April 30, 2013

vegetation from outer-space


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photo by Donald Kinney

I've finally realized that what I call my "camera" is more like my "doggie".



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photo by Donald Kinney

And my "doggie" l-o-v-e-s adventure, especially our travels in outer-space.


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April 29, 2013

West Marin County -- smooth, tranquil, and fluid


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photo by Donald Kinney

Yes, the waters might look smooth now, but back in the early 1960's when our local water district decided they wanted to dam Halleck Creek to form a reservoir, feathers were ruffled and a great cry went up in opposition, but complaints fell on deaf ears. The loss of hundreds of acres of productive farmland was bad enough, but to add insult to injury the dam was built without a "fish-ladder" so today the endangered Coho Salmon is prevented from reaching several miles of its traditional spawning grounds.



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photo by Donald Kinney

But those were the 1960s and today we are finally concerned about the ecology of the area in general, and specifically the survival of the Coho Salmon species. This is the Lagunitas--the creek I call "my own", but in reality, agencies from the County, State, and Federal governments all have their thumbs in the water of "my creek".

Two citizen's groups have also gotten involved, the S.P.A.W.N. Organization and the S.G.V. Stewards. For quite some time these two groups have been slugging-it-out in an exceptionally ugly dispute about their preferred ways to approach land use, property issues, and conservation affecting the creek.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Anyway, ask ME and I'll tell you the creek is doing pretty well these days. The numbers of Coho Salmon returning to spawn has been slowly but steadily rising over the past few years. What used to be estimated at only 300 spawning fish is now said to be up near 500. Still a far cry, however, from the vast numbers in the late 1800's when this area was first settled.



Image above (Coho Salmon) taken in December 2011


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April 28, 2013

subtle beauty of Marin County, California


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photo by Donald Kinney

From 1910 until 1940, the Angel Island Immigration Station, often called
"The Ellis Island of the West", processed over one million Asian immigrants entering into the United States. Mental and physical standards were high, and many who made the long voyage were not permitted entry--leading to Angel Island's other and less official name; "The Island of Tears".



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photo by Donald Kinney

Volunteer oats--how I like their spirit! And abundance--they're everywhere.



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photo by Donald Kinney

A Star Thistle in a sea of pretty and purplish, but non-native, Winter Vetch.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Oh, the tiny town of Bolinas is down there somewhere. Off to the left and 2000 feet lower is Stinson Beach, and just slightly to the right and more distant is the Point Reyes Peninsula. As the crow flies, San Francisco is ten or fifteen miles to the south.

The road, Ridgecrest Boulevard (Mount Tamalpais), is enjoyed by many on weekends--but during the week I usually have the whole 'scape to myself. And yes, I DO know what a lucky guy I am...


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April 27, 2013

viel of atmospherics


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photo by Donald Kinney

Get there early enough and you don't even have to buy a ticket to get in.



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photo by Donald Kinney

And rides are still just five cents.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Schwooped off my feet, oh so early in the morning. Don's amusement park.


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April 26, 2013

mysterious and moody shadows


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photo by Donald Kinney

Welcome to "Wordless Friday"...



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photo by Donald Kinney

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April 25, 2013

China Camp -- lost village of San Pablo Bay


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photo by Donald Kinney

Well, if we are going to blame anything I guess it may just as well be gold.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Before the advent of hydraulic mining (the process of reducing gold-bearing hillsides to mud and silt) San Pablo Bay teemed with aquatic life of all sorts. Today, scarcely more than 150 years later the perimeter and depths of the bay has shrunk dramatically.



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photo by Donald Kinney

With less gold mining activity in the Sierra the problem of silt flowing into San Pablo Bay has slowed, but now San Pablo Bay is the victim of fresh water diversions for agricultural uses in our Central Valley. Not enough water flows in from the Sacramento Delta, and salinity levels have risen.

Intertidal species such as the Bay Shrimp can withstand a little salt, but not a lot, and subsequently their numbers which once supported a busy fishery here at China Camp have dwindled to almost zero.



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photo by Donald Kinney

But the birds still fly... The sun still rises... It's just that San Pablo Bay was ruined by those damn gold-miners first, and then by ranchers and farmers who decided they needed the cool-clean Sierra snowpack water more than the aquatic life in San Pablo Bay.

So there you go--as Ronald Reagan said at the end of each General Electric Theater episode [1953 - 1962]; "Progress is our most important product".


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April 24, 2013

experiments from the loony-bin


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photo by Donald Kinney

I suppose I was already near the edge of sanity. Somewhere after 5AM and I was losing my grip on darkness rapidly. I usually enjoy moments by myself. Best to be alone so nobody hears me swearing at my recalcitrant tripod.



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photo by Donald Kinney

And when all else fails (although there is not a lot of manipulation going on in the top image) one way to push an image over-the-edge is to treat it six-different-ways-to-Sunday in Photoshop.



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photo by Donald Kinney


So--remember kidders-and-kiddos, when all else fails, a few tricks from the Photoshop bag of artistic effects just might save the day.


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April 23, 2013

natural world, natural occurrences


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photo by Donald Kinney

Get there early enough, and we can sometimes catch little droplets of water.



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photo by Donald Kinney

No shortage of even smaller little droplets. Dew as far as the eye can see.



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photo by Donald Kinney

While the vital juices of life course insistently through the veins of all life.


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April 22, 2013

up and over Mount Tamalpais


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photo by Donald Kinney

Along the way, the old guy with camera might stop to shoot through foliage.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Or pause long enough to soak in some of our local water district's finest.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Places like these. Perfect opportunity to work with the roundness of it all.


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April 21, 2013

a meander down the trial


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photo by Donald Kinney

Welcome to wordless Sunday.



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photo by Donald Kinney

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April 20, 2013

creekside -- green here, busy there


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photo by Donald Kinney

A few days ago I explored vivid green reflections in Purisma Creek, just south of Half-Moon Bay, not far south of San Francisco.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Yesterday I attempted to capture Lagunitas Creek slinging her wild brushes.


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April 19, 2013

Nicasio, in a fog


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photo by Donald Kinney

Early Tuesday temperatures in west Marin plunged to just above freezing. When temps fall and the day promises to be fair, fog forming on water's surface is almost guaranteed. Nicasio reservoir has its own microclimate.



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photo by Donald Kinney

The sun, warm and at a low angle, often illumintes a bit of atmospheric fun.



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photo by Donald Kinney

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April 18, 2013

James Johnston House, Half Moon Bay


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photo by Donald Kinney

This classic New England saltbox (two stories in front, one in back) was built by '49er pioneer James Johnston between 1853-1855, for his bride, Petra Maria de Jara.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Johnson was one of the first white men to establish a residence in this area. Half-Moon Bay is about 20 miles south of San Francisco. In 1853 Johnson purchased 1,162 acres of Rancho de San Benito for $14,000 with his grand scheme and dream which included this proper Yankee house, to serve as the center of an eastern-style dairy ranch.



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photo by Donald Kinney

James Johnston was born October 7, 1813, in Melrose, Scotland. His family immigrated to the United States aboard the Prompt in 1818 and settled in Pittsburgh, PA, then moved to Gallipolis, Ohio, after the death of his father in 1826. One of nine children, James served in the military in the Mexican war, became interested in Mexican culture and sailed to California aboard the Oregon in 1849. He may have worked in the mines, but he was most successful as a partner in the fashionable El Dorado Saloon on San Francisco's Dupont Street (now Grant Avenue) and as a real estate investor. [ source: www.johnstonhouse.org ]


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April 17, 2013

Inverness, on Tomales Bay


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photo by Donald Kinney

Lets say you were going to the Point Reyes Peninsula... You would pass by this Russian style summer home built over Tomales Bay; Lipnosky's Dacha.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Anyone who permanently dwells in a dacha is colloquially called a dachnik (дачник); the term usually refers to a whole distinctive lifestyle. [ source: Wikipedia ]   Traditionally, dachas have been used as getaways from the City for middle to upper-class Russians.



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photo by Donald Kinney

And don't expect to hire a launch. More likely you [me] should expect to be reminded that you are [I am] on private property, in the kindest and most gentle of ways. But I did get my 6 image hand-held panorama before being shooed off.



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photo by Donald Kinney

So, there it is. Elephant Mountain, or Black Mountain as some call it. Protectorate of West Marin. In the foreground is Lagunitas Creek, near its terminus with Tomales Bay. The hills right now couldn't be any greener.


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April 16, 2013

Bolinas, California, visually


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photo by Donald Kinney

"Local" more or less sums up the general vibe in Bolinas. Residents want to keep it all for themselves. Misbehaving tourists are sometimes snared in bear traps, sacrificed in a most inhumane manner, and roasted for dinner.



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photo by Donald Kinney

If you are looking for a sign off of Highway-One pointing to the tiny enclave of Bolinas, then forget it. This story goes back well over 30 years, but when CalTrans put up a sign, the BBP "Bolinas Border Patrol"--a rag-tag loose-knit collection of aging and burnt-out hippies--would "disappear" the sign. This went on and on until CalTrans just gave up on a sign pointing to Bolinas.



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photo by Donald Kinney

But don't worry--the surfers are friendly. Bolinas Beach isn't known for its waves, but some think Sir Francis Drake landed here in the late 1500's.


photo by Donald Kinney, taken August 16, 2008.



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April 15, 2013

One beauty


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photo by Donald Kinney

One beauty. One colorful purple-violet flower.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Although one may easily join two others, petals here, to make three.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Still one, even though faded and tattered, and most likely--seriously beyond the expiration date on Myrtle Brandon Pepper's jar of mayonnaise.


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