See Your West: Pescadero Beach

Pescadero Beach, along Hwy. 1 on the San Mateo coast south of San Francisco.

Bald Eagle

Better large.

Halfway to the Stars

In My Neighborhood: Standing On Guard

Caught these guys a block away from me yesterday and couldn't resist shooting them. They were much more interested in a boxer passing by with its owner than they were in me, though.

War Games

Portals of the Past

Detail from this year's Garden Railway at the Conservatory of Flowers.

Poireaux

Winter vegetables on display in the Marché des Enfants Rouges, Paris.

Mermaid on the Street

Christmas came a week early for me, and I've been slowly easing into the new 5D Mark II I got last Saturday. Here's something I shot late this afternoon while taking it out for a walk.

In My Neighborhood: Right Lane Must Turn Right

Mrs. G told me about an abandoned couch she had spotted on her way home from work last night, so naturally I had to go find it and shoot it. Along the way, I took this shot of the corner of Post and Hyde Streets, and I thought it came out pretty nicely.

Solstice Moon

Diana Does the Charleston

19th century sculpture at the De Young Museum.

Nikki's Bokeh

Taken in Union Square on our most recent outing with the Ale & Quail Club.

Gunsight Jesus

Detail from The Spine and Tooth of Santo Guerro (Al Farrow, 2007) at the De Young Museum.

Leadership

Four crows a-trekking.

Nick Gets Captured

Photographers shooting each other in the shadows? Must be another Shadow Shot Sunday here in the Pixels World. Check out the entries from these fine folks that helped make up last week's compilation of shadow shots, and feel free to join in the fun yourself.

Oh, and happy holidays to all!

Maybe Someday, You'll See My Face Among the Crowd

I never saw BrodyQat, the desaturated Santa at this year's Santacon (unfortunately), but I did get this shot, which I thought looked pretty good after desaturating it. Something about her expression just grabbed me.

The Twelve Santas of Christmas: #12) Desaturated Santa

This is BrodyQat (her Flickr name) in her second annual appearance as Desaturated Santa. She explains how (and why, sort of) she does it here. More pics below the fold.

More...

Frozen Gutter

I'll post this while it's still relevant. My section of our lake froze over last night, so fall is gone and it's officially winter. I took this shot before I began using a tripod on these leaf shots, and it shows.

The Twelve Santas of Christmas: #11) Jack Daniels Santa

All Watched Over by Murals of Loving Grace

Ran across this scene on my way to work early one morning recently. I love how the colors of the mural are reflected in the leather sofa. I believe the mural artist is Meagan Spendlove.

Don't know who designed the couch.

The Twelve Santas of Christmas: #10) 12 Galaxies Santa

Crow

Not easy getting detail on these black buggers. There's another take below the fold:

More...

The Twelve Santas of Christmas: #9) Mohawk Santa

The Twelve Santas of Christmas: #8) Jukebox Santa

Photographie

The Twelve Santas of Christmas: #7) Saint Lucia Santa

Wipeout

Yes, it's that magical time of year when San Francisco is blanketed with snow and people go skating on the frozen ponds.

Okay, not really. But thanks to the miracle of modern technology there are a couple of seasonal ice rinks, this one in Union Square. I didn't realize it while I was shooting, but I got this kid a second before he crashed; note the look of concern on the girl's face at right.

Shadow Shot Sunday is fun for all ages!

I'll Be Here Now for Christmas

This is the scene at Civic Center, one that I drive past every night on my way home from work. Tonight I had to stop and capture it... just because.

The Twelve Santas of Christmas: #6) Hasidic Santa

Westside Billiards

Very much enjoying Tom's Santa series, but I didn't want to be absent all week. Here's a nice piece of neon that I caught in San Jose the day after Thanksgiving. An artist in the UK contacted me about using this image as the basis for a drawing or painting he wants to create; will keep you all apprised if that comes to fruition.

The Twelve Santas of Christmas: #5) James O'Keefe Santa

On his way to bring toys and presents and falsified ACORN videos to the good little boys and girls at Breitbart.com.

Blue Jay

A wily and aggressive member of the Corvid family.

The Twelve Santas of Christmas: #4) Cute Couple Santa

The Twelve Santas of Christmas: #3) Aloha Santa

This one looks oddly familiar...

Get In Here and Drink Your Martini

Dang, I almost forgot about Martini Monday! And I've had this for a couple weeks now.

Cheers!

The Twelve Santas of Christmas: #2) Mystical Tattoo Santa

Hanging out with her old pal Jesus Santa.

Via Giulia

Rome. Taken a year ago this week.

The Twelve Santas of Christmas: #1) Accordion Santa

The familiar legend of the Twelve Santas of Christmas has many regional variations¹, but the gist of it is the same all over: the god Santa Claus has 12 separate avatars that come on 12 separate days in December to bring presents or, for kids who have been bad, unspeakable torment. This tradition was ruthlessly suppressed by the medieval church because it conflicted with their belief in three and only three gods², but happily it has been revived here in San Francisco.


¹The Finno-Basque tribesmen living in the Banat of Temesvar, for example, worshipped Bassoon Santa instead of Accordion Santa.
²Not counting the hundreds of minor deities who were each worshipped one day out of the year.

Approach the Bench

I love those abandoned couches, sofas found in strange and incongruous settings. Combine a Sofa Free with bright, late afternoon sunlight and some deep shadows and you've got a winning formula for some Shadow Shot Sunday fun. Let's see if some of these fine folk don't agree.

Shadow Shot Sunday

Judging from the titanic Christmas ornaments in the 101 California plaza, it's that time of year again...

And so Shadow Shot Sunday brings another crop of fine photos. Check 'em out, and join the fun...

Found Composition

Seal Rocks

Continuing the rain theme here (it's supposed to be wet all weekend...ugh).

Between Showers

A scant half-block away from that rainy day impressionist picture, I snapped this in the break between showers about an hour later.

Pied-billed Grebe

A tiny, quick and very shy diving duck.