The Fog That Ate San Francisco

I was sitting high up in the gun batteries of The Presidio overlooking The Golden Gate, I waited for, in the words of the Firesign Theater (does that date me or what?) the afternoon miracle. "Here it comes, Myrtle!" And then the fog rolls into the Bay. First under the bridge, then engulfing it. It inches up the cliff upon which I am perched. Soon visibility is down to a hundred feet or less. God I love it so!

There's Really Nothing Like The Golden Gate

There are bridges, and then there is The Golden Gate. I have a bazillion captures of the bridge, but I'll restrain myself tonight, and that's not easy. What a place!

Both ends of the bridge provide endless opportunities. You would have to be completely inept to walk away without something that makes folks say, "Ohhhhhh my God!" Totally stunning location.

Tour de Golden Gate

The Golden Gate at San Francisco

My hometown. For all its weirdness, ie. the leadership of the city, it is still one of the most beautiful places on earth. I go often to visit my heart.

Ooooops, It Looks to Be a Real Storm!

Welllllll... With 60 mph winds and an inch of rain per hour or so, looks like we actually are going to have a "storm" worthy of the name.

Shutterbug Underexposed Joins Ye Olde Blogroll

Micki uses a Minolta 35mm just like your humble shooter... I think I'm in love. Us old dinasuars gotta stick together! She has some lovely stuff on her blog and a good eye. Do pay her a visit here.

Julia Pfeiffer State Park

Another Rosey Day in Claifornia

Sunny Day at the Coast

Actually we are fixing to get another "storm" today. I grin when I hear that word used here. Go back to Missouri, and I'll show you a storm. As that Dundee fella might have said years ago, "Storm? You call that a storm? THIS is a storm." (Envision a funnel cloud bearing down on you and fragments of a barn heading for the stratosphere.)

Anyway, I never tire of roaming up and down Route 1. With birds soaring, sea lions barking and the wind blowing in off the Pacific. Talk about God's country.

Ali Caught Me...

This is what the pic below looked liked before it got abused by Mr. Photoshop :)

Welcome Rob Burlingame to Ye Old Blogroll

Images of Mine is a really good and really fun photoblog. Rob has an "interesting" sense of humor for which I am sure there is an appropriate medication. Check him out.

Point Sur Video

Put up a new video of my favorite subject here. The music is shamelessly Irish as am I. The editing of the video is not all that great, I didn't have a chance to trim out all the shakey parts. But, it's kind of entertaining anyway.

If you have not been to Google video before, you may not know that there also is an option to select "more videos from this user" and you can see my earlier posts. I especially recommend the Christmas Greeting.

Anyway, Point Sur is the most magical place, especially at sunrise. "Just you and me Lord, just you and me."

It Costs WHAT????!!!!

A Carmel "cottage." Yeh, like The Breakers at Newport is a cottage. Enough of Carmel. Back to my usual stuff tomorrow.

Carmel

I am not a big fan of Carmel, bit ostentatious for my taste, but it does have some nice things to photograph. These two shots have been run off on our large format inkjet printer at 18x12 and are just stunning.

Above the Santa Clara Valley

Ag is big time in this part of California. This shot is taken with my Fuji digital above the Santa Clara Valley. We had gone to Gilroy looking for a color laser printer and took a side trip up to Gilroy Hot Springs and Coyote Creek headwaters. Did not get the printer until we went to San Jose on Sunday where there is a Comp USA, but the sidetrip was fun and scenic.

Dawn at Point Sur

A time shared with my brother. The Santa Ana is blowing. Warm air pours over and down the hill to our overlook of Point Sur. Absolutely magical.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeek!

I walked out the door this morning and looked across the valley at Fremont Peak. The mountain is named for that idiot from St Louis, the "famous" Pathfinder who nearly singlehandedly made sure California stayed part of Mexico, similarly almost handed Missouri into the Confederacy and repeatedly got his a$$ kicked in the Shenandoah Valley by Stonewall Jackson.

But I digress.

When I looked out the door and across the valley I saw SNOW on top of said mountain. SNOW! We don't do snow here, it's hard on the magnolias and suntans.

A sign of the Apocolypse?

Could be.

MontereyJohn

Photo is webcam atop Fremont Peak 9:50 AM PST

Meanwhile Back at Home...

Pacific Grove on the southside of Monterey Bay is just down the road a bit. It is a wonderful place to just go and be near the sea. The place teems with wild life; gulls, sealions, otters... all sorts of critters. It is your basic target-rich environment for the photographer.

David Kleinert Added to Blogroll

A very nice blog from Down Under. Pay him a visit.

Hanging Out at The Iron Door Saloon

Kodak Portra

My brother shot this with Kodak Portra. This film produces the truest color I have seen, far superior to any digital. Digital is chronically over-saturated which is pretty, just not particularly true to life. Other films produce lesser results. Portra is expensive, but if you are looking for realism, it is in a league by itself.

The Booming Metropolis of Groveland in the High Sierra

Neat little town not far from Yosemite. Has a great joint my old friend Holly B. would have approved of, The Iron Door Saloon. Good burgers and beer. In the summertime the town is pretty lively. But during the winter it is all but abandoned, no doubt because snow comes 15' at a shot. But when we were there, it was warm and sunny.

In The Sierra

Went looking for snow last week in the Sierra. My brother flew out from Florida prepared with parka, gloves, long johns etc. It was 65 degrees on the floor of Yosemite Valley! That's California for you... fickle.

Settling Back into Reality

Reality is just a crutch for those who can't handle drugs and alcohol goes the old saw.

After a week of enjoying my brother's company and the glories of California, it's time to get on with the rest of life. My innner Bart, as in Bart Simpson, is not happy at the prospect. He would much rather play.

It is not just the routine of going back to the practice (honest, I'll get it right one of these days) of law, it's also all the other things that get to me.

While enjoying the time off last week, we had to put someone very close to me in a nursing home. Her name is Christine. (I give her name for those who are so inclined to include her in your prayers.) It was a frankly awful experience. She is 90 years old and had a psychotic dementia episode. It was no longer safe for her or us to have her in the home. Talk about sad and guilty feelings.

Folks, those are hard realities with which to deal.

So, Bart is a bit discontented right now.

But then again, there is several hours of video to edit (which will go up on Google when it's ready) and a bazillion photographs with which to work.

Can I tell a client to, "Eat my shorts?"

Just Some Random Shots

Mountain Stream

Few More Macros