December 2023

Stormy Weather

By |2023-12-12T20:01:08+00:00December 12th, 2023|Uncategorized|

I visited Pacific Grove in early December, when, by coincidence, there was an atmospheric river bringing stormy weather to the Pacific Northwest. That same weather affected the ocean at Pacific Grove, resulting in bigger waves than I'd ever seen there—and I've been there many times. I went out early in the morning to Lovers Point, [...]

September 2023

Long-Exposure Seascapes

By |2023-09-30T19:43:30+00:00September 30th, 2023|Uncategorized|

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, [...]

July 2023

Chapel and Cloud

By |2023-07-04T21:58:39+00:00July 4th, 2023|Uncategorized|

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 [...]

June 2023

Street Portraits Here and There

By |2023-06-11T00:37:24+00:00June 11th, 2023|Uncategorized|

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 [...]

February 2023

Snowy Mt. Diablo

By |2023-02-27T03:59:30+00:00February 27th, 2023|Uncategorized|

Snow fell last Thursday on Mt. Diablo in Contra Costa County—not an everyday occurrence. The day after, I hiked up a steep, muddy trail near my house to reach an overlook on the Lafayette Reservoir Rim Trail. These photos were taken with my monochrome camera. I used 35, 50 and 75mm prime lenses, all with [...]

January 2023

Pier 7, Early Morning

By |2023-01-22T00:08:27+00:00January 22nd, 2023|Uncategorized|

Pier 7 is a popular spot for tourists, couples taking selfies, wedding photographers, and me. I've been there at all times of day and in a wide range of weather conditions. The pier provides a perfect example of single-point perspective toward a vanishing point, at which sits the Transamerica Pyramid. Recently, I arrived there before [...]

August 2022

Portraits from Dore Alley

By |2022-08-02T00:38:19+00:00August 2nd, 2022|Uncategorized|

Up Your Alley (also known as Dore Alley) is an annual leather and fetish event in San Francisco, known as the little brother to the much-larger Folsom Street Fair. This is the second time I've gone there to photograph the day. The attendees are friendly, and without exception, happy to pose for portraits. This year, [...]

July 2022

MIRA Building Detail

By |2022-07-05T23:16:26+00:00July 5th, 2022|Uncategorized|

The MIRA building, at the corner of Spear and Folsom streets in San Francisco, is pretty irresistible for photographers—even if they're not into architecture. The twisty-turny facades make for striking images, whether you're photographing the entire structure (which isn't easy, given that you can't back up very far) or details. Here's the whole building: I [...]

June 2022

Musée Mécanique

By |2022-06-21T23:40:51+00:00June 21st, 2022|Uncategorized|

On my customary weekend trip into San Francisco two Sundays ago, I visited the Musée Mécanique on Fisherman's Wharf. Wikipedia describes it as "an interactive museum of 20th-century penny arcade games and artifacts. With over 300 mechanical machines, it is one of the world's largest privately owned collections." It's definitely a time capsule—a bit [...]

May 2022

The Ferry Terminal

By |2022-05-19T23:46:12+00:00May 19th, 2022|Uncategorized|

When I have my monochrome camera with me, I'm always on the lookout for good black and white subjects. Heading to a meeting in Marin County, I passed the Larkspur Ferry Terminal and thought, well, there's one. These photos were taken about 9 in the morning. I put an orange filter on my camera [...]

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