August 31, 2011

Northbeach and Chinatown - a short walkaround


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photo by Donald Kinney

San Francisco's Northbeach was Mecca for the Beat Generation in the 1950's, just as Haight-Ashbury was Mecca for the Hippies in the 1960's. And although I was jut a bit too young to get in on the Beat Generation, my brother, four years my senior, got a taste of the Northbeach "scene", back in the day.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Most any Sunday morning, very early, you're probably going to find me outside the window display of Graffeo Coffee on Columbus Avenue, shooting, once again, their delightfully oversized and tilted display table. No, that's not a real cup of jo, nor would I recommend taking a bite of the lacquered biscotti.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Or you might find me down the street at The Stinking Rose--it's closed at 7AM also. If you didn't know, The Stinking Rose is famous for serving all dishes with enough garlic to raise the dead.



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photo by Donald Kinney

The Moon Festival is coming to Chinatown. Stay tuned...



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August 30, 2011

Naked Ladies, and other strange plants


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photo by Donald Kinney

At an early age I somehow picked up on some racy gardener's lingo--the beautiful blueish Agapanthus plant is sometimes called "Aggie's Panties". And these beautiful Amaryllis blossoms (above) are often called "Naked Ladies".



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photo by Donald Kinney

But I haven't a clue what this rather stunning plant is--it is abundant along Marin County roadsides. I found this proud specimen yesterday afternoon at Nicasio Lake.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Oh, did I mention I was out at Nicasio Lake yesterday afternoon?



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photo by Donald Kinney

I had great fun playing with all sorts of shapes and designs in this huge mat of flattened reeds. Quite a lot, really, going on there...



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August 29, 2011

Cypress Trees, bathed in fog


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photo by Donald Kinney

I've spent two delightful mornings recently with Cypress and fog near the Sutro Baths and Cliff House area of San Francisco's western coastline.



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photo by Donald Kinney

I've been trying out my new camera body, the Canon5D Mark2. With over 330,000 shutter actuations, my trusty old Canon5D was growing a bit long-in-the-tooth.



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photo by Donald Kinney

But what a plethora of great photo-ops here amidst the Cypress. The Park Service has built a zig-zagging trail through the trees and has done a lot of native plant restoration in the area.



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photo by Donald Kinney

I am no stranger to fog. It is an old friend. The fog and twisted Cypress remind me of similar scenes I explored as a kid on the Monterey Peninsula, oh so many years ago.

When I get older, losing my hair
Many years from now
Will you still be sending me a Valentine
Birthday greetings, bottle of wine?
If I'd been out till quarter to three
Would you lock the door?

Will you still need me, will you still feed me
When I'm sixty-four?

You'll be older too
And if you say the word
I could stay with you
I could be handy, mending a fuse
When your lights have gone
You can knit a sweater by the fireside
Sunday morning, go for a ride
Doing the garden, digging the weeds
Who could ask for more?

Will you still need me, will you still feed me
When I'm sixty-four?

Every summer we can rent a cottage in the Isle of Wight
If it's not too dear
We shall scrimp and save!
Grandchildren on your knee
Vera, Chuck, and Dave
Send me a postcard, drop me a line
Stating point of view
Indicate precisely what you mean to say;
Yours sincerely, wasting away!
Give me your answer, fill in a form
Mine forevermore

Will you still need me, will you still feed me
When I'm sixty-four?




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August 28, 2011

Sunrise on San Pablo Bay


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photo by Donald Kinney

For me, the rising sun more-or-less climbs up-and-out of San Pablo Bay; which I always delight in calling "the northern thumb of San Francisco Bay".



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photo by Donald Kinney

So, "yawn", "gurgle-gurgle", most sleepy-heads wouldn't be aware of the slight, yet inexplicable differences between a sunrise and a sunset.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Personally, I prefer sunrises--and the reward of a dramatic sunrise is SO great that the effort of getting out of bed is usually worth it.



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photo by Donald Kinney

San Pablo Bay, looking towards the San Rafael-to-Richmond Bridge.



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August 27, 2011

full plate of fog on Hawk Hill


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photo by Donald Kinney

I suppose the philosophy of "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" is a bit fatalistic and untrue to one's soul, but when it comes to sun-versus-fog we photogs have got to sort of "roll with the punches" and "eat what is on our plate".



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photo by Donald Kinney

Hawk Hill is the highest point in the area overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge, and you guessed it--is home to Hawks. Also Ravens, Turkey-Vultures, seagulls, and probably every other kind of bird I can't name.



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photo by Donald Kinney

The ferns seemed most happy in the moist air.



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photo by Donald Kinney

And normally gloomy, the moss-covered pines were almost inviting.



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August 26, 2011

Lagunitas -- little lagoons in Spanish


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photo by Donald Kinney

Wrapping up here at Lagunias Creek today, maybe I should tell you that "lagunitas" means "little lagoons" in Spanish, so I understand.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Molten water...



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photo by Donald Kinney

And rather abstract water...



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August 25, 2011

morning at Lagunitas Creek


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photo by Donald Kinney

I suppose it is the reflective nature of the creek



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photo by Donald Kinney

that draws me,



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photo by Donald Kinney

filling my head and memory card with an abundance of tranquility.



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photo by Donald Kinney

The Lagunitas Creek. Nature at her finest.



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August 24, 2011

reflecting on Lagunitas Creek


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photo by Donald Kinney

During winter months pesky photographers, people, and dogs are told to stay out of Lagunitas Creek or risk crushing endangered Coho Salmon eggs deposited in gravel along the creek-bed during the spawing process.



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photo by Donald Kinney

I recently purchased a pair of rubber boots--great fun for sloshing around in the creek. I am now able to navigate into new vantage points.



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photo by Donald Kinney

I am intrigued by the designs--I call them "fleeting little works of art". Art "first class". Art that is right there, for real, in front of me. All changeable and dramatic. Amazing, I think, really...


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August 23, 2011

spooking around in Montezuma Hills


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photo by Donald Kinney

Since practically nobody ever would have a reason to go there, I'm not sure why I need to tell you exactly where this barn is located, but this well ventilated old barn is at the end of Emigh Road, between the tiny towns of Birds Landing and Collinsville in the Montezuma Hills (that I mentioned yesterday).



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photo by Donald Kinney

"Framing-up-the-photographic-possibilities" is what "turns-me-on". Finding an old barn with a plethora of photographic-possibilities usually "blows-my-mind". Poof.



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photo by Donald Kinney

So finally, let me show you the Montezuma Hills. Wheat growing and sheep ranching and a bit of cattle. Vast farms of wind-turbines. And pretty much everywhere you look is wheat. Not many people, but a whole lot of wheat.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Oh lord, I want to vote the bums out too, but I just don't think I'm ready for ANOTHER Presidential campaign. Loonies under God. But hmmmm--sounds like some grand photo-opportunities and a few laughs. LOL, as they say...

Pray for peace.



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August 22, 2011

Montezuma Hills, windmills and rolling hills


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photo by Donald Kinney

I've known about the blessed solitude of the Montezuma Hills for the past 40 years, and have watched as a handful of wind-turbines have turned into legions.

The location is at the base of the Sacramento Delta, between Fairfield and Rio Vista.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Other than seekers-of-solitude, photographers, and fans of wind-generated power, not many folks actually GO to the Montezuma Hills.



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photo by Donald Kinney

I don't think these common birds have much to fear but there is a popular duck-hunting club in the microscopic Montezuma Hills town of Bird's Landing.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Just a few of the old-style of windmills remain. This one apparently has been pumping water for a long time.


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August 21, 2011

searching for sunrise


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photo by Donald Kinney

This time of year the San Francisco Bay Area is usually bathed in a sea of morning fog, and finding the rising of the sun in the thick-of-it can be a daunting task. I've probably said it a million times--fog is fickle...



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photo by Donald Kinney

The first photo is from China Camp but I snagged these two images south of Cordelia, looking out across the top of Suisun Bay towards the Montezuma Hills (which we'll get to tomorrow).



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photo by Donald Kinney

The fifteen or twenty minutes before sunrise is always the best, but then after the hot ball-of-fire appears other photo opportunities present themselves. The fun begins. I've probably said it a million times--but the trick is just to BE there...


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August 20, 2011

a walk in downtown San Francisco


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photo by Donald Kinney

Yerba Buena Gardens--with it's modern architecture, fountains, grassy areas, and room for people to hang out--sprang to life about the same time San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art opened it's doors in the 1980's.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Rather blurred here, but MOMA has a distinctive circular design on it's exterior.



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photo by Donald Kinney

The usual bit of artful dancing was going on at the cable-car turnaround.



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photo by Donald Kinney

I'm afraid Merrill's Drug Store on Market Street has gasped it's last breath. I'll have to do a proper survey but it seems like half of the businesses on Market Street have folded and are boarded up now.



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photo by Donald Kinney

And although San Francisco seems to have fallen on hard times, the promise of the human heart still seems to need a bit of jewelry.



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August 19, 2011

shapes and designs - down by the bridge


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photo by Donald Kinney

When I was a kid I lived on the tip of the Monterey Peninsula, where traveling north, west, or south on any street or avenue would eventually bring me to either Monterey Bay or the Pacific Ocean.

Now living in Marin County, for me to get my "water-kicks" these days I need to travel 20 miles to the south; to the Point Bonita and Fort Baker sections of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Often the weather is overcast at Point Bonita, just like I remember on the Monterey Peninsula.



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photo by Donald Kinney

That's the appropriately named Bird Island on the right.



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photo by Donald Kinney

I guessed that the other fellow walking on the beach wouldn't engage me in the sport of "see-saw" on this beam, so we went on our separate ways.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Yes, we "Marinites" enjoy our playground down-by-the-bridge...

Meet Robb Collins, who had an easel set up and looked to be having a great time painting the San Francisco skyline from a good vantage point at Point Covello. Robb Collins has a great website featuring his paintings at: http://www.robbcollins.com/Art/Home.html.



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