San Francisco

Catalonia...

I wonder if this place, Catalonia, is the canary in the coalmine. What I mean by this is the following ... I've noticed of late that a lot of small regions are striving to get away from their bigger brethren. Scotland and Ireland for example. Or the Donbas in Ukraine. Or what happened to Yugoslavia. One can point to literally hundreds of places where the people are very unhappy with the powers that be and are agitating for their independence. I don't have a really firm opinion on this one way or the other but it certainly runs contrary to all the elite attempts to cobble together one big entity that rules them all. Suddenly trade agreements are falling apart and the EU looks a bit shaky given Greece and the Brits. Even the US is starting to see some ominous cracks. It certainly seems plausible that America could fracture into several large autonomous countries ... don't you think? The south certainly, then the West excluding the left coast, then the industrial northeast and maybe Texas on it's own. That would leave Alaska and Hawaii as odd men out with no where really to go. Maybe Alaska joins with the south or the mountain west region and Hawaii jumps in with California. I think many on both sides would agree that maybe Lincoln was wrong to force the south back into the union. Look what an unhappy lot they've been ever since. They just don't seem to fit in very well. Same with the mountain west with their libertarian tendencies and their big emphasis on state's rights. It's a very unstable time we live in. So many counteracting forces all pushing and pulling in different directions. Not the big, happy family one would expect. I don't know where this is going but it certainly looks like we're in for a big upheaval. Hold onto your hit ... it's going to get very rocky.

National Park fees...

I see where the Trump administration wants to significantly increase the entrance fees for many of the most popular national parks. I have a senior pass so I'm safe but these new fees, up to $70/car are really steep. A lot of families couldn't afford rates like that. The justification is the increased crowds that are, surely, overwhelming these parks. I can attest to this first hand but I think the solution is not the correct one. What is overwhelming the parks is all the foreign tourists and their big buses. I've been in a venue when a couple of these monsters roll in and it's a huge circus. Especially when they are Chinese. I'm not against Chinese tourists but they are the majority of these big waves that wash over the parks. I was in Yellowstone in late May and saw this issue big time. One morning I was in the midway geyser basin when 2 big buses rolled in. Suddenly there were 150 Chinese, all doing their best to get in each other's way and the noise was impossible. They have no appreciation for the amazing place they are visiting and you literally can't set up to take a picture with them around. I've had them walk in front of my camera and stand (or vamp) while I'm trying to get a shot. There is no respect for others. They all want to vamp for the camera and take a million selfies. For about 30 minutes the place is bedlam. Then they get on their buses and move on down the line. But all too soon another group arrives and the mess repeats. So, why not charge these tour groups big fees to enter the park. Let them pay $100 each for the privilege of visiting our parks. That would raise a lot of money and maybe keep the citizen's fees down to a reasonable level. And maybe cut down significantly on the numbers in the parks. I think it's worth a try.

San Francisco

I love this town. I went to graduate school down the peninsula in Palo Alto and my wife and I would ride the train up just to spend the day wandering around town. I know the overstuffed coders from Google and Facebook have overrun the place but it's still not all that bad. That said I find myself only spending a few days at a time there as the craziness gets to me and I have to chill for a while. This last trip I was only there for 3 days and then moved on. It's hard to find a place to sleep (I don't stay in hotels for a lot of reasons) so I have to drive out of town. This time I spent 2 nights in a rest area on I280 near Hillsboro which was very interesting. But there are so many wonderful places to shoot and that's what keeps me coming back.

This image was taken from the foothills in Golden Gate Recreational Area. I was in the last overlook just before turning north and couldn't pass up taking this image. You can see most of the bay area including the Bay Bridge and Treasure Island (just behind the north tower of the bridge) and just a bit of Alcatraz. It truly is an amazing place.

This is a single image, run through Lightroom. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

San Francisco - 35mm,f/16,30 sec, ISO 200,license CC BY-NC 4.0

Golden Gate Bridge

Nothing in Particular...

It's one of those days where nothing much gets through the daily fog of plodding through the motions. I've been struggling with severe pain the last few days, caused by my arthritis. It's everywhere and when it flairs up I find it very hard to concentrate or to do much of anything other than try to get through the day. Taking pain relievers isn't my thing as they have their own dynamic and I'd rather not become dependent on more pills if at all possible. But you can probably tell that I'm distracted and pain is certainly part of the reason why. I'm also trying to work through some issues that will seriously impact my life going forward and I want to be sure that whatever direction I take it has been carefully vetted.

That said, I can't avoid the fact that my country seems to be spiraling off into oblivion. My president ... oh how I hate to admit that association ... my president is in Hamburg, Germany trying not to look like the fool in front of the world's leaders. I don't think he is succeeding. That may be a good thing as I think it is time for the US of A to pass the baton, to let others have a crack at solving the world's problems. We seem to be failing at that lately. Everything we touch turns to ... excuse my vulgarity ... shit. At a time when we need to be working together to solve some very serious problems, our government is being stupid and greedy. We need to figure out how to survive what's coming and that's not possible given the current political situation in America. We seem to be going backwards, to be looking to the past for answers and that's not what is needed. I wish I could help ... wish I could come up with answers, but I'm too old and too sick. So it's up to others to find a way forward. I wish you luck.

Golden Gate Bridge

I spent several days in the Bay Area, most of that time around the bridge. I love this construction. I'm not a big fan of most human endeavors but building this bridge is very high on my list of great machines. It was an engineering marvel when built in the 30s. But what I like about it is the way it actually enhances the gate. It could have been an ugly, stupid monument (some of the early designs would have been horrible) but a few individuals understood that this bridge had to be not only functional but beautiful. The engineer, Joseph Strauss, and architect, Irving R. Morrow, produced a miracle that has stood the elements for almost 90 years. I hope she stands for 90 more. What an amazing sight.

This image was taken from the bay side of the south anchorage at around 8 am. There were few cars on the bridge at that hour which helped set the mood. It was a very nice morning to visit the grand lady of the gate. It consists of a bracketed set of 3, run through Photomatix and finished in Lightroom. I hope you enjoy this wonderful picture. I certainly enjoyed making it.

Golden Gate Bridge - 35mm,f/18,HDR,ISO 100,license CC BY-NC 4.0

Golden Gate North Tower

Crisis over...

As some of you know, Crimea lost all electricity when someone in Ukraine sabotaged the power lines feeding south from Kerson. That was in mid-November. Well, yesterday Russia turned on the second high-voltage cable feeding Crimea from Krasnodar and we now have 100% of the electricity we need. The emergency generators are being shut down and all the factories and stores that were shuttered are being reopened. The big supermarket, Ashan, where we do our major shopping, opened over the weekend and we were able to get all the pet food and supplies we have been doing without the last month. And, when we got home yesterday afternoon, we were surprised to find that our elevator was working. Oh, what overwhelming joy! No more trudging up 200+ steps carrying heavy bags or dragging my poor, old cocker spaniel behind me. My bad lungs and aching legs rejoiced at the wonder of it all. We are now officially disconnected from all utilities coming from Ukraine, ending the worst part of this mess. No longer can they blackmail Crimea with threats of shutting off utilities. Now that's progress.

Golden Gate North Tower

I've already expounded on the wonder that is the Golden Gate Bridge. It's such a marvelous construction and a magnet for photographers of all skill levels. I was there in May and, as is often the case, the city and bridge were shrouded in thick fog. It was a dark and gloomy night but great for taking pictures. I set up at the lowest overlook and spent a considerable amount of time taking shots. This image was actually a precursor for a panorama I'll present at a later date. The fog was still above the red safety light so you can see the entire bridge. The lighting is just right, projecting from the road deck upwards and the beautiful ironwork provides just the right touch. A truly amazing structure and timeless in it's beauty. 75 years old and still as magnificent as the day she was built. The city isn't too shabby either as you can see.

Golden Gate North Tower - 35mm(1.6 crop),f/11,30 sec,ISO 100,license CC BY-NC 4.0

Golden Gate Bridge

Where am I?

I'm not ignoring you ... I'm just off doing other things. I have a family that needs some attention from time to time and I'm still working on that software project. Plus I'm starting to think through what I want to do on the next cycle which starts probably after the new year. I'm thinking hard about spending a long time in and around LA to work on my timelapse video and then what do I do? I don't want to be driving nearly as much as I did last time ... almost 10k miles and a lot of money. This time I want to be more localized and concentrate on southern California. I think that's possible. And since I want to do a nighttime video I can sleep during the day and avoid most of the issues around night camping and rule breaking. There's lots of issues to be resolved and plans to be made so I'll be busy for the next 4+ months. I'll still try to cull my photos so there's a constant stream of new images but I have other fish to fry too so bear with me while this gets done.

Golden Gate Bridge at Night

I spent a total of 2 days in San Francisco. I've already explained why I cut my stay short so I won't bore you repeating the obvious. I spent almost all that time around the bridge as it's the most obvious landmark in SF. Such an amazing construction and one of the few man made structures that actually enhances it's environment. The guy who designed it made a really excellent choice with the color ... international orange ... which lets the bridge stand out from it's surroundings while actually complementing the colors of the hills and city. A true work of art. And, if you've noticed, one of the few human constructions that appears in my pictures.

It wasn't easy taking this panorama. I had originally hoped to take this picture from the highest observation point in the park but fog got in the way. I was parked high above the bridge, awaiting sunset and the chance to take some really awesome pictures but, as is often the case in northern California, the afternoon fog rolled in and pushed the ceiling down until the bridge disappeared totally from this vantage point. I was forced to work my way down the observation overlooks as the ceiling fell until I was pinned at the lowest observation point. But the insults weren't finished yet. Every time I got out of my truck to set up, some clown would pull into the parking area and leave his lights on so my shots were ruined. Finally, in total frustration, I crawled into my truck and hunkered down until very late ... almost midnight ... when all the gawkers had finally gone home to bed and I had the place all to myself. Fortunately, the fog remained just above the tops of the bridge stanchions so I could see the red fog lights and traffic flowing across the span. It's a very nice picture but not perfect. The fog and mist gives all the lights a halo which is both nice and not so good. Also, some of the sections are a bit overexposed. I plead to frustration ... after all the negative pressure going back many hours I was just rushing to get any image and get back into my truck. At midnight it's really cold and raw up in those hills and standing outside for long periods trying to get the perfect picture is very uncomfortable. If I get back there this next cycle I'll do better ... I promise.

Golden Gate at Night - 16mm(1.6 crop),f/11,HDR,ISO 100,license CC BY-NC 4.0

Golden Gate Bridge

San Francisco disappointment...

I may have already said that San Francisco was a huge disappointment to me. I was so looking forward to some time in the city after a 3 year absence but, when I finally arrived, it was almost impossible to do anything. The problem was my truck ... and finding a safe place to park it. Everywhere I went I saw signs indicating that my truck was at risk of being broken into and I needed to carry all my valuables with me or they would be stolen. Imagine taking all my valuables ... cameras, computers, generator, refrigerator ... all my valuables far exceeded my ability to carry them. So I was always looking over my shoulder and worrying if I'd parked in the wrong place. I'd wanted to find a place to just leave the truck and use public transportation to get around but it was just impossible to find such a place. So, after 2 days of worrying and limiting my activities I threw in the towel and left. I still want to spend time in the city but I need to rethink my strategy and find somewhere, probably outside of the city, to park and ride. But this cycle my plans went up in smoke and I'm not happy about that at all.

Golden Gate Bridge

One doesn't spend time in SF without visiting the great lady in the bay. She just turned 75 a few years ago and looks great. They take excellent care of her as she's an architectural wonder. She actually makes the city look better ... something few bridges can lay claim to. In fact, most of my 2 day stay was focused on capturing images of this great lady. I walked her full length, from the north parking lot all the way to the south pier, and got lots of images. I'm still culling through them but this one is really special. It was taken from the north parking lot looking south. There was a thick fog hovering just above the bridge piers which gave an ethereal look to the image. It was midday so traffic was heavy and, as you can see, lots of people on the bridge. My 200 mm telephoto zoom pulled the image very close, making the distance between piers look much shorter than reality but it gives a really interesting twist to the photo.

Golden Gate Bridge - 200mm(1.6 crop),f/16,HDR,ISO 100,license CC BY-NC 4.0