is mellow at first.

By the time you see the falls, the trail is carved via a staircase into the granite walls

Flows this time of year are very low and especially since CA is in a drought. Normally, this is a real torrent.

For me going down is harder than going up because of the irregular stairs that extend for a half mile or so.

Dan

Old Barn and Silo, Freestone, Ca

Yashica T4 Super, Kodak 400CN

We came through here almost exactly three years ago. We went back last weekend to visit the WildFlour Bakery again. This scene didn't change at all in three years.

-Warren

Mono Lake Early and Late

Looking Southeast towards Death Valley (75+ miles) and the desert.

I had to tone the colors down on these. Incredible sunsets at 6300+ feet.

My first time in the high desert during the fall and I must say the colors are really spectacular. Locals told me that the Winter sky and horizons are even more dramatic.

Dan

Cascading Staircases

Yashica T4 Super, Kodak 400CN

This is a corner of Alta Plaza Park in Pacific Heights.

--Warren

Corporate Presence

Yashica T4 Super, Kodak 400CN

Looking out on quaint old Fillmore Street with its Victorian buildings, from a Starbucks with Noah's Bagels across the street. The person in the window seems to be upset about it :).

--Warren

Appliance Roadkill

Yashica T4 Super, Kodak 400CN

I recently acquired yet another super film camera. This one is the cult classic, Yashica T4 Super (known as "T5" outside of the U.S.). I already have an original Yashica T4 that I purchased new in the early-1990's. My original T4 has been my favorite film P&S camera because of its superb Carl Zeiss Tessar 35mm f3.5 T* lens. Over the years, I've often thought about buying a newer example of this camera because mine was getting old and a bit dusty in the viewfinder (though it continues to perform well).

This little camera has such a cult following that prices for used ones have remained high even with the advent of the digital revolution. I got this T4 Super free because someone had moved onto digital. This is my first test roll through the camera just to make sure that it was working properly. The T4 Super adds several improvements to the original T4, but keeps the same, excellent Zeiss lens. The main improvements are: weather sealing, and a "Superscope" waist level finder. However, in practice, my middle aged eyesight cannot really cope with the tiny auxiliary finder.

This shot was taken on one of my lunchtime walks around the Civic Center/Hayes Valley neighborhoods. The shadows and odd appearance of an appliance on the sidewalk caught my eye.

--Warren