Tilden Botanical Garden

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photo by Donald Kinney

If you enjoy looking at gardens and plants, the Bay Area is the place to be.   I found this tranquil scene in Tilden Botanical Garden, on the other side of the hill behind Oakland.   We also have the San Francisco Botanical Garden in Golden Gate Park which is close to the fabulous Conservatory of Flowers.   Up the road a bit in Santa Rosa is the home and growing grounds of Luthur Burbank.   But in my opinion, the place that takes-the-cake is the U.C. Berkeley Botanical Gardens, which is divided up into plant regions of the world, including a really interesting garden of California natives.   See you there...

CLICK if you would like to see photos from U.C. Berkeley Botanical Gardens


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marriage in San Francisco

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photo by Donald Kinney

Oh, I guess I still harbor a few stains of homophobia deep down in my polluted soul -- but I fully support, approve of, and celebrate San Francisco's decision to allow gay people the same human rights the rest of us are able to enjoy.

No, I've never been married -- probably because most women scare the crap out of me -- but really, I've got nothing against traditional marriage either.

So anyway, I'm off to the City this morning to join the 1,200,000 spectators that will line Market Street to watch this year's Pride Parade.   Snap, snap, snap...


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ripples

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photo by Donald Kinney

Well, here's my beloved Lagunitas Creek again, but this is an afternoon shot and all the colorful reflections had vanished hours earlier.   But ripples are fun too...

Actually I probably should crop this photo down quite a bit to focus more attention on the action in the center of the photo, but I hate to do a lot of cropping on my photos, so I guess I will just "have" to get back out to the creek and see if I can get a bit closer.   I might need a pair of rubber boots...   (From November to May nobody is allowed to enter the Lagunitas Creek becuse the newly spawned Coho Salmon and Steelhead Trout eggs might be disturbed)



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odd sky - Sky Watch Friday

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photo by Donald Kinney

California skies are filled with smoke from a rash of wildfires all over the state, so we probably won't be seeing pretty blue skies for another week.
I shot this a week or two ago.   It might look a bit odd because I posterized it a bit -- it looked pretty darned boring otherwise.

Happy Sky Watch Friday everybody!


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more colorful water

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photo by Donald Kinney


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"W"ater -- it's ABC Wednesday !

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photo by Donald Kinney

splish, splash, I was taking a bath...

Well, actually that is the fountain in downtown Sausalito.
Not quite as famous as the nearby Golden Gate Bridge, but still the perfect backdrop for the Bay Area tourist to get his or her photo snapped.


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colorful water, Lagunitas Creek

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photo by Donald Kinney

I always enjoy snapping these colorful water shots, and most folks seem to love them...   They're easy to take -- all you need is a stream completely in shade, surrounding vegetation illuminated, and a low-angled sun behind the camera.


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Shapes, San Francisco

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photo by Donald Kinney

Back in the late '60's and early '70's most everybody thought San Francisco's Planning Commission was nuts for allowing such an unusual building, but I think by now most everybody has come around to actually love the shape of the building, and especially what it does for the San Francisco skyline.

So why is the building (853 feet) so tall?   Because Transamerica wanted it to be taller than their competitor at 555 California Street, even though that building is built on considerably higher ground.   The Transamerica Corportation is no longer located in the building...

And here is something you may not have heard about:
The building is considered to have been the intended target of a foiled terrorist attack, involving the hijacking of airplanes as part of Oplan Bojinka, which was foiled in 1995.   Read more about the Transamerica Building at: Wikipedia


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a day at the beach...

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photo by Donald Kinney

...and a fine time was had by all

But if I had been a better "reporter", I would have made contact with this family and found out their names and where they were from.   I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that they aren't California natives.   This photo was taken on Friday at Rodeo Beach, about a mile from the Golden Gate Bridge.


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Water, like stained glass

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photo by Donald Kinney

The hurried passerby might not notice them at all, but there's about a billion colors within the pristine depths and shallows of the Lagunitas Creek...


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Sunrise -- it's Sky Watch Friday !

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photo by Donald Kinney

Happy Sky Watch Friday everybody...

If I get my butt in gear early enough this morning -- and if I'm lucky -- I just might be able to find another sun in the clouds...


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glare on water

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photo by Donald Kinney


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the color Violet -- ABC Wednesday

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photo by Donald Kinney

V is for the color Violet.

Well, there MUST be a shade of true violet in there someplace...
People always seem to differ on what they think violet should be.   I spent 15 years mixing colors in a paint factory, so I know from experience that my idea of violet is most likely going to be different than yours.   So, here's a variety of violet, purple, and blue hues -- pick out one you like...


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M.M., chalk on pavement

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photo by Donald Kinney

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photo by Donald Kinney

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photo by Donald Kinney



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Street Painting Festival, San Rafael

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photo by Donald Kinney

The Italian Street Painting Festival in San Rafael, California, has grown into a huge artistic happening over the years.   The city closes down three blocks and turns hundreds of artists loose to complete their masterpieces in chalk pastel.


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stained glass water

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photo by Donald Kinney

Three or four years ago I discovered a specific time of day (about 9AM) under specific lighting conditions (surrounding foilage illuminated, but not creek) when everything is perfect for a light-and-color show of epic proportions in our beloved Lagunitas Creek.


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Angel Island, oversaturated

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photo by Donald Kinney

When I have an otherwise hopeless photo, I sometimes like to experiment with a limited number of colors in the image for that posterized look...

This is Angel Island in the middle of San Francisco Bay, taken from Sausalito.

You can probably tell, but it was taken at sunrise, not sunset.


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it's Sky Watch Friday !

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photo by Donald Kinney

Not a cloud in the sky on Tuesday, so I knew it wouldn't be much of a sunrise, but I headed down to a favorite vantage point in Sausalito anyway.   I got my shots, but just as I was calling-it-a-wrap I noticed the birds (above) flying over.   Sometimes you've just gotta be there...

I snagged this shot (below) several months ago:

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photo by Donald Kinney

And it's been GREAT meeting so many of the participants in Sky Watch Friday -- this is only my third post, so I guess I'm still the new guy out here.


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ocean splash

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photo by Donald Kinney


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UnUsUal -- ABC Wednesday

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photo by Donald Kinney

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photo by Donald Kinney

Yes folks, the letter this week is U -- not an easy assignment...

But UnUsUal is definitely the word for the exterior of San Francisco's DeYoung Museum in Golden Gate Park.   The builders went to a lot of trouble to emboss and perforate the exterior of the UnUsUal building -- and of course a lot of people thought the design was hideous at first (and some still do)...   Anyway, if you can get past the exterior, a wealth of treasures is on display inside, including a fantastic collection of African art.   See you there...


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Rose Garden, morning

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photo by Donald Kinney

If you like roses, this would make a great time to visit the Rose Garden in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.   Within walking distance of the Rose Garden is an interesting butterfly exhibit at the Conservatory of Flowers;   the DeYoung Museum is just down the road;   the Japanese Tea Garden shouldn't be missed;   and don't forget the Botanical Garden -- which, like the Rose Garden is free.   See you there...


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Mt. Tamalpais + snags

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photo by Donald Kinney


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G.G.B., framed

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photo by Donald Kinney

Of course, the Golden Gate Bridge has been snapped about 17 billion times, but I never get tired of looking for a new way to shoot it.


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sunrise

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photo by Donald Kinney


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it's Sky Watch Friday !

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photo by Donald Kinney

Another advertisement for getting up early...
Found this shot on the banks of San Pablo Bay (the upper thumb of San Francisco Bay), between Tiburon and San Quentin.


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Tiger (mom & the kids)

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photo by Donald Kinney


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photo by Donald Kinney


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The Thinker -- ABC Wednesday

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photo by Donald Kinney

Whoopie !
I'm a brand new member in ABC Wednesday -- and here's my "T"...
That's Rodin's Thinker, one of about 18 bronze castings -- this one, originally owned by Alma Spreckles, wife of the wealthy sugar baron, in the courtyard of San Francisco's Legion of Honor.


Of all the works by Rodin, the most famous one is unquestionably the great Thinker.   It was modelled in 1880-1882 for The Gates of Hell, and exhibited in its original size (H. 71.5 cm) in Copenhagen in 1888.   It was enlarged in 1902 and exhibited in this form at the Salon of 1904 where it aroused strong reactions from the press.   It was on this occasion that Gabriel Mourey, editor of the magazine Les Arts de la vie, launched a subscription for a bronze "offered to the people of Paris" to erase the affront caused by the refusal of the statue of Balzac in 1898.

The Thinker was the first work by Rodin to be erected in a public place.   It was inaugurated in front of the Pantheon on 21 April 1906 during an intense political and social crises which turned this sculpture into a socialist symbol.   In 1922, using as a pretext that the statue created an obstacle during ceremonies, it was transported, with its pedestal, to the garden of the Hôtel Biron which had by then become the Rodin Museum.   Another example was placed over the tomb of Rodin in Meudon.     source: http://www.musee-rodin.fr/senf2-e.htm


If you're interested I've also got two Thinkers up
on today's edition of   The Daily Duo.


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giant leaf

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photo by Donald Kinney

I got to San Francisco's Botanical Garden extra early on Sunday and discovered this giant illuminted leaf enjoying the morning as much as I was.


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extra fancy box

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photo by Donald Kinney

I spotted this extra fancy legged ceramic box in a Sausalito shop window.
I don't know anything thing about it, other than it couldn't have been decorated any more complexly or interestingly.


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art at Bolinas Beach

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photo by Donald Kinney

I think the graffiti at Bolinas Beach is really high-quality art.
Bolinas has no shortage of artists, creative people, and free-thinkers...


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