With no specific photo goal or subject in mind, I went to three towns on the shore of San Francisco Bay this weekend. Crockett, Martinez and Port Costa are all three fairly close together. Crockett and Port Costa are towns that time forgot, and seem stuck in time about 50 years ago. Martinez is small, but it’s the county seat for Contra Costa County, so it has some government buildings that make for good subjects.

This is a sugar factory in Crockett that’s been there for more than a hundred years. The photographic appeal comes from the front-lit factory backed by the dark sky.

An old truck by the side of the road between Port Costa and Crockett.

The finance building in Martinez. The attraction again here is the front lighting on the building, and how well it works as a monochrome subject.

This was the last shot of the day. I tried to follow signs to a vista point near the Carquinez Bridge, but never found it. I did find this end-of-day cloud composition.

Even without a specific type of shot in mind, it’s worth going out and looking for photos. These aren’t prize winners, but it’s a journey-is-the-reward kind of thing.