Calla Lilies

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photo by Donald Kinney

Standing proud in front of a bit of bokeh (background optical aberrations).



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photo by Donald Kinney

Exalted to the heights of glory, far above all others. Expecting homage.



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Paired left and right with fairly perfect balance. Divided but overlapping.



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Beauty to share with all the other tall and enduring Calla Lilies.
I found these a few days ago at Rodeo Beach--who would have known...


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From afar, San Francisco

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photo by Donald Kinney

I probably was no older than 5, and I had absolutely no idea the world was any bigger than my environs of Pacific Grove and Monterey, California.
My jaw dropped when one of my little neighborhood friends tried his best to explain the vastness of our country. He had just returned from a vacation to Chicago by car, which he described as a long, long, really long way away.



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I've never lived in San Francisco, but I sure have passed-through a half-billion times. "Grandma" lived here in Marin County and our Kinney Family lived 120 miles to the south. Any event was an excuse for a "family" get-together.



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But my brother and I were repeatedly warned, as we passed through in our yellow 1947 Pointiac, about San Francisco and its evils. It was a bad place--skid row was a place you didn't want to be caught. "Stay away from liquor and fast women" was the stern and often repeated warning. Naturally, we "Kinney Boys" couldn't wait to arrive. I think we both tore it up pretty good.


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misty at Nicasio Lake

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photo by Donald Kinney

Ducks, with brambles on shore.



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Ducks with a few stark elements.



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And ducks drawing patterns in the water.


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Alpine Dam, and a kiss of fog

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photo by Donald Kinney

Friday I was a bit late getting to the lake at Alpine Dam on my beloved Mount Tamalpais--I had been fooling with a sunrise to the east.



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But the wisps of fog were right on the edge of light, casting long shadows.



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While the lake was zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, sleeping in late...


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China Camp, up the hill, where they dried Shrimp

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photo by Donald Kinney

China Camp has begun charging an entrance fee in certain areas, such as the village. The "Friends of China Camp", which organized during the last State Park "crisis", now supervises the facilities and trails at China Camp.



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I usually visit before official hours.



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On Thursday morning, all was quiet on San Pablo Bay.


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Golden Gate National Cemetery, San Bruno

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In 1937, San Francisco residents voted to bar the opening of new cemeteries within the city proper and, as a result, the site for the new national cemetery was selected about 8 miles south of the city limits. Congress authorized construction of the facility in 1937, with the first burials in 1941.



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This cemetery is frequently confused with San Francisco National Cemetery--the one with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge. The main view here is simply the incredible number and vastness of graves. As of 2005, the cemetery held 137,435 interments on 161.5 acres.



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Spouses of service-members are offered the opportunity to be buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery. I'm not married, but I think I'll reserve 2 spots so I can really stretch out...


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Montara Beach

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photo by Donald Kinney

Oh, you know me--I go looking for reflections, but Montara is a long sandy beach not far south of San Francisco with views on the horizon of passing fishing boats and ships. The extreme north end of the beach is edged by cliffs and has a feeling of seclusion, even with Highway 1 just above.



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Photographers need to get here EARLY for the best reflective conditions.



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Only in Winter and for a short bit of Spring does this creek flow.
CLICK for March 17, 2012 post of Montara Lighthouse at south end of beach.


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whole lot of Golden Gate Bridge going on

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photo by Donald Kinney

On the north end there is a fun walkway under the Golden Gate Bridge roadway with a glimpse of the substantial girders supporting this behemoth.



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This is a noisy place. When a large truck rolls overhead the entire structure rattles and shakes in a most unnerving way.
(((Headlines: Amateur photog smashed like a bug in GG Bridge collapse)))



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Often the visitors are just about as interesting as the Bridge.



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And I always just stand there, squint my eyes, and marvel...


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beached boat in Inverness, the Point Reyes

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photo by Donald Kinney

Pretty as a postcard, as if it had been placed here by the Point Reyes Chamber of Commerce--as if that organization actually existed.



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In the distance is Black Mountain. On the other side is the Nicasio area. Curiously, the other side of Black Mountain it is generally referred to as Elephant Mountain.



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And not a lot is known about this old boat, the appropriately named "Point Reyes". It seems to have mysteriously shown up in the 1970's. But the boat is a magnet for photogs and artists--not many pass it up.
Seen these yet? CLICK to see 15 non-new images of Point Reyes.


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Point Reyes residents and relics

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It is not that I didn't SEE the advisory signs, warning us to stay 300' away from Elephant Seals this time of year (it is mating season). I just suddenly stumbled on to this kind looking seal, and decided to take a few pictures before I retreated. He/she didn't seem to mind. The NPS throws people in jail for harassing wildlife. I was about 25' away.



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On the way to Point Reyes everybody gets a glimpse of this old boat.
and...
About as straight and long of a beach that you are ever going to find.



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This is my favorite kind of bird--the Raven. They are smart as whips.



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This cow remained alone in a pasture...
CLICK if you would like to see this same photo before I removed barbed-wire and a fencepost using Photoshop's ContentAware tool.



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...while the rest of the herd was heading out for a day of grazing.



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Deer were looking for Antelope with which to play.


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cascading water at Nicasio Reservoir Spillway

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Seeger Dam was built on the Nicasio Creek in 1961. This dam is 115' tall, 400' long and made of rock and earth. It adds storage capacity to the water district's (MMWD) system and is tapped during years of drought. California experienced very dry conditions between 1975 and 1977, and by the end of 1977 Nicasio Reservoir was dry as a bone.

During planning and construction the MMWD didn't win any popularity contests when it forced major displacement of many farms including McIsaac Farm and Tomasini Ranch.

The construction in the dam aroused vitriol among longtime residents. Controversy stemmed from 3 main reasons:
1 - Water from the reservoir is rarely used by the MMWD.
2 - The broad shallow nature of the reservoir leads to a quick evaporation rate.
3 - The dam has blocked valuable spawning areas for endangered species of salmon and steelhead.

Sadly, building this dam on Nicasio Creek wiped out the spawning salmon population in this area. There was an abbreviated attempt by the district to trap the salmon below the dam and transport them by truck further up Nicasio Creek and also Halleck Creek which was ultimately unsuccessful.

OKAY -- WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE MY NEW (2min 9sec) VIDEO?



^^^Sorry for the rough sound in places, and I'm not sure if I have all my video settings dialed-in yet, but my Canon-5D-Mark 2 DSLR with the 70-200 f2.8 "L" I.S. zoom is supposed to do a great job shooting video. So, once I get this all sorted out, get ready brace yourselves for more videos...



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^^^And I thought I would toss in an OLD photo --
An example of the beautiful lake Seeger Dam forms.
This was snapped early in the day on May 23, 2011.


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below Alpine Dam, Mt. Tamalpais

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photo by Donald Kinney

Marin County DOES love it's water, but we rely totally on our beloved Mount Tamalpais as a source. We have a "cracker-jack" of a water company, the MMWD, and early in the last century they built a chain of 5 reservoirs on the north-east side of "Mt. Tam".

Alpine Dam was constructed between the summer of 1917 and the spring of 1919. The dam was increased 8' in height in 1924. Today it brims with 1.3 billion gallons of water. When full Alpine Lake's surface area is 135 acres.



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MY favorite spot at Alpine Dam is the canyon below the dam, where the upper Lagunitas Creek remains in a natural state. This portion of the Lagunitas has to flow through another reservoir (Kent Lake) before continuing on its journey to the Pacific Ocean at Tomales Bay, aproximately 10 miles away.



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This is a much smaller dam made of stones a short way downstream from Alpine Dam. It appears to be part of a stream measuring station but is not used today. Gotta love that silky water...

To see what I think are some REALLY interesting construction photos of Alpine Dam click here.


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Sutro Tower, a monstrosity above all others

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Quite often there is a beautiful view of San Francisco from Mount Tamalpais.
This is haze and not fog, and thank GOD it isn't smog.



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This second photo isn't new-- I snapped it on January 19, 2011. I always let you know when a photo isn't recent.

So anyway, the "thingamabobie" in the background is Sutro Tower, perced on Sutro Hill where the Sutro Mansion once stood. Sutro was a German engineer who made a fortune in the gold mining country with his expertise in blasting tunnels and pumping water. Subsequently he settled in San Francisco, becoming its 24th. mayor from 1895 to 1897.

His wealth was increased by large real estate investments in San Francisco, where he became an entrepreneur and public figure after returning from the Comstock in 1879. These land investments included Mount Sutro, Land's End (the area where Lincoln Park and the Cliff House are today), and Mount Davidson, which was called "Blue Mountain" at the time.

Sutro opened his own estate to the public and was heralded as a populist for various astute acts of public munificence, such as opening an aquarium and an elaborate and beautiful, glass-enclosed entertainment complex called Sutro Baths. Though the Baths were not opened until 1896, Sutro had been developing and marketing the project for years, attempting four separate times to insulate the site from waves using sea walls, the first three of which collapsed into the Pacific. In 1896, Adolph Sutro built a new Cliff House, a seven story Victorian Chateau, called by some "the Gingerbread Palace," below his estate on the bluffs of Sutro Heights. This was the same year work began on the famous Sutro Baths, which included six of the largest indoor swimming pools north of the Restaurant that included a museum, skating rink and other pleasure grounds. Great throngs of San Franciscans arrived on steam trains, bicycles, carts and horse wagons on Sunday excursions. In 1894, Sutro, in preparation for the opening of the Cliff House, bought a large part of the collection of Woodward's Gardens, a combination zoo, amusement park, aquarium, and art gallery which had closed in 1891.

The Baths were saltwater and springwater pools, heated to varying degrees, and surrounded by a concert hall and museums stocked with treasures that Sutro had collected in his travels and from Woodward's Gardens. The baths became very popular despite their remote location, across the open dunes to the west of the populated areas of the city. This popularity was partly due to the low entry fee for visiting the Baths and riding the excursion railroad he built to reach them. The railroad grade still exists as a walking trail along the Land's End cliffs, maintained by the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

Sutro managed a great increase in the value of his outlying land investments as a direct result of the development burst that his vacationers' railroad spawned. He also increased the value of his lands by planting his property at Mount Sutro with saplings of fast-growing eucalyptus. This occurred at the same time as city Supervisors granted tax-free status to "forested" lands within city limits. Small fragments of the forest still exist.   source: Wikipedia

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This third photo isn't new either--I snapped it on November 1, 2012.

Now, this IS fog--our beloved fog. San Franciscans call it their natural air conditioning. Much thicker and dense than the haze in the first photo.

But there it is again, that pointy "thingamabobie" jutting 977' into clear sky. Hey, I think it is a monstrosity. A relic of the TV generation, blasting out so much radio-frequency (RF) radiation that it is a wonder that everyone in the vicinity isn't growing malignant tumors. It is UGLY. It is hubris. I don't like it.


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early is best

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photo by Donald Kinney

From time to time I like to show all of you sleepyheads (((you know who you are))) what the beauty of morning is all about. Especially the half hour or so before that big fireball makes its appearance. Its an odd time of day.



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Hey, I know for a FACT that none of you sleepyheads were out at China Camp on Tuesday morning. Most DEFINITELY I was the only one there.



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And if that wasn't you jogging in the dark, I didn't see you on Friday either.



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Okay, okay... Hey, I truly understand... Most of you fine folks have to work and you just can't get up so damn early. It'll be my little public service showing you the beauty of the morning. Thank you. It is my pleasure!


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Alpine Lake and Dam, as available

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On the west side of my little village of Fairfax begins a thin, twisty and curvy road that leads bicyclists and motorists up and over Mt. Tamalpais. One of the most beautiful roads in California, in my estimation.



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This road has the rather unimaginative name of "Fairfax-to-Bolinas Road". Residents of Bolinas aren't terribly fond of road signs (((that is a whole 'nother story))), but I suppose Bolinians call it "Bolinas-to-Fairfax Road".



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Anyway, I had such a fine time shooting these photos on Monday that I decided to return on Tuesday to continue where I left off. Unfortunately a film crew prevented me from stopping anywhere near Alpine Dam. According to the fellow who shooed me away, they had "rented" the entire area around Alpine Lake and I would have to move on.



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Well, it happens all the time. Hollywood knows about the dramatic beauty of the Fairfax-to-Bolinas Road and its environs. I run into film crews frequently.

Ridgecrest Boulevard, with its dramatic drop-offs to the Pacific, connects to Fairfax-to-Bolinas Road and is a favored location to shoot automobile commercials. The last one I noticed on TV was an ad for the Ford Escape.


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