Saturday, February 27, 2010

Howdy!

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

Four Panels and Shadows

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

Montecito 34
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.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Travel Thursday: Bridgeport

Bridgeport Meadow in Winter

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
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.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Questionable New Customer

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.

Monday, February 22, 2010

In My Neighborhood: Grass Roots

Grass Roots #2

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.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Art Deco Abstract

Deco Ceiling

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

Geary Night 01

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Travel Thursday: Death Valley

Death Valley Mtns

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

Downy Woodpecker
Male, Eastern Race

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Monday, February 15, 2010

Martini Monday

Martini Shape Shadow

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

Industrial Strength Yellow

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Shadow Shot Sunday: Outdoor Office

Outdoor Office

This is the office of Shadow Shot Sunday. No one is available to take your call right now. Please leave your name and number and someone will get back to you shortly.

Shadow Shot Sunday

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

Shadow Shot Sunday rules here; more shadows here.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

No Minors Served

Minors Are Not Served in Hell

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

Droplets

Car Roof Droplets 02

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Shoes in the Shadows

Leave Your Shoes on the Doorstep

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

Bay Bridge Reflection BW
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!

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Laundry Day in Poggibonsi

Laundry Day in Poggibonsi

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

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Photowalk the Second

Camera Orgy

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...

Frank & Fotowalk Folks

Shellfish

Pushing All the Buttons

Listen to Me

Horn Players

Laundry Day

All That Glitters

ELEPH

Toasting Frank

Icy Crucible

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.