differences between sunrise and sunset

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photo by Donald Kinney

That is a sunrise (above).
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I've always wondered if it was just my imagination or if it was true--that sunrises seem more brilliant and colorful than sunsets.



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photo by Donald Kinney

That is a sunset (above).
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Well, the word-on-the-street is that during a sunset our eyes just can't adjust fast enough to keep up with the rapidly darkening conditions.

Early in the morning our pupils are wide-open, ready to notice even the faintest offerings of color. At dawn, colors are less "washed-out" by the brightness of the day.

Taking all of this into consideration, I think it is logical to assume that the colorful drama of sunrise lasts longer, time-wise, when compared to a sunset. Where is my watch?


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G.G.B., in a few of her permutations

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photo by Donald Kinney

Given a choice, I would prefer to view my Golden Gate Bridge very early and in relative darkness. I enjoy the quiet stillness. 6AM this time of year is just about right. But earlier----yawn----would probably be even better.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Breaking a rule here... I shouldn't be mixing color with black-and-whites.



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photo by Donald Kinney

A bit of our beloved Golden Gate fog. No choices, and no rules... It just is.


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experiments -- plenty of room for failure

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photo by Donald Kinney

Well, if there is anything I enjoy more than kissing pretty ladies it would probably be snapping that shutter of mine. But truth be told--opportunities for kissing pretty ladies around here are rare. On the other hand, with the camera, it is just one snap after another. Snap, snap, snap...

Sometimes I like to get a little bit experimental. Sometimes this works out and sometimes it doesn't. I'm really not too sure about this one (above).



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photo by Donald Kinney

I'm a bit more confident about this mirrored image (above), but I still don't think I've quite found my groove. I've just discovered that my Ohio-based buddy Jan Bell of Bell Images has borrowed this mirrored technique for one of his website images (column2, row3), so maybe I am on to something.


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seeing is believing

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photo by Donald Kinney

This is my heartfelt memorial to all of the toll-takers at the Golden Gate Bridge, actual human beings, who lost their jobs in favor of cold, impersonal, and thankless machinery.



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photo by Donald Kinney

...


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China Camp on San Pablo Bay

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photo by Donald Kinney

I had already been feeling sorry ENOUGH for myself with places like the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Point Reyes National Seashore shut down until members of Congress get-their-heads-out-of-their-asses, but for the past few days we have been having "Red Flag" conditions--dry and windy days that have closed down some more of my favorite places, like Mount Tamalpais.

Then there have been the "plain vanilla" skies, cloudless and uninteresting.

The scene (above) is from China Camp, on San Pablo Bay, the top "thumb" of San Francisco Bay. This is another scene that I rarely pass up.


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mysterious beached boat, Tomales Bay

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photo by Donald Kinney

A diligent reporter would have more facts regarding the venerable "Point Reyes" trawler, such as when she was built and who captained her. Or maybe of more general interest--why she ended up stranded here on the shores of Tomales Bay. But in reality, I haven't got a clue.

But I DO know that this boat gets photographed a LOT. Seldom do I pass her up--she has been resting on that lonely sand-bar, abandoned, for years.


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the colors of sunrise

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photo by Donald Kinney

Red can be brief and elusive. Pinks and oranges usually take up the slack.


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foggy hills of early morning

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photo by Donald Kinney

Left to their own devices and perhaps a bit of ground fog and clouds,
the hills surrounding Nicasio often take on their own brand of moodiness.


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Foggy and slow at Rodeo Beach

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photo by Donald Kinney

With the Federal Government shut down, places like Point Bonita, Rodeo Beach, and the entire Golden Gate National Recreation Area are locked down, tighter than a drum.



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photo by Donald Kinney

On Monday I realized it might be my last chance for a while to get soaked to the knees by those sneaky and foamy waves.


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Bean Hollow, San Mateo Coast; and a "new trick"

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photo by Donald Kinney

I'm just having way too much fun with my new Neutral Density filter.



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photo by Donald Kinney

I am now able to take lengthy exposures in daylight, capturing movement.


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"test of time" 30 of 30 - the ever so photogenic, Kitty

photo by Donald Kinney

This is going back to the mid to late 1990's, but one Saturday morning I heard an excited knock at my door from little Jolie who lived upstairs. The news was they were going to the animal shelter to pick out a kitten. Jolie, being quite the detail oriented little 10-year-old, had called and gotten the particulars on what was available. Jolie went through the list from memory, but when she mentioned they had a black-and-white bicolor shorthair, I recommended strongly that Jolie come home with that one--and she did.

Kitty came to live with me at age 3 or 4 when Jolie's family moved on.

Starting at the end of 2003, for 8 or 9 years Kitty and I kept a sophomoric daily blog of her daily doings. Kitty didn't mind posing for the camera, and Photoshop took her visiting places where only her imagination could reach.


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"test of time" 29 of 30 - two fields, one fence; 1974

photo by Donald Kinney

In the 1970's, 80's, and 90's my photography slowed down to a crawl, although I never stopped looking and appreciating the designs and beauty around me.

The singular quest for the middle of nowhere sent me on long convoluted loops throughout Northern California. Unrealized beauty was often just around the bend. Most likely on a road or trail seldom traveled.
Always an adventure. Never a dull moment.


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"test of time" 28 of 30 - the "duo" experiment, 1982

photo by Donald Kinney

Mirrored, and upside-down...
One of my first "duo experiments"...


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"test of time" 27 of 30 - Loma Prieta earthquake, 1989

photo by Donald Kinney

It was a wild ride on October 17, 1989 when a few swift jolts brought the Bay Area to a standstill. 63 were killed, 3757 were injured, and thousands were left homeless. A section of the Bay Bridge failed, dropping cars onto the section below. Unreinforced parking garages under homes in the exclusive Marina district collapsed and blazes popped up, fed by severed gas lines. A brick wall fell on 5 people in the South of Market area, killing them all.

And of course, the most dramatic emergency was created when the supports to the upper level of the Cypress Freeway in Oakland failed, pancaking the upper roadway to the lower level, smashing cars and trucks like toys and killing many. I made this photo several weeks later at night while heavy machinery was clearing out what was left of the destruction.


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