1962 Chevy Impala SS

 D200, Nikkor 24mm f2.8

I was at the 2012 Palo Alto Concours last weekend, and this car was my favorite of the show. It made me think fondly of my dad's first car which was a 1964 Impala. The '62 is very similar to the '64 model, except ours was a light blue, 4-door hardtop (non-SS). The '62 lines were more angular, the '64 more rounded.

--Warren

Rock Top

The rocks seem impossible.. to stay up there. It's so steep. The little buildings look like they are in danger.

Color in the Summer Forest

Colors during the Summer are limited to shades of green and various earth tones in California's Coastal forests.  This downed log had them all in a relatively small area.  d800e, Zeiss 25mm f2

Dan

Fern Leaf

Panasonic DMC-G1, Konica Hexanon 40mm f1.8

There were a lot of ferns along the Devil's Gulch trail where we went on the hike with Dan.

--Warren

Inside Yaquina Head Lighthouse

Panasonic DMC-G1, Lumix 14mm f2.5

I've been posting a few pictures onto here from our Oregon trip that did not make it to our web galleries. If you want to see our galleries, check them out at ViewfinderSF.com.

I shot exclusively with my G1 with 14mm, 20mm, 40mm Hexanon, and 45-200mm. Gail was using the GF1 with 14-45mm, so I did not have easy access to a 2nd body and the excellent 14-45mm zoom. Having my newly purchased 14mm f2.5 made up for not being able to use the 14-45mm. The 14mm prime has been excellent. I'm very pleased with its performance.

--Warren

Standing Amongst

A couple of miles from my house is a small open space with a stand of old growth 1,000+ year old Redwoods.  d800e, Zeiss 25, f2

Dan

Crawling To The Light

Plants for arid regions... This is was in Santa Barbara. And it's with a pinwide pinhole lens. Had lots of fun playing with that.... I've had it for about a year but only now am I getting around to seeing what I can see with it.

Duck Pond, Lithia Park, Ashland, Oregon

Panasonic DMC-G1, Lumix 14mm f2.5

An Oregon Rhododendron

Panasonic DMC-G1, Lumix 14mm f2.5

Continuing on the flower theme...We saw lots and lots of Rhodies in Oregon. They must like the climate up there.

--Warren

Last Boat In

D200, Nikkor 35mm f2.0

It was a late Sunday afternoon on a beautiful day, and I overheard someone say that this boat was the last one left on the lake, and the boat house workers were waiting for this family to finish their leisurely ride around the lake so that can all go home.

--Warren

Since It Is Summer

Continuing Warren's and my posts of flowers, some of my more exotic cactus flowers are now blooming.  d800e, 70-200 f2.8

Dan

Hydrangea Blooming

D200, Nikkor 24mm f2.8

The Hydrangeas were beginning to bloom on Russian Hill.

--WT

Sutro Bath Sunset, Another View

D200, Nikkor 24mm f2.8

A few minutes later than the first one that I posted. It was getting cold, so we left the area but if we had stayed, we would have seen more pinks and reds in the clouds. Oh well, maybe next time...

--Warren

The Guardians

D200, Nikkor 24mm f2.8

They were keeping an eye on the festivities on Upper Grant Ave. at the North Beach Festival. Everyone was out to have a good time, and very well behaved.

--Warren

Boozers' Corner

D200, Nikkor 24mm f2.8

SF implemented these corrals where people have to go into to have alcoholic beverages...

This is one at Broadway and Columbus for the North Beach Festival.

--Warren

Street Art

D200, Nikkor 24mm f2.8

We were at the North Beach Festival yesterday, on a very warm day. I also took a picture of a street artist at this festival in 2010. Maybe you remember that one? Linked here.

On that day in 2010, I had just transitioned to shooting Micro 4/3, and that day I decided to take my D100 out for a spin. I was able to make some pretty good pictures with that old D100, and I seem to have repeated the experience yesterday with the D200 :).

--Warren

Seen Near Union Square Yesterday

Animal hats and their creator. I like the Angry Birds in the top row :).

 Everybody Hold On...

Happy tourists taking a rest on Powell St. before continuing up the hill.




D200, Nikkor 24mm f2.8

Sunrise Breakfast

This fellow was enjoying a breakfast al fresco for a sunrise on Tomales Bay.

d800e, Zeiss 100 f2.

Sunset at Sutro Baths

D200, Nikkor 24mm f2.8

It was a hot day yesterday, we decided to go out to see the sunset at Sutro Baths to cool down, and were treated to another nice and unique sunset view.

I went out with the D200 yesterday and I'll have more to post later. IQ is spectacular, in my opinion, what do you think? :)

--Warren

Version Two, for Dan. I changed the white balance to make it a bit warmer, and backed off the vibrancy. Yes, I think this looks more natural. :)

--WT

The Wreck of the Point Reyes

This is my first attempt at a multi row pano.  The image is comprised of 8 stitched captures, 4 top and 4 bottom.  Determining the correct nodal point is the trick and I am still working on it.  Each different lens has a distinct point that must be in the center of the horizontal and vertical pivots.  The files before flattening were a whopping 2.8 gigs and still ended up at over half a gig.  d800e, Zeiss- 100 f2.

Dan

Macro in the Garden

Playing with some macro shots in the garden on a warm summer afternoon.

Zeiss 100 f2, d800e

Dan

A Flowery Starfield

Panasonic DMC-G1, Konica Hexanon 40mm f1.8

Seen on the Devil's Gulch Trail, Marin.

The little wildflowers reminded me of stars in the night sky.

--Warren

Mythological Winged Creature

D200, Nikkor 35mm f2.0 ai

Well, that's what it looks like to me. :)

What does it look like to you?

--Warren

One of My Recurring Subjects at Stow Lake

D200, Nikkor 35mm f2.0 ai

It was a beautiful, warm day today, and I was compelled to take a walk around Stow Lake with the D200 and 35mm f2 Nikkor lens. I don't have a camera strap for it yet, so I carried it sans strap. It is a solid piece of gear, which is just slightly smaller, in size than the D100, but much more solid and dense. This is because of the D200's magnesium chassis and metal body. It has a much more rugged feel than the D100, and it feels more like a relative of my F-series Nikon bodies.

--Warren

Sunset out the Back Window

D200, Nikkor 300mm f4.5

That's right, it was taken with a D200. I almost bought Joe's D200 recently, but Dolph was kind enough to send me his very lightly used D200 for me to play with because as you know, I never met an old camera I didn't like.

I received it Friday, and Friday after work, I unpacked it, and found that there was a little juice left in its battery so I started to play with different lenses on the camera, and also to get familiar with operating it.

I looked out the window and saw that the sun was setting so I threw the 300mm on it, and couldn't immediately figure out how to set focal length and max aperture on the D200 because I only handled the camera for about 5 minutes.

Even so, I still managed to grab this shot before the sun set completely. I later found that the D200 has a programmable function button that I programmed to let me quickly set FL and Max aperture whenever I change to a non-cpu lens. The ability to matrix meter with my old Nikkor ai/ais lenses is one of the features that I really wanted, but was not available on my ancient D100. But this ancient D200 has the feature, and a bunch of other improvements over my D100 that I can really appreciate.

I'll talk more about the D200 later, but suffice to say that the camera is rather beastly compared to the Micro 4/3 cameras that I've been using for the last couple of years.

Dan, we'll need to schedule another photo walk soon so that I can give you the 200 Micro, and also so I can check out your D800e.

--Warren

The Spokane River

This was taken from downtown Spokane, last month, on the day of the annual Lilac Parade. Depending on the amount of snow last winter, the river occasionally overflows onto some of the nearby streets, but I don't think this year will have that problem.

Taken with an Olympus E-PL1 with the kit lens, ISO 200, f5.6, 1/500, taken in normal color, and converted to b/w in Picasa.

It Decided To Cross The Road

Cruizin The Neighborhood

Continuing my learning curve with the Nikon

Dan

Birds of a Feather Flock Together

Panasonic DMC-G1, Lumix 45-200mm

I think this photo illustrates the saying :)

As you walk to the end of Yaquina Head, Oregon, you will hear and smell them before your eyes realize that there are thousands of birds on the islands just beyond the shore. A colony of 50,000 to 80,000 Common Murres have taken up residence at this particular location.

--Warren

New Camera

First day with the new Nikon d800e, since I have not used a Nikon since my time with a F2 and have not used a dslr for several years, my learning curve is very steep, but here are some initial impressions:

Weight and balance are not quite to my liking.  My hand does not find the main dial in front of the shutter easily.  I only have one lens for the rig at this time and it is a behemoth 70-200 f2.8.  It does have VR so these posts are reasonably sharp.
The features on this camera are really impressive.  I have not used the live view focusing yet, but want to try that out this weekend on some close up images.  Focus lock and moving the point of focus while keeping the composition is really neat.  So is the Auto ISO.
Obviously the resolving capabilities of this sensor are yet to be fully realized by me, and will take some time to bring it all into play, but the bee and the hummingbird are 100% crops.  Native images are coming into PS at 16 x 24 inches at 300 dpi.  The files are a whopping 200 mb.  Color seems good, these are not post processed at all except for the cropping.  All images captured in Raw 14 bit. 

Dan

Coloured Umbrellas

:)

Getting at something

This mural stuck in my mind for days.. and it was actually 5 days after I took the photo that I decided I needed to write something about it. To acknowledge my curiosity I guess.

It brings the real to unreal, slowly... You kind of move into and out of a physical state.

The papers had handwriting on them. And the match hanging there, at first I thought it was a pencil. But later found more of these matches on other murals in the city where it was clear they were not pencils.

I'm not sure exactly what this says, but the girl's hand drips and it seems in sorrow she is sending mail to someone she misses. There might have been a line of others before and after her doing the same thing..

The dark bird stands there like a clerk, and has seen everyone who has come. He turns his head to not read their personal stories, because he already knows of the pains.

Maybe it is part of a recovery and grieving process. Maybe it is instructive for us all..

Mail To Post Office Portal

Met you with my camera

Clicked until it fit

What I had been hoping for

Found you there

Accepting letters

For who I do not know

For when I wouldn't know why

And how many times

Have the visitors come

To ask you how to cry

Take a match you say

Burn those letters...

Then See how you Are

And ask yourself Why

Have you come here

A Long view of the Evening beginning

The nights smelled like campsites. Everyone burns wood to heat their homes. It doesn't go below zero but it's chilly enough to want some warming.

It seems old fashion. But you will often find satellites on the tin roof homes (as in this case as well).

I like how this shows the transition between day and night.

And I can't help but love the beautiful glassy reflection on that lake way down there.

Time to head indoors..

Absorbing myself into the surroundings. From inside a bubble.

What do you all think about documentary style photography?

It feels a big commitment to document and become absorbed into a totally new society and allow time and experience to earn trust. But once you do, I think it's a feeling of the rewards being worth it. Well, that is how I picture it anyways.. from some work I have seen of others. In general.

I spent 5 weeks in Chile, alongside my dad. He was there for work and we enjoyed the weekends as visitors. I came to visit him, but also to see a new place with my camera and see how it feels that way. Paranoid of losing photos before I returned home, I even opened myself to writing and keeping a travel log to remember things that I might otherwise forget.

Here is one place and one evening. I read the poem to my dad and he laughed and said I will not forget this place. We were lost on rural roads, it was pouring rain, and finally after much concern, we made it to our destination... this muddy muddy farm!

I really enjoy seeing these animal characters of the farm, each with different freedoms and responsibilities.

May Rain in Río Bueno

Brown workhorse in the pearl light

It's 5pm and the sun is dropping

Not like the rain drops

It is slow

Parked the cart and now you wait

Shaking your mane when I look at you

Yellow rubber men walk around

They talk about

They move bags and bins

Jumping from wagon to mud

Workhorse, you're licking your nose

The soggy ropes hang on either side

The dogs wander behind your backside

White one, the little bandit dog

Ghostly, how is it that the only black

On your body are the circles

Surrounding your eyes

Blue sky darkens in the horizon

Many more moments

So patiently the workhorse waits

The rain is still steady

Phantom Road

I love the amount of unknown that exists in this image. Reaching through and past the dark mountainous horizon, and up from the damp darkness. The fiery lights of the truck ahead leads the way, but it is an ominous feeling as to whether or not we should follow.