In October, I took a trip to Nevada City, California. Even though shooting fall color wasn't the reason for the trip, I thought I might find and photograph some there. So I got up before sunrise and went scouting. I didn't find much good fall color, but I did find, or rather, was found by, [...]
A make-up artist named Skip was at my granddaughters' combined birthday party in early October. The party had an "animal" theme, and the kids came dressed as their favorite animals. Skip is a talented face-painter, and the girls' outfits and painted faces were great subjects. Here's Skip painting Eva as a rabbit. And the finished [...]
It was overcast, and the sun hadn't yet risen. Those were just the conditions I was hoping for as I headed to the seashore to do some long-exposure seascapes along Ocean View Blvd. in Pacific Grove. I had my black and white camera on a tripod, and was shooting with a 35mm or 50mm lens, [...]
I drove up to Penngrove to shoot the Third Annual South of Heaven Filthies Humdinger Car Show. I had such good luck at the lowrider show in San Francisco, I figured I'd give this one a try. It was smaller, and in a park vs. on San Francisco city streets, but the vibe was similar. [...]
I was in San Francisco for an overnight this past Friday, and decided after dinner to walk down to City Hall. Civic Center, where City Hall is located, is not the best part of town, especially after dark. As I walked down Market St. after 9 p.m., surrounded by the creatures of the night, I [...]
This year was my fifth time going to the Pride Parade in San Francisco. I feel the event has been getting more corporate and less authentic every year. Howevere, this year was a little better, in that there didn't seem to be as many corporate groups promoting themselves and more members of the LGBTQ community [...]
I live about a ten-minute drive from St. Mary's College in Moraga, and I go there often late in the day to wander around the campus taking photos. I especially like to visit during the summer, when school's out, and there's almost no one there. Cloudy days are the best times for photography, because I [...]
I prefer portraits where the photographer and subject plan a shoot together ahead of time. But I rarely do that. I still like portraiture, though, so I take street portraits. These are somewhere between a planned session and a candid shot. I talk to the subject ahead of time and ask them to pose for [...]
For the fifth year, I went to Carnaval in San Francisco over Memorial Day weekend. It's ideal for street portraiture and event photography. The participants are in colorful costumes and are all willing to pose for pictures. Despite that, there are challenges. The overcast day provides even, soft light, but it's also a flat, dull [...]
We visited Tavira, Lisbon and Porto during our two weeks in Portugal in April. The people were friendly and helpful, and they all spoke English because they're required to study it in school. We talked with this goat-and-sheep herder in the hills above Tavira. He was selling his animals. I didn't buy any, because I [...]