you like it, I like it; lets quack like a duck

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photo by Donald Kinney

As shown by the poll (and thank you very much) this isn't an image that is going to "wow anybody's socks off" -- it's more of a "like it" shot.

The danger for me is becoming emotionally attached to a photo, thereby forgetting that without similar memories of "being there" the image may be less important to others.   This can be a major stumbling-block when I go to select photos to submit in contests and exhibits.   That's why I appreciate your input.



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photo by Donald Kinney

A foggy morning out in west Marin County.   This is the lake at Nicasio.



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photo by Donald Kinney

We call these plants with the prickly seed pods Thistles, but they are also called Teasels in other parts of the world.

Quoting Wikipedia:
In the language of flowers, the thistle (like the burr) is an ancient Celtic symbol of nobility of character as well as of birth, for the wounding or provocation of a thistle yields punishment.   For this reason the thistle is the symbol of the Order of the Thistle, a high chivalric order of Scotland.



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Steep Ravine area, Mount Tamalpais

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photo by Donald Kinney

Visitors with a desire for a rustic get-away -- no electricity or running water -- will be happy as a clam in one of the cabins at Steep Ravine, about a mile south of Stinson Beach.

Prospective guests need to apply months in advance, however there is a lottery each day at the ranger station for cancellation opportunities (this is operated by California State Parks).   Rates are less than $100 a night.

Plenty of free fog -- enough for everyone...



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photo by Donald Kinney

By hiking up Steep Ravine trail and following Webb Creek the visitor will soon enter Redwood territory.



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Sunlight is a valuable commodity here in Steep Ravine.   With the persistent coastal fog this area can go for extended periods without ever seeing the sun.



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Webb Creek in Steep Ravine, Mt. Tamalpais

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photo by Donald Kinney

One of the most beautiful parts of Mount Tamalpais is a bit difficult to get to, but after a rainstorm or during the wet winter months this Redwood-studded canyon is absolutely spectacular.



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Right now it's gushing and putting on quite a show, but water flows year-around in Webb Creek and is the source of water for the coastal town of Stinson Beach.



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The ever-present, almost "Day-Glo" moss makes a bright statement.



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the creek with no name

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photo by Donald Kinney

Mount Tamalpais has way too many canyons and gulleys to count, much less to name; so I'm afraid this creek -- which I call Occasional Creek -- doesn't really have a name.

Occasional Creek feeds into Lilly Lake, and I'm not exactly sure if Lilly Lake has an official name either.



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A tributary -- one of many that feed the mighty Occasional Creek.



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Rushing, but with enough time to put on a one-act skit titled "Foamy Water".



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Cascading water, as inviting as a couch.





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spooky, haunting, and ghostly

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photo by Donald Kinney

The rain this past weekend was welcome, but it put a serious dent in my ability to go out shooting.   It wasn't until late Sunday afternoon that I was able to spook around some of my favorite haunts --



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-- like the Lagunitas Creek.   La-gu-ní-tas means little-lagoons in Spanish.



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Sometimes the trees are spooky, haunting, and ghostly.



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mossy trees on Mount Tamalpais

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photo by Donald Kinney

This is the road that takes me there, and on a weekday in the midst of a drippy and foggy rain, it just might be me, alone up there.   The only person up on our beloved Mount Tamalpais.



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A mossier tree might be hard to find -- if there ever is a mossy tree contest I will keep this fine old specimen in mind.



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Mount Tamalpais was heavily logged for it's valuable redwood in the late 1800's and early 1900's. This stump has most likely been doing nothing but getting mossy (((and a bit burned))) for the past 120 years or so.



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Decisions, decisions, decisions...   Four skinny ones or one big fat one?



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a few days ago...

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Oh man, it looks like a Biblical flood right now, but in this photo from a few days ago the Lagunitas Creek was chugging out the last of it's lazy Summer days.



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But it rained this weekend -- enough to swell the banks with slightly brownish and silty water.   Our big storms will begin in January -- when the Lagunitas will flirt with becoming a roaring flood.   I'll keep you posted.



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The Lagunitas Creek has suffered in the name of human progress.   But sometime I wonder if Marin County really needed to build five reservoirs, effectively cutting off most of the spawning grounds for the Coho Salmon; whose numbers have diminished over the years to a pittance.



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bubbly and splashy, etc...

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photo by Donald Kinney

Oh, I guess the only easier thing than taking these photos would be falling off a log.   Hmmmm, let's not even think about that.



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Lets get technical...   Hmmmm, f-4 at 1/160th.   Because of low light I needed to use ISO-400, something I normally try to avoid because of the noise that can result with an elevated ISO setting.



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Not exactly bubbly and not very spashy, but still flowing with the same determination as the little bubbly water splashes.

These clouds are hiding our beloved Mount Tamalpais -- yes I swear there's the tip of the mountain inside that foggy cloud.



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Birds are pretty cool...

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photo by Donald Kinney

Birds are pretty cool.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Usually able to cooperate with their neighbors.



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A social kind of creature.



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With a mastery of flight and purpose.




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while sorting through the files...

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photo by Donald Kinney

Sorting through the files again, I dredged up a photo from a nice sunrise out at China Camp two or three weeks ago.   This image was on the fast track towards obscurity, so I thought it only fair to sneak it in.



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Late afternoon in west Marin County.   This is the lake near the tiny town of Nicasio.



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The sun goes down.   Birds head for home.



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golden California

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photo by Donald Kinney

I showed a similar shot on the 17th, but didn't want this one to get lost in the shuffle.   I appreciated getting your feedback with the votes.



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photo by Donald Kinney

And I rescued this one from obscurity -- I showed another a few days ago, but since there is so little actually in focus in this image it would have been easy to skip over.



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photo by Donald Kinney

The vegetation at China Camp can be dramatic against the morning sky.



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Not that I haven't ever splashed around in the cold cold Pacific Ocean. Heck, everybody should have the opportunity, so go for it, knock yourself out.



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water, by design

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photo by Donald Kinney

I usually shoot a bit off the beaten-trail, so it is only occasionally that I get some "person" asking me what in the heck I'm shooting.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Many think I'm shooting birds, and others think I'm trying to shoot fish in the creek.



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But no, I'm just looking for patterns and designs -- which is kind of difficult to explain without visual aids.


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abstract water, Lagunitas Creek

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photo by Donald Kinney

The Lagunitas Creek is home to less than 500 Coho Salmon, who's cycle is to return to the stream of their birth after three years at sea to spawn and die.



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I probably should have run this image as my banner yesterday -- I think it is better technically and more pleasing esthetically.



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I can imagine the original inhabitants of this land (The Miwok Indians) standing over pools like this, thinking that they had just discovered the mirror.


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Lagunitas Creek -- in the Fall

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photo by Donald Kinney

With a few yellowed and orange-ish leaves here and there, this is Fall in California; reflected here in the colorful waters of the Lagunitas Creek.



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Water, unhurried now...   But this scene will change when the wild rains return early in 2011.



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The Lagunitas Creek.   Showing a bit of it's luxurious, if not sensuous form.



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And splashing up an energetic display with all the vigor as per specifications of the commonly accepted laws of physics.



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out the back door -- Mt. Tam

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photo by Donald Kinney

Oh, I've probably mentioned this before -- that when I have an otherwise hopeless photo I try rescuing it by turning it into a posterized image with a limited number of tones.   It almost worked in this case, I suppose.   Thanks for doing the voting thing -- it's helpful.



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I often remind myself that I am a lucky guy to have a genuine mountain right out my backdoor.   Well, actually it's out the backside of Fairfax, not far north of San Francisco.

The tiny two lane road will eventually take a fellow up and over Mount Tamalpais -- delivering him near the sea at the tiny and cool coastal town of Bolinas.



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Ducks on the reflective surface of the appropriately named Alpine Lake.



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Another shot from that favorite spot of mine, just out the backside of my funky little adopted hometown of Fairfax, California; population, 8,476.



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