one of those "OMG" moments

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photo by Donald Kinney

Early last Saturday while up on the flanks of my beloved Mount Tamalpais, this scene provided me with one of those "OMG" moments. But it was a fleeting moment--a half-hour later the fog had mostly dissipated.



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photo by Donald Kinney

The other day I mentioned Ridgecrest Boulevard--the tiny road that takes me near the tip-top of my beloved mountain. I mentioned that the curvy road has been used as a backdrop in countless automobile commercials and motion-picture productions over the years.



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photo by Donald Kinney

The Bay Bridge, which celebrated it's 75th. birthday on Saturday.

My buddy, Bob Horowitz, a member of the AllCitySF photo team, recently posted a truly stellar image of the Bay Bridge, here.



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photo by Donald Kinney

And of course, this is the skyline of San Francisco, taken from across the bay at Covello Point.


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Lagunitas Creek -- once again

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photo by Donald Kinney

And while this world continues to sink into the abyss,



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photo by Donald Kinney

I have found a place of peace--my beloved Lagunitas Creek.



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photo by Donald Kinney

And at first glance it would appear that this area has escaped the degradation of man, but that is not the case. For eons the mighty Lagunitas has been used as a spawning ground by Coho Salmon and Steelhead Trout, but over the past 130 or so years the populations of fishies has diminished from a plethora to a mere pittance. Overfishing and pollution in the Pacific Ocean is thought to be two of the major causes for the decline.


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gilding the lilly

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photo by Donald Kinney

I don't want anyone to feel they are being short-changed, but today I'm going to live up to the actual title of this humble photo-blog; "A"photo-a-day. Just one image today, folks.



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photo by Donald Kinney

But no stopping me from messing around a bit with that one image. Here I've posterized it into 8 colors in Photoshop. Groovie, huh?

So where are we? On the northern flanks of my beloved Mount Tamalpais. On the other side of that farthest ridge is a steep 2000 foot drop to the Pacific Ocean.

And yes, there is a road way up there--appropriately named Ridgecrest Boulevard--which has been used as a backdrop in countless automobile commercials over the years.


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NorthBeach -- my secrets revealed

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photo by Donald Kinney

Okay, since we're best friends now I guess it is okay that I reveal one of my little secrets--I have a "thing" for wedding dresses. Not that I get invited to a lot of weddings, and at age 64 it doesn't look like I'm EVER going to "take the plunge". Hey, no problem--it's probably better that I stay on the sidewalk--on the other side of the glass.



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photo by Donald Kinney

I am also fascinated by the restaurants of NorthBeach, which may not seem strange at all until I admit that my favorite time to visit is very, very early in the morning.



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photo by Donald Kinney

On the corner of Broadway and Columbus I usually pause to contemplate "The Language of the Birds".



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photo by Donald Kinney

And just up the street is the "Stinking Rose", a restaurant that reportedly serves dishes laced with enough garlic to keep an entire army of Vampires at bay. No need to wait for this garlic restaurant to open--the first course on the menu is the odor.


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the spirit of fog

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photo by Donald Kinney

Just over the hill and a few miles to northwest is Spirit Rock--which was used for centuries by the local native population as a divine location. Thanks to the diseases and greed of the White Man no native Indians remain, but Spirit Rock today is regarded by the nearby Zen Center as it's own. Spirituality repurposed, I suppose...



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photo by Donald Kinney

Occasionally, simple and earthly things like trees and fog can slow down the progress of our sun.



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photo by Donald Kinney

But the sun usually manages to break through. Sometimes, I suppose, just to show who is in charge.


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Lagunitas Creek - mysterious and bubbly

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photo by Donald Kinney

Many leaves will fall this season, and a few lucky individuals will finish their drop with a slow ride down the mighty Lagunitas. Some of the unfortunates will get stuck along the way. It all seems very mysterious to me.



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photo by Donald Kinney

And then we have the bubbles. Water will do this when it's expected to do something unusual, like suddenly dropping from one level to another.



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photo by Donald Kinney

And here's the concert-hall edition. I think (ahem) I hear music...


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far and near

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photo by Donald Kinney

A few days ago the sun and sky were more than willing to put on an impressive show above our beloved Pacific Ocean. The black blob in the lower right corner is the tiny coastal village of Bolinas.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Impressive clouds floated over,



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photo by Donald Kinney

birds flew,



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photo by Donald Kinney

and ducks floated.


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Nicasio - a place where spiders dwell

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photo by Donald Kinney

Oh, I suppose it's a job for Jimmy Olsen, but if I was a better reporter I would have an explanation of who or what "Nicasio" is or was.



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photo by Donald Kinney

For the time being, lets just go with "The Land of the Spiders", although I would probably expect that "Nicasio" was the name of an Indian chief or maybe a Spanish land owner in former days.



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photo by Donald Kinney

I'll have to ask a few questions.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Apparently, not everything is on the Internet...


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"Splish, splash, I was taking a bath"

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photo by Donald Kinney

Not much chance of drowning or getting carried out to sea, but last Thursday I wagered the possibility of wet shoes and socks to snag this photo.



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photo by Donald Kinney

And yes, I lost the bet--but only one shoe and sock was dampened. It could have been worse.



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photo by Donald Kinney

In fact, the flat rock I was sitting on came dangerously close to being swamped. I came within about two inches from taking a cold bubble-bath in the swirling surf.


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Mount Tamalpais, a plethora of moods

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photo by Donald Kinney

With the sun still on the other side and just rising, this is my beloved Mount Tamalpais in one of her darker moods.



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photo by Donald Kinney

And here she is, my Mount Tamalpais, proudly wrapped in a cool veil of fog.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Along the way I stopped at Alpine Lake to peer at a small part of my beloved Mountain, upside-down.



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photo by Donald Kinney

And passed by colorful Cone Flowers that definitely know which way is up.


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$hooting the Golden Gate Bridge

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photo by Donald Kinney

Another one of those early morning assignments.
The Golden Gate Bridge in all it's glory.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Now, this doesn't effect the photographer making images for personal use, but if you didn't know, the Golden Gate Transit District will shamelessly attempt to shake-down any hapless "guy with a camera" if they think money is being made from a photograph taken from a vantage point on their property. They're nice about it, but the Bridge District will quickly point out that a $2400 per day license is required. I shot these from the bridge overlook (Ridge Battery) on Conzelman Road, which isn't Bridge property.



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photo by Donald Kinney

This photog's impressive display of lenses and equipment sent me into "drool" mode.



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photo by Donald Kinney

The fellow was busy so I didn't chat with him longer than to say what nice equipment he had. I've already forgotten his name (the ravages of old age on my memory) but gave him my card and told him to check AphotoAday in a few days.


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Eroded sandstone at Salt Point

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photo by Donald Kinney

With all of the cool places I've been recently I feel like I may still be on vacation. Which reminds me of the time I asked my boss for my vacation, only to have him say no -- I had been on vacation since I arrived.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Best way to get to the fabulously shaped sandstone is to hike down to Stump Beach, cross the creek, hike up the cliff, and follow the bluff to the south.



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photo by Donald Kinney

A friend, D.P. who has since died, painted a masterful watercolor of this arch, which is how I got interested in actually going to the Salt Point area ten or so years ago. I've been to Salt Point a handful of times since.
I took the liberty of "posterizing" my image (above).



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photo by Donald Kinney

And this is the "brainy" sandstone at Salt Point. Curious rock, isn't it?

[ Source:  Wikipedia ]   The rocks of Salt Point are sedimentary, mainly sandstone. All of these rocks are tilted, exposing older rocks. The rocks at the north end of the park's coast are younger than the rocks at of the southern end. Salt Point is named for the tafoni where the ocean water crystallizes in the honeycomb like crevices. This tafoni is caused when the salt crystals interact with the sandstone making parts of the sandstone harden while other parts soften.

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Lighthouse at Pigeon Point

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photo by Donald Kinney

When I was younger I used to drive down Highway1 to visit my parents who lived on the Monterey Peninsula, and the lighthouse at Pigeon Point marked, roughly, the half-way point between our abodes. And even before I moved to Marin County, when I was a kid, our family would frequently pass by Pigeon Point Lighthouse on our way up to this area to visit relatives. I've known Pigeon Point Lighthouse a long, long time. I am very, very old. "Creak", "moan", "groan"...



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photo by Donald Kinney

The most difficult part of this photo was getting my tired old bones in the car at 3AM. But somehow, by 5AM I was at the base of Pigeon Point Lighthouse setting up my tripod, old Mr. Stickey, who has a few complaints of his own...

Data on top photo:   2.5sec, f2.8, ISO-6400, 70mm, cropped slightly.
Data on lower photo:   1.6sec, f2.8, ISO-6400, 70mm, not cropped.

Looks like I struck it rich in the "wow" department with the top photo. But I've got to go back and try again--always some room for improvement. I'm using what seems to be too high of an ISO (6400), but I think need a short exposure time so as to avoid just a blur of the sweeping light. Trial and error will eventually produce a less noisy image, and that should make possible a good print.

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Occupy the Space Between my Ears

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photo by Donald Kinney

I've dropped in on the OccupySF people twice now. They have a colorful presence at the foot of Market Street and in front of the Federal Building.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Found stenciled along Montgomery Street in the deepest depths of San Francisco's Financial District.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Today, I'd be a bit nervous if I saw my bank spending too much on frill.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Well, the Direct Action Work Group at 2PM sounded like it might be a lively event, but I missed it. Couldn't stick around. Had to go occupy the space between my ears.


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