reflecting on Rodeo Beach

notice: this blog and Don will be on VACATION October 3 through the 16th!


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photo by Donald Kinney

At low tide and with the sun at my back, the yellow and green cliffs at Rodeo Beach were putting on quite a show when I visited a few days ago.



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photo by Donald Kinney

But then, at the same spot but looking towards the sun, a whole different situation developed.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Rodeo Beach is a great place to visit with a friend...



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photo by Donald Kinney

...and also a great place to "go fly a kite", as has been suggested to me so many times over my lifetime.



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And if you want to get your feet wet, Rodeo Beach is a dandy place to do just that. Even if you want to stay dry my suggestion would be to remove your socks and shoes--those waves can be pretty darned sneaky.



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the lake at Nicasio

notice: this blog and Don will be on VACATION October 3 through the 16th!


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photo by Donald Kinney

And once again I found myself out in west Marin County on the shores of the lake at Nicasio. The lifting fog can sometimes put on quite a show.



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photo by Donald Kinney

But I'd have to admit Nicasio Lake is actually a reservoir. A person or creature isn't going to find any true lakes here in Marin County, but over the years our water district has created six reservoirs that fit the bill nicely.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Nicasio Lake is home to many crafty spiders...



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...and a few rather artistic cat-tails.



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San Francisco's deYoung Museum

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photo by Donald Kinney

It's big, odd, and ugly... Pretentious as all get-out--but it does house some magnificent collections of art and has hosted some really great traveling exhibits--the Chihuly Glass exhibit a few years ago easily comes to mind.



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But this is the most recent iteration of the building. The 1895 Egyptian style building was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake, and it's replacement--in the Spanish Renaissance style--started dropping pieces of it's highly ornamental exterior in the late 1940's. After the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake that building was closed and "the powers that be" realized they needed something new (and expensive).



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Voters rejected bond measures twice, but finally a bond measure succeeded and with heavy support from private and corporate donations this new building went up. Some people loved it and some people hated it--such is life in San Francisco.



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The idea of covering the exterior with a perforated copper skin is rather unique but serves no practical function. The off-kilter "arty" tower houses the museum's offices and very little art, but has a fabulous observation deck with splendid views of San Francisco and beyond.



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selective focus -- Transamerica Pyramid

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photo by Donald Kinney

I seem to be stuck in the same old rut of going over to San Francisco early on Sunday mornings, but the idea of not having to feed a parking meter or use a parking garage seems extraordinarily appealing.



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You'll typically find me walking around Northbeach and Chinatown--two of the safer areas in San Francisco--but again, I've gotten stuck in this rut--a broken record so to speak. So last Sunday I decided to explore the hill above Chinatown with it's rather fine views of the Transamerica Pyramid.



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Just too bad these unsightly wires got in the way... But, oh, I'm just kidding. I had an absolute blast framing up several compositions like this. People walking by were giving me that familiar look as if to ask; "What in the world is this guy shooting?" or "Aren't those wires going to get in the way?".



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clouds at sunset

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photo by Donald Kinney

I am a big fan of sunrises, but sunsets--not so much. Sunrises and sunsets are two completely different animals--and you sleepy-heads are just going to take my word for it when I say that with a sunrise there is usually a whole lot of drama in the sky about 20 to 30 minutes prior to the actual arrival of the fireball.



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But yes, these shots were snapped near sunset. And yes, this vantage point is the China Camp area--one of my favorite spots to shoot sunrises.



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A sunrise is the promise of a new day--a fresh start. But I've heard rumors that some folks have a difficult time getting out of bed so early. Probably those same folks who seem to come-alive with the setting of the sun. Different strokes, I suppose, for different folks. Yawn...



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San Francisco's City Hall

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photo by Donald Kinney

They don't build them like this anymore...



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San Francisco's City Hall was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake, but was rebuilt to it's former glory in 1915.



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This impressive style of architecture is Beaux-Arts, and was a monument to the City Beautiful movement that epitomized the high-minded American Renaissance of the 1880s to 1917. The structure's dome is the fifth largest in the world. [source: Wikipedia]



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When I visited Thursday evening the building was almost completely empty--normally it is a very busy place. As I slowly walked up these steps I noticed the janitor with a wet mop waiting patiently for me to get out of his way. I sort of wanted to stop and tell him about my extensive work experience with pushing a mop around, but I felt I had already slowed him down enough with my lazy stroll up his stairs. Maybe another day...



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pre-dawn at Marin Civic Center

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photo by Donald Kinney

Must tell you how much I appreciate the input on the poll/voting system. I am sometimes caught-up in the experience of making the image; and can lose sight of the overall success of a photo.

I'm showing a different version of the image here today. CLICK if you missed yesterday's more squarish image. Yes, I agree with the general concensus--it's probably just an "o.k." photo.  Must do better...



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Nevertheless, these are lights at Frank Lloyd Wright's fabulous Marin Civic Center.



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Frank Lloyd Wright named this style of architecture "organic", as if it was one with it's surroundings.

If you missed my posts from a few days ago of Marin Civic Center, scroll down to the October 17 and 18 editions.



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a walk in the woods, poetically

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photo by Donald Kinney

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.



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And so it went--I was in the seventh-grade and my report on my "favorite poem" was due...



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It took a bit of courage but I handed-in the report, knowing full well that I might be asked to read the poem--uncensored--to the class. Yes, the poem contains the words "breast" and "bosom", which had me in quite a tizzy.



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But yes, I got an "A" on my report, and THANK GOD I wasn't called to read the poem. The teacher did, however, leave me a little note on my report informing me that Joyce Kilmer was not a woman as I had mentioned, but indeed, a man. I remember being just as flabbergasted as a seventh-grader can be. I assumed, going forward, that poetry could be dangerous territory.



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tranquility at sunrise

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photo by Donald Kinney

It's just about 20 minutes before the sun pops up. This is when color is at it's fullest. And when tranquility is at it's mostest...



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a visit to Monterey Bay Aquarium

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photo by Donald Kinney

Being retired and feeling like the luckiest person alive, I woke up on Monday morning with the idea of driving the 140 miles down to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, a place I've been a few times before. In fact, long before the Aquarium was built, I grew up in Pacific Grove, just up the hill.



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Ask me what my favorite exhibit is and I'll predictably say the "Jellies". That's a "Moon Jelly" in the negative-reversed image above.



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Sardines and Anchovies were the prize of Monterey Bay in the 1920's, 30's, and 40's; but the fishermen were so good at netting them that overfishing is thought to be the reason why so few Sardines and Anchovies remain today.



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The Aquarium has an area devoted to John Steinbeck and his marine biologist friend (and good drinking buddy) from the 1930's; Doc Ricketts. That's one of Doc Ricketts specimens on the left, and a few of John Stienbeck's better known books on the right.



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I had great fun watching the action from both above and below.



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over-saturated color

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photo by Donald Kinney

I'm showing you a vertical version (above) of a similar (horizontal) example I used on the banner yesterday, but in any case, I've turned color-saturation way up. And why do such a silly thing? Because I could...



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photo by Donald Kinney

So with a little help, my shadows can go blueish and my reflective whites can go yellow. And all it takes is a slight push on a slider in Photoshop.



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So, break out the bubbly. We'll return to regular programming tomorrow.



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early morning, up with the birds

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photo by Donald Kinney

Well folks, if you appreciate solitude at sunrise as much as I do, you need to get out of bed exceptionally early--as early as the birds.



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Notice the two people on the right of the photo. Fisherpeople--and I suppose fishies and fisherpeople need to wake up just as early as birds and photogs.









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Bird, fish, fisherman, photographer, or highway commuter--we form lines and proceed towards our destination. Hopefully the creature at the head of the line knows where we're going.


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Marin Civic Center, part 2 of 2

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photo by Donald Kinney

Walk through the Marin Civic Center and you are guaranteed to be absorbed in the uniqueness of the architecture by Frank Lloyd Wright. Frank called this style "organic", and I simply call it "far out".



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And we can thank a woman, Vera Schultz, who in 1952 was the first woman to serve on the County Board of Supervisors. Vera was outgoing and loved art and architecture, and in 1952 the far-out buildings Frank Lloyd Wright and his staff of architects was designing in various parts of the country were all the rage. Wright commanded a hefty fee for his services and Marin County paid dearly for a unique building design that many of the "locals" hated with a passion.



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Above, that's my 7-color posterized photo on the left, and the image of F.L.W. was on display as part of an exhibit of the building's concept, planning, construction, and subsequent additions.



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As I mentioned, Vera Schultz was the "spark-plug" behind getting a majority of fellow supervisors behind her for the expensive and almost over-the-top design. But Frank Lloyd Wright gave a convincing lecture locally explaining how he was trying to link the surrounding reddish hills and green pastures into a curved and convoluted building that would look like it was part of the land--like it actually belonged there. The Supervisors agreed to go ahead with construction--many citizens still objected and were angry.



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This is the spire--actually a steam vent for the building's boiler. A Frank Lloyd Wright designed chimney. Definitely, it's one of a kind, and so was Frank Lloyd Wright.



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