San Francisco In The Autumn Twilight

" 'You have a thousand hearts worth of love to give. A thousand tears may fall when one heart breaks. But never cry for shame. He kept my chin in his thick hand. "Even love lost was well spent.' "

~Emma Scott

I loved my city, and I miss it terribly, but going back for visits is delicious and soul cleansing. Twilight on the Bay Bridge usually provides some beautiful scenes, but again, I think I could argue, and win, that it is at it's most beautiful in autumn. Just look at that golden light, and that fog, and oh my, all that love. If you can't fall in love in San Francisco, your heart has given up. There is so much to love. 

 

Not bad for out of a car, doing 65mps! If I do say so myself. Someone once told me that, the best photos you take are always of people, places and things you really love, and if these are any bit good in your eyes, then you now know just how much I love San Francisco!

 #59 Leaf of The Day

November 20th 2019

Nevada City, California

Nikon

~Mood: Quiet

~Me  

Art About Town: San Francisco... The Bay Lights, By Leo Villareal

The Bay Lights

By Leo Villareal

October 2013

 

"San Francisco is the longest lasting love affair of my life. 

Her beauty inspires me anew each day and

  I am very thankful to be able to live here

 on the edge of the continent in what I feel is the heart of the world."

~Nicole

 sfheart.com

The Bay Lights, on the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge, is the largest public art sculpture in San Francisco, and it is probably the most beautiful piece of public art I have ever seen! Those tiny, sparkling lights twinkle from dusk to dawn, at least they have for the last couple years since their debut in March of 2013. But for the next year, or so, the tiny lights won't be shining. You see, all the little LED bulbs are needing to be replaced, with longer lasting ones, because what started out as a temporary art project, has turned into a permanent part of San Francisco! In early 2016, when the lights comeback on, they will be on for good! I, for one, will miss them terribly. There is nothing quite like those beautiful lights, especially on a warm autumn night. I took the picture above on a night just like that. Alan and I took a dinner cruise on San Francisco Bay, and sailing toward those lights was nothing short of magical. A cool bay cruise, some romantic lighting, the sight of the most beautiful city in the world, and the right someone to share it with! That's the stuff of happiness!

San Francisco

October 2013

Shame on me! I had begun to take those lights for granted! When the lights come back, I think I will be doing a lot of photography of the lights, and the beautiful Bay Bridge. 

I love it so much!

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

An Experience In Living

"No city invites the heart to come to life as San Francisco

 is an experience in living."

~William Soroyan

ROCKET BOAT

WooSH... TILT... SPLASH... YIKES!! Sorry, I don't usually put two exclamation points to... well... make a point, but that was what Saturday, on San Francisco Bay, on the Rocket Boat, was like! WooSH. TILT... SPLASH...YIKES!!! Alan and I had such a good time, and that is what vacation is all about! Right? Oh my goodness, we are barely into our arranged activities, there are still 4 more weeks to enjoy! The best of beautiful October is still to come, and I am looking forward to every single minute with my hubby! Last Saturday, while on the bay, things didn't seem like it could get any better, the whole HOT October day has set the vacation bar high! 

And At The End Of The Day

Pier 39 Fireworks!

:)

Leaf Of The Day

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

December Nights

"For the happiest life, rigorously plan your days, leave your nights open to chance."

~Mignon McLaughlin, The Second Neurotic's Notebook, 1966

I thought it would be fun to do some night photography, so I grabbed my camera and headed down Grizzly Peak to one of the pullouts overlooking the bay. This angle faces the Bay Bridge, and the South Beach and Mission Bay areas of San Francisco, and that is Oakland in the forefront. December is one of my favorite months for this kind of photography! It's usually windy, and cold, but well worth the effort.This photos features a rather ominous looking cloud over the bay, and some wispy ones above it. The photo came out with more noise than I would have liked. I need a lot more practice, so I will be posting more nighttime photos as we inch closer to the New Year!

Stay Tuned!

~Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Smile, You Woke Up Today!

"When you love something, you want to do it all the time, even if no one is paying you for it. At least that's how I felt about drawing."

~Meg Cabot, All-American Girl

I love photography! I do! And that's why I find inspiration everywhere! It's pretty fair to say that I have taken at least a photo a day for the last ten years, well, with a few exceptions, mostly brought on by pain from my Fibromyalgia and then during the lull I experienced prior to being diagnosed with an under active thyroid. God, it sounds like excuses, but let me tell you, I missed being able to feel creative! It was eerily reminiscent of the years of Anhedonia. YIKES! Pathetic much? LOL. No, just human I guess. Life has a funny way of throwing you curves, I count myself lucky that I have conditions that can be treated! I got reminded about how lucky I was yesterday, while on my way to the Bay Bridge. A homeless man was standing in the middle of the street. He had a simple sign in his hands which read... "Smile, You Woke Up Today!" A simple reminder? Or a good swift kick in the backside?

I guess that is a very personal, and individual, revelation to be had and decided upon.

"Smile, You Woke Up Today." PASS IT ON!

Mood: Reflective

~Me :)

80 West

"It's an odd 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

I am a San Francisco Bay Area native, born and raised, and it's really odd, but every time I see San Francisco, be it the downtown, from high in the hills, or from Treasure Island, it is like seeing it for the very first time! I love it here so much, truly I don't think anywhere else can quite compare to it's beauty or to the joy it gives me just looking at t beauty! Last week I discovered a couple new angles I hadn't photographed the city from previously, so this post showcases those new perspectives!

ENJOY!
:)
Starting Off From The East Bay, It's 80 West And Into The City!
(The Cantilever Section Of The Bay Bridge Soon To Be Replaced)


First Stop Treasure Island, And The View From A Very Old Closed Dock!


After Some Miscellanious Photography On The Island It's Time For Some Photography Back Toward The Old Section Of Bridge Which Will Be Replaced With A Brand New Bridge This Autumn! I Will Miss It, I like The Looks Of This Section Very Much And Will Miss It's Old Fashioned Look!


After A Nice Lunch With Alan, It's Time To Head Back Onto The Bay Bridge And Head Into San Francisco!


Not Bad For A Photo Taken Out Of A Moving Car On The Bay Bridge...


And of course you know what comes next... right? Gorgeous, lovely, exciting, infuriating, amazing San Francisco! I could live here a million years and not have enough time to photograph every fascinating nuance of this city! It NEVER stops inspiring me!

"San Francisco itself is art, above all literary art. Every block is a short story, every hill a novel. Every home a poem, every dweller within immortal. That is the whole truth."

 ~William Saroyan

I'm Home! :)

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 :)

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 67~ Photographic Evidence

"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored."


~Aldous Huxley Complete Essays 2 1926 - 29.

 

I have proof! I have the evidence! But that's the middle. Let me start at the beginning. One of my favorite movies is The Graduate. Great acting, Great cast. Great soundtrack. It was partially shot in Berkeley, in around the Cal Berkeley campus... which is Great. What's not so great? That irritating scene where the character of Benjamin Braddock drives up the coast from Los Angeles to Berkeley, to talk the girl he loves out of marrying another man, and his car is shown driving into San Francisco on the Bay Bridge. Why should that bother me? Well... see... if he did that he would be going away from Berkeley... not toward it. LOL. And yes, it bugs me every time I see it. Why did director Mike Nichols do that? If the scenery was such a big deal, why not have Benjamin fly into SFO and then drive across the bay into Berkeley? Oh yeah, that's right, when going from the city into the East Bay... you take the lower deck. There would be nothing to see. Okay... reluctantly... I get it. It was an important scene, and the sight of San Francisco did make the emotion of the scene come together. Okay.


But enough is enough. Today I found a promo for a new ABC show, set the debut in 2013, called RED WIDOW. Apparently set in San Francisco, RED WIDOW is about a young widow who finds herself reluctantly drawn into organized crime in an effort to keep herself and her children safe. Ummm... huh? On it's most basic premise it doesn't sound particularly new or interesting. That premise has been done before, but who knows maybe it will start out old hat, but go to new places. Let's hope so. It seems like scripted shows are having their share of struggles, with "reality" based shows becoming all the rage, not to mention they are cheaper to produce. So don't get me wrong, I really hope the show does well, I just wish Hollywood would stop changing the skyline of San Francisco, especially when I think it's beautiful just as it is. 


I mean look at these photos... what's not to love?





I love San Francisco, and all the crazy beautiful bridges in the area. If Hollywood wanted to show off the gorgeous San Francisco skyline, why didn't they just photograph it from either Oakland, or Alameda. From Treasure/Yerba Buena Island for that matter. Come on Hollywood... you can do better.


:)


~Me :)


Now, go see what my pal JR was come up with. His photos are awesome...


JR
http://jrclinephotography.blogspot.com/2012/07/apadf6-65.html

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 46~ Crossing Bridges

"We build too many walls, and not enough bridges."


~Isaac Newton


I have posted a lot of photos over the last few years of the Golden Gate Bridge, and don't get me wrong, I love doing photographing it, but I need to start taking more photos of the other Bay Area bridges, such as this one... the San Francisco/ Oakland Bay Bridge. It's a gorgeous bridge, and I always love taking this one into the city from the East Bay. It is the most direct route to the downtown and the Embarcadero. I have done a few photos, but I think I will devote a lot more time to it in the near future, and the thought of that makes me happy. I am finally getting my brain and my energy back... and my creative spirit is ready to go on an adventure again. Sigh. Happiness.



:) Here, have a look...





What do you think? Isn't it a lovely bridge?

:)

Today's Links...

JR
http://jrclinephotography.blogspot.com/2012/06/apadf6-45.html
 

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Let There Be Light

"In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary."

-Aaron Rose

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Snap a picture of a really interesting lamp or light fixture. It doesn't have to be in your home, although it's nice if it is. Note that for this Photo Shoot I am explicitly excluding holiday lights and decorations; we already did that. These lights should be ones that you'd see on a non-holiday. Note also that, of course, shooting a picture of a light fixture can wash out the details of said fixture if you're not careful. It's a little bit of a photo challenge.

-John Scazli (By The Way)

I thought this light might be a good example for this week's photo shoot. What you see here, is an up close view of that little red navigational warning light that you see positioned on top of bridges. This type of light was once in service on the Golden Gate Bridge, and the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge, before being retired to the Caltrans museum in Oakland. This type of light was replaced in 1980, with a newer design of 360 degree rotating beacon. I thought it was kinda fun to be able to see it in person, although it was a bit smaller than I had imagined. :)


Here is how the navigational lights look now...



The Light At The Top Of The Tower


Light can be gentle, dangerous, dreamlike, bare, living, dead, misty, clear, hot, dark, violet, springlike, falling, straight, sensual, limited, poisonous, calm, and soft.

-Steven Nykvist

-OndineMonet
Navigational Light
Caltrans Museum
Oakland, California
Spring, 2005
Afternoon