Red Sky At Night Sailor's Delight

"Dusk is just an illusion because the sun is either above the horizon or below it. And that means that day and night are linked in a way that few things are. There cannot be one without the other yet they cannot exist at the same time. How would it feel I remember wondering to be always together yet forever apart?"

~Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook

Since the beginning of the year, I have been working on photographing the stunning winter sunsets the Bay Area has been having, from as many different perspectives as possible. The view from different parks, and ridges. Sometimes I have tried to work with natural filtering, such as when I am in one of the canyons in the East Bay, and each turn throws a different small slope in front of the sunset just over the hills. All of those areas give me a wild variety of color and shadow, as each place lends it's own unique perspective, because of height, and natural filtering such as trees or slant of the road. It's a challenge, but it gives a weary photographer like me, a lot of satisfaction to work, sometimes really hard, to end the day with a sunset photo that I am proud of, and more importantly, one I will remember long after the photo is taken. I hope you will remember the sunsets as well!

Enjoy!

Sunset Gallery
February 1st, 2013
Grizzly Peak Blvd
Berkeley, California









 







"Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's a day you've had everything to do and you've done it."

~Margaret Thatcher

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Beyond The Sea

"This afternoon knows what the morning never suspected."

~Swedish Proverb

I have become quite fond of the light between 3:00 PM and 6:00 PM. In that 3 hour window there is a lot of unique lighting opportunities. And I find that I need to put a little more thought and planning into how colors look different than they would... say... in the early morning hours. I have found that sometimes I simply can't get the end result I am looking for. Maybe because the sun is about to set, so I feel rushed. Or maybe it's simply the way the sun looks when it seems content and sleepy. It's soft and lovely, but all too often I feel like I am missing something if I devote my whole time and attention to achieving what I see as the photograph, rather than seeing, feeling, experiencing and appreciating the scene in front of me for personal reasons. I am not sure. All I know is, at the moment, I am comfortable with doing most of my photography in the afternoon, at least for now, because I am learning new things, about photography, and also about myself personally, insights which I am pretty sure don't exist during the morning hours.

When it comes to photography, I am pleased to say, I never stop learning.

Facing East...
 

Little Known Fact About Me...

I have "Beyond The Sea" by Bobby Darin on all of my play lists.

 

Mood: Reflective

~Me :)

Looking Back At January 2013

"We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are"

~Anias Nin

Did it seem to you like January was NEVER GOING TO END? Or was that just me? It's not like I hate January or anything, I don't, in fact, this January afforded me a lot of time with the cameras. That is never a bad thing. It's just that the month seemed long. I don't know, it's probably that it has 31 days or something, but hey, that fact will make February with 28 days seem like a week. Right? Well, lets aim for that anyway. LOL.

As of this week, we are officially in the middle of winter, and so far is hasn't been super cold winter as winters go. I would really love to see another big blast of winter come rolling through. Something with hard driving rain, or maybe a snow flurry or two. If it doesn't happen in the first part of February, it more than likely won't happen, and I will be stuck with the days not only getting longer, but filled with depressingly bright sunshine.

Sigh. Sunshine is so common, now rain and snow, that is where shadows and and filtered lighting make things really interesting. LOL. Oh well, when I look back at what I accomplished with the camera in January, I am satisfied with what I did. You can't really ask for more than that! Right?











On To February!

:)

Mood: Encouraged

~Me

The 29th Sunset

Time is free, but it's priceless
You can't own it, but you can use it.
You can't keep it, but you can spend it.
Once you've lost it, you can never get it back.

~Harvey MacKay

Yeah, I know, it's another January sunset, but there will never be another one like this one. Every sunset is a fingerprint of the day that I had. Good, bad, or otherwise, along comes a sunset and suddenly I am distracted by the unique fleeting moments of light. It's my favorite way to live in the moment.

A January Sunset With More Sky...


A January Sunset With Less Sky...


And Now... Gin Wigmore "Don't Stop"

 

Take nothing for granted.

Mood: Calm

~Me :)

Nature's Peace

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves."

~John Muir

A few more photos from this month. I wish there had been more rain in January, but I am not complaining about how gorgeous everything is. A bad mood stands no chance at all!

 

 

 

 See What I Mean? :)

Mood: Happy :)

~Me

A Little Of This And A Little Of That

"The moon is a friend for the lonesome to talk to."

~Carl Sandberg

It's almost the end of January! That went by quick! Well depending on what I was doing at the time. During the ant invasion, which lasted almost three weeks, it seemed like time had stopped. That last batch of ants were some of the most difficult ones to deal with I have ever come up with. That's okay, they still weren't as bad as the UBERANTS of 2007. They were the ones that would suddenly explode into what seemed like millions, but really thousands, seemingly out of nowhere. One minute everything was fine, the next minute they were there, and they were mean and liked to bite. Elvis hated them, and was a good guy about telling me when some would pop up unexpectedly. I sure miss how he took care of me.

Anyway, I took some photos that I didn't get around to posting, so I thought it might be a nice way to spend a Monday on my blog, sharing the ones that got passed up. :) We are starting with that moon shot above. I wish I had more definition, but with the clouds it simply refused to come together. I need to do more practice with that. The moon has always been a favorite subject.

Coca-Cola


"The only way that I could figure they could improve upon Coca-Cola, one of life's most delightful elixirs, which studies prove will heal the sick and occasionally raise the dead, is to put rum or bourbon in it."
~Lewis Grizzard, New York Times, April 26, 1985

The Oakland San Francisco Bay Bridge
 

"Bridges are America's cathedrals."
~Unknown

Crossing A Bridge


"My land is bare of chattering; the clouds are low along the ridges, and sweets the air with curly smoke from all my burning bridges."

~Dorothy Parker

San Francisco


"It's an off thing, but anyone who disappears is said to be seen in San Francisco. It must be a delightful city and possess all the attractions of the next world."

~Oscar Wilde

Autumn Trees In Winter


"Love the trees until their leaves fall off, then encourage them to try again next year."

~Chadd Sugg

Blackbird


"Blackbirds are the cellos of the deep farms."

~Unknown

Okay, that's it. That's all the photos from January that never found a blog posting. I had a lot fun and found a lot of peace taking the photos, because, as always, photography saves me on so many levels.

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Embarcadero Center Art Walk #2: "Chronos XIV"

(Chronos XIV By Nicholas Schoffer, 1975)

"In the haunted house of life, art is the only stair that doesn't squeak."

~Tom Robbins, Skinny Legs And All

Embarcadero Center Self-Guided Sculpture Tour

The title of this sculpture is Chronos XIV, by Nicholas Schoffer. Consisting of stainless steel, it was brought over from France in 1975 by a Boeing 747. It was sent in pieces and assembled on the site in the Embarcadero Center where it stands today. It is located in 2EC near Sacramento Street. The sculpture is 64 feet tall, and has 49 light projectors that shine on 65 movable discs. Nicholas Schoffer is considered the father or cybernetic art. His CYSP 1 (1956) is considered the first cybernetic sculpture in art history because of its use of electronic computations and was developed by Phillips electronics.

:)

Feeling: Quiet

~Me :)