A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 177~ RRC: In The Dark

"There are only two types of darknessess. One that harvest the shadows and one that leads the light."

~Warda Patel

Round Robin Challenge: In The Dark

This challenge round was fun! I got to do some photos in the dark and in low light and it felt good to stretch my creative muscle a bit. I did fairly well with finding just the right opportunities, but I also did some tiptoeing through my archives to see what had captured my imagination in previous night time jaunts. I found some photos I completely forgot about, so I am including them in with the new shots. Enjoy!

1. The Lights At The Peppermill Casino, Reno Nevada, October 2012 (New)


2. Coit Tower Lit In Red For World AIDS Day December 1st 2009 (Archive)


3. Conservatory Of Flowers, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco (Archive)


4. San Francisco, As See From Treasure Island, December 20, 2008 (Archive)


5. Window Girls, August 5th, 2007, Berkeley Ca. (Archive)


6. The End Of A Sunflower's Life, Half Moon Bay, Ca, October 23rd, 2012 (New)


7. Jellyfish At The Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey Ca. (Archive)


8. Starbucks Early In The Morning (Archive)


9. San Francisco Skyline At Night As Seen From Twin Peaks


10. San Francisco Neon In The Adult Entertainment District, Columbus Ave, San Francisco. (Archive)


11. Breast Cancer Awareness Rose (Pink Promise) From My Garden, October 2012 (New)


12. Coit Tower Dressed In Orange Celebrating The Giants Making It To The 2012 World Series, And Their Win Against The Detroit Tigers! Go GIANTS! (New)


Okay, that's my contribution this time around. No go check out what all the other Robins found in the dark! Just click the link at the top of the page to be redirected to the official Round Robin blog! That's where you will find all the information to play along, and a list of all participants. :)

Today's APAD contributer is from my pal JR! Go say HI! :)

JR
http://jrclinephotography.blogspot.com/2012/11/apadf6-174.html

~Me :)

A Photo A Day For 6 Months:Day 176 ~ Look Ma, No Valium!

"You wanna fly? You have to give up the shit that ways you down."

~Toni Morrison


Yesterday, when I posted my favorite photographs of October, I found myself wishing that my favorite month had 32 days! LOL. Of course I pretty much wish that anyway, but on a practical note, there was one more October event that I wanted to share, but I knew I wouldn't have the photos edited in time, so I am posting them today. It's of our aerial tour of the San Francisco Bay!

I had been looking forward to the tour for a long time, well, since last June when it became available on Groupon. I have had a lifelong fear flying, which didn't stop me from flying mind you, but I never really enjoyed it. You see, between the ages of 12 and 18 I would routinely experience dreams of airplane crashes. These dreams didn't always end in horrific crashes, sometimes they bordered on cartoonish situations where the plane crashes, and everyone on board was simply sitting at a diner counter eating donuts, or something similar.

There were times, however, when the dreams I had... contained details... which were strikingly similar to real crashes which would take place within a few hours of when I woke up. The first took place on September 25 1978 in San Diego, California, between a single engine Cessna and a PSA commercial airliner. The second dream I had was about the crash of American Airlines Flight 191 which crashed just after takeoff from O'Hare airport in Chicago, on May 25th, 1979. I know in my rational mind that it was coincidence, but I was also of the belief that someone was trying to tell me something, so why not listen. That meant not flying. And I didn't for a long time.

Then in 1992 Alan and I were given 2 free tickets to fly anywhere we wanted. Anywhere! Alan and I thought about it for a long time, and considered many different places, but I knew it was important to Alan to fly to the East Coast to see his family, so for him I loaded up on the Valium, strapped my seat belt on, and grit my teeth for several thousand miles. As flights go, it wasn't the worst ever, in fact I had a lot of funny stories, from the many different legs of the adventure to share. Ask me sometime about the "Muffins Over Illinois" story. A true and cautionary tale! I don't know if it was all the Valium I took, or the 12 cans of coke I drank between San Jose and Columbus Ohio, or if it was the extreme turbulence we experienced over Colorado, whatever it was, by the time I reached Columbus I knew I would never look at banana muffins quite the same again!

LOL.

Lordy, it is SO funny now. But at the time, it was SKY HIGH DRAMA!

Anyway, fast forward to last Tuesday. When I saw the Groupon in June, I knew it would be a wonderful adventure for Alan and I, plus as a photographer, who would rather take pictures than breathe, everything in me said to do it. After all, some folks think the world is going to end on December 21st, and who knows, it just might! Hurricane Sandy scared me on a lot of levels. It would seem the earth is somewhat pissed off! Or maybe it's GOD who is angry! Or maybe it's neither! Maybe its just the natural order of things, I don't know, but it's not hard to believe that everything could just be over in a blink. Blinks can happen for a number of reasons, and as I was saying a couple months ago, I would rather die a bitch than a doormat! Well, lets add to it by saying I would rather die living my life as opposed to running from it.

Okay, Dials... Check. Doohickies Check... Whimmy Diddles Check... We're Good To Go!



Taxiing Down The Runway...



San Mateo Bridge...



Mt. Diablo And Oakland...



San Francisco Skyline, Bay Bridge, Treasure Island And Fog...



Bay Bridge And Treasure Island...



Alcatraz And That Famous San Francisco Fog...



Alcatraz



San Francisco



Embarcadero San Francisco...



Mt. Tamalpias, San Francisco Embarcadero



San Francisco Skyline...



Mt. Diablo And San Francisco...



Mount Tamalpias, And The Golden Gate Bridge...



The Marina Green And Marina District, San Francisco...



Bay Bridge, South Of Market, San Francisco...



San Francisco International Airport...



Palace Of Fine Arts, San Francisco...



Treasure Island/Yerba Buena Island, Bay Bridge...



Autumn In Belmont California...



Mt. San Bruno, South San Francisco, The City Of Industry...





San Mateo County Eastern Side Of 101...



Coming In For A Landing...



And Back On The Ground...



The flight was an hour long, and Pilot Dan couldn't have treated us better! He answered our questions, pointed out special landmarks, and made the flight very enjoyable and fun. By the time we landed, I was already thinking about doing this again next year, if not sooner! It's sort of misleading to say I was afraid to take this flight, because it's not even a little accurate to say so. From the time I purchased the Groupon, I have been looking forward to it, so I don't think I slayed any dragons here, in fact I found out that I actually enjoy flying in this small plane as opposed to flying in a large commercial one. I doubt I will ever fly commercial again, the new regulations for flying is in my opinion ridiculous, but at least I know if I had to, my fears of the past have all been conquered. That's a good feeling!

San Carlos Flight Center, San Carlos, Ca

Happiness!

~Me :)

Today's Link Comes To Us By Way Of  JR!

JR
http://jrclinephotography.blogspot.com/2012/11/apadf6-173.html

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 175~ My Favorite October Memories

"In the entire circle of the year there are no days so delightful as those of a fine October, when the trees are bare to the mild heavens, and the red leaves bestrew the road, and you can feel the breath of winter, morning and evening... no days so calm, so tenderly solemn, and with such a reverent meekness in the air."

~Alexander Smith

I knew the last four weeks would go by fast, but I had NO idea how fast! It's November 1st, and I am already mourning the loss of October. I love it so much. But there is one more week of vacation, and Alan and I still have a few adventures coming up this week, and a lot of photo opportunities, so I am am happy. The memories of our vacation will keep me warm all through winter.

Happiness :)






"Nothing is really lost to us as long as we remember it."

~ L. M. Montgomery, The Story Girl


~Me :)

Now, I wonder what my friend JR has posted for today. Let's go see, shall we?

JR
http://graffitionacyberwall.blogspot.com/2012/10/apadf6-172.html

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 174~ Happy Halloween

"Witch and ghost make merry on this last of dear October's days."

~Unknown

 Elvis, as Woodstock, October 31st 2007
 


It's my favorite day of the year! I have learned to love the holidays over the years, mostly since marrying Alan. He understood about my aversion to holidays, a situation caused by the family of wolves who raised me, and he NEVER tried to change my mind. He just allowed me to come to terms with the ghosts of holidays past, and slowly we started our own traditions. Halloween was always the one holiday my family didn't mess with, and as a result it is the one day of the year I felt safe, and allowed to have fun. And I do! He and I do it up BIG. I am missing my Elvis today, because he loved having a costume on, and he loved the attention, but he isn't here, and while my two little fellas will put up with a costume, their heart isn't in it like his was. No one rocked a Halloween costume like Elvis. It's okay, Dylan and Hendrix are my little boys, and their happiness is the most important thing to me. So, no costumes this year... at least I think not... but there is lots of other fun awaiting. Pictures to come soon. Stay Tuned!

"I can see lights in the distance trembling in the dark cloak of night. Candles and lanterns are dancing, dancing a waltz on All Souls Night."

~Loreena McKennitt

And Now A Clip From One Of My Favorite Movies... John Carpenter's The Fog.



~ Me :)

Happy Halloween!

Now, go see what my friend and fellow photographer JR is up to! He's awesome!

JR
http://jrclinephotography.blogspot.com/2012/10/apadf6-170.html

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 173~ Got Hitchcock?

 

 "Give them pleasure. The same pleasure they have when they wake up from a nightmare."

~Alfred Hitchcock

Bodega Bay California is a lovely place. It is one of my favorite towns along the California coast, but it does have a kind of a vibe. A spooky vibe. The town and it's people are friendly enough, and there is a lot to see and photograph, but I can't help but think about the one scene from Alfred Hitchcock's classic horrorfest, The Birds, which left the biggest impression on me, the one where Suzanne Pleshettet's bird pecked body is found on the steps of her modest house overlooking the ocean. There was no music when Mitch and Melanie found the body, only an eerie silence as they first see her legs, then her body... then her face. The mixture of despair, fear, horror and horror again left me with the kind of chills that keep me coming back, at least once a year, to feel the chills all over again. Alfred Hitchcock chose Bodega Bay because it had a comfortable, small town charm to it, oh and it has lots of birds. LOTS OF BIRDS. Sometimes... LARGE BIRDS! Hitchcock might have been a bit of a character in real life, but he was a genius about knowing what it took to scare the wits out of a person. Sometimes it's the thought, not the reality, that is scariest of all.

 

"There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it."

~Alfred Hitchcock

 


 







 

~Me :)

Today's Link is from my pal JR... Go Say Hello! :)

JR
http://jrclinephotography.blogspot.com/2012/10/apadf6-170.html

To all my pals, and lurkers in New York, and you know who you are, my thoughts are with you! Hang in there, and don't hesitate to call me if you need to. :)