Frosted Glass

Howdy!

Tonight is the Lunar New Year Parade (and Generik is doubtless getting some great pre-parade shots even as we speak). I won't be there, but I did get this shot of stored floats/costumes in a vacant storefront downtown. Gung Hay Fat Choy, everybody!

Shadow Shot Sunday: Four Panels

A panel of architectural ironwork casts some interesting shadows in the afternoon sun. It's Shadow Shot Sunday once again, just like last week and the week before. Join the shadowy fun!

Shadow Shot Sunday

Spent four days last week up in the mountains near Sequoia National Park. Snow is best as something you go to, rather than as something that comes to you.

Read up on the backstory, then check out the current episode.

Travel Thursday: Bridgeport

This was taken on the same trip as the Death Valley pictures. I drove from there up to Reno, and stopped here on the road just long enough to snap a couple shots of our familiar meadow covered in snow.

Hooded Mergansers

Hooded Mergansers are small, diving, fish-eating ducks. Here an immature male is followed by an adult female. One of these weeks I'll post a shot of the adult male, who is the real beauty of this species. See a low-resolution enlargement of this shot here.

Sabino Canyon

Questionable New Customer

Shooting around Oakland last Saturday after the Paramount Theater tour. Lots of great old signage and decay and decrepitude and stuff over there. Must explore further soon.

In My Neighborhood: Grass Roots

Across the street from my apartment building are a fire station, the residential America Hotel, a bar known as Divas and a medical marijuana outlet called Grass Roots. This is what it looked like on a rainy Sunday night peeking out the window from our laundry room.

Art Deco Abstract

I spent Saturday morning on a tour of the Paramount Theater in Oakland, an art deco palace designed by Timothy Pflueger and opened in 1931. It has been restored to its original splendor, and is a must-see for all fans of that style of architecture. You're allowed to take all the pictures you want while on the tour, which is heaven for an inveterate shutterbug like me. This is just a small sample of the intricate ceiling structure designed by Pflueger -- who also designed the Castro Theater and a number of other opulent movie palaces and office buildings in those heady days before and during the Great Depression.

The Paramount offers tours the first and third Saturdays of each month, at a very reasonable cost of $5 per person. Highly recommended to fans of art deco architecture and movie theater history.

Geary Night

Emile Henri and the Adventure of the Roasted Beets

Moments Later...

Downy Woodpecker beats a retreat.

Travel Thursday: Death Valley

I took this shot using a Yashica double-lens reflex loaded with 120 film about seven years ago. I just got the film developed last week, and my friend Bill was good enough to scan a few of the negatives in. This is Zabriskie Point, looking north-ish.

Maybe I'll start shooting more film again...

Downy Woodpecker

Male, Eastern Race

8 Over 76

Wonderland

Cloud

From Fulton near 16th Avenue.

Martini Monday

Update: yes, it's true: I am recycling my Martini Monday pic for Shadow Shot Sunday. Should anyone feel cheated by this, I will cheerfully refund the price of admission.

Intrigued by Shadow Shot Sunday? Find out more...then check out last week's pics and join in the fun!

Industrial Strength Yellow

Happy Valentine's Day

Shadow Shot Sunday: Outdoor Office

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Shadow Shot Sunday

Shadow cast by a glass at the 2008 Boonville Beer Festival.

Shadow Shot Sunday rules here; more shadows here.

Moon Over the San Mateo Bridge

Red Neon

Travel Thursday: Pomona

Carnival rides light up the night in the Fun Zone at the Los Angeles County Fair.

Telephone Lines

Black-Capped Chickadee

No Minors Served

Some interesting advertising that I've seen juxtaposed in a few different places throughout the city lately.

Droplets

In My Neighborhood: Graffiti Links

More with the new 50mm.

IGA

Tub Free

Shoes in the Shadows

A pair of abandoned shoes rest in the shadows at someone's doorstep. They must be waiting for Shadow Shot Sunday. To see what surprises SSS generated last week, go here.

Shadow Shot Sunday

The top of one of the Bay Bridge towers reflected in a puddle at Pier 14.

Want to join in the fun? Here's how!

Dark Park

Laundry Day in Poggibonsi

It brings out all the pervs. (Meaning me, of course.)

Pale Sun

Photowalk the Second

Last Saturday was the second photowalk organized by the good folks at CALIBER. We met up at the Montgomery Street BART/MUNI station, and with the inimitable Frank Chu as our guide and beacon, walked up to North Beach and back down through Chinatown. Just before the meet-up, I splurged and bought myself a new 50mm 1.4 lens, and shot exclusively with that all day. It was, as the kids say, hella fun.

A few more shots from that day below the fold.

More...

Icy Crucible

I entered this shot of ice refreezing on my lake last month to a JPG Magazine (or now I guess it's JPG website) photo challenge on "Frozen." I didn't win. The winning entries are here. I think maybe the focus is a bit soft in parts of my image, and it doesn't provide any scale or even any explanation of what exactly the image is. You can only enter one image per challenge or I'd have run "Klee Ice I" as well. Oh, well, you can't win 'em all.

Martini Monday