Inverness and Point Reyes

click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

On your way to Point Reyes National Seashore you will travel along the western shore of the long finger of Tomales Bay, eventually passing through the tiny town of Inverness -- don't blink or you'll miss it.

This is the Dacha where the Lypinski family lives.   The detail on the structure is absolutely amazing.   Dacha is a Russian word for seasonal or year-round second homes, often occupied for part of the year by their owners then rented out to urban residents as summer retreats.  



click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

Oh, don't stop and try to hire a launch -- the current residents (((yes, it is a private home now))) won't have a clue what you're talking about.

There's all sorts of stuff to photograph in Inverness.   The beached fishing boat out behind the General Store is hard to miss and always guarantees a good shot.

And some day I'm going to stop and shoot the colorful flags at the Buddhist supply store at Inverness Park.   And nearby, I've always wanted to shoot the massage sign next to the impressive display of Abalone shells.



click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

I don't know what happened -- radio waves or something -- I was walking down the Cypress Tree Tunnel towards historic KPH Radio Station when everything inverted on me -- it was quite a trip...   (((but really the photo I shot didn't really amount to much, so I didn't quite know what to do with it)))   CLICK for a more normal looking photo -- not a new one -- but not inverted, looking in the opposite direction.

RADIO STATION KPH ?

Yes -- the building at the end of the Cypress Tree Tunnel served as the receiving end of ship-to-shore communications dating all the way back to the early days of radio.   It worked in tandem with the transmitting leg of the operation several miles south near Bolinas.

The great part of the story is that the station is still there with all of it's equipment still in place, although the station hasn't been operational for twenty or so years.   And yes, the public is allowed inside the building on weekends.   It's a visit you'll probably never forget.   Dit, dit, dit, dash, dash, dash...

CLICK to read the post I did on KPH not too long ago.



EXTRA, EXTRA, EXTRA...     BONUS EDITION

Mentioning the Cypress Tree Tunnel reminded me of my photo-buddy back in Ohio -- he loves to come out here and shoot in this area, and over the years he has become quite enamored by the Cypress Tree Tunnel; as have other photographers, including television commercial producers who take advantage of the enveloping feeling exuded by the old Cypress trees.

But this buddy of mine, Jan Bell, finally left a comment on the January 20 edition -- I was talking about how he had suggested I take the brown cast out of the rushing (((and silt filled))) water.   Anyway, Jan has been a great friend the past couple years, and he's taught me some valuable stuff about Photoshop.   He's one of these photographers who puts a lot of time and care into exposing each shot -- and he's got all the equipment -- and the patience to use it...   Me? -- I hate using my tripod.   As for my equipment, all I have is one do-it-all zoom lens, maybe a cloth to wipe my lens, a couple extra memory cards, maybe a couple extension tubes that I might use for flower close-ups, an extra battery, and that's about it.   I try to keep my equipment simple because I'm so stoooopid!

Anyway, here is a screencapture of Jan's recent comment:



AND, I think everybody should go look at Jan Bell's smart new website at www.bellimages.com.



I worked on the HTML and CSS coding for this site.   Jan is a soon-to-be-retired pro design guy at a television station in the midwest, but his personal photography has won numerous awards at exhibitions -- he often goes on the National art-fair circuit hawking his framed prints.   People, including me, love his work.


CLICK to visit my Daily-Duo. 
CLICK to visit KittyBLOG -- the daily doings of my cat.
CLICK for what I call my BIG site.


Your comments are invited and welcome.