As The Sun Sets Over Marin County In January

"Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm,

but to add color to my sunset sky."

~Rabindranath Tagore, Stray Birds

From the archives, but not previously posted, here is one of my favorite sights in winter... a sunset sitting softly over Marin County. I swear no other season like winter, produces this kind of beauty! Yes, sunsets happen all times of the year, but there is just something about bundling all up in my warm coat, gloves, scarf, hat to keep me as warm on the outside, as a sight like this makes me feel on the inside.

Beautiful.

I will say it again, with a sunset like this, how could anything bad possibly happen?

Mood: Nostalgic

~Me :)

September 1st, 2014 Happy Labor Day

"If I were a moviemaker, I'd set about hunting sunsets."

~Julio Cortazar

Un tal Lucas

Kinda strange starting the week, and a new month, with a sunset... right? Well, not if you factor in that today is also a holiday, Labor Day. So really, rather than being just another Monday, it's more like Sunday Part B! At least that's how my brain interprets it!

LOL!

Anyway, later today I plan to spend some time with the new camera as I promised in my last post. I am still not sure what my schedule will be like, but I will fit it in somewhere in the day. Who knows, maybe I will do some new night shots. From what I have seen so far, the new Nikon does really well in low lighting conditions. 

The sunset photo above was done with the new camera. The only editing I did was to resize the photo and a small amount of cropping. I am pretty sure I will be using this camera for most of my sunset photos this autumn and winter. I am looking forward to that. 

 I am enjoying my new picture taking gadget. It had some mixed reviews on Amazon.com, but that's always the way with things. Some folks want the camera to do everything for them, while others want complete control, and the camera itself is a mere formality to their extensive creativity. LOL. I am somewhere in-between. I know there are days when I appreciate being able to just grab the camera and make go. But still, times when I want to photograph something I care deeply about, like the kittens, or Woody Allen, a little more thought is good.

I took four cameras with me when I took the aerial tour of San Francisco, and was thankful because one of them stopped dead in mid-flight! LOL. I think the best photos I ever did was during that flight, and it was the Fuji camera that came through for me that day. 

The Fuji camera and I have had a true love/hate relationship, and sometimes even now, after 4 years of ownership, it still leaves me dumbfounded on how sensitive it can be. The quality of photos that I get from that camera are a bit inconsistent, but when I do get a great photo, it's usually quite nice, and I feel like I have really accomplished something.

Mood: Oh well, you know.

~Me :)

The Color Blue

"A cloud does not know why it moves in just such a direction and at such a speed... it feels an impulsion... this is the place to go now. But the sky knows the reasons and the patterns behind all clouds, and you will know, too, when you lift yourself high enough to see beyond horizons."

~Richard Bach

I think I may have mentioned, maybe once or twice, that I am in love with this bay. It inspires me. Lightens my moods. Darkens my moods. Makes me feel less alone. And when I am lucky enough to be able to actually be in a boat on the San Francisco Bay, the waves seem to was all the stress from my body.I am never happier than when I am on the water. Last Saturday, on the bay, was a very good day, and these photos are the last ones I took that day. The first two was while I was on board the boat. The last one is looking back toward the city and Golden Gate Bridge. 

A Different Blue Sky





Blue. How I love Blue.

Mood: Inspired

~Me :)

Along For The Ride

"I always wonder why birds stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on earth. Then I ask myself the same question."

~Harun Yahya



This bird was so much fun! It flew along side the eco-tour I was on last weekend. When we first left the dock, there were no birds in sight, then suddenly as we were about sail under the Golden Gate there it was! I am not always a big fan of seagulls, they can be quite rude as birds go, but they can also be entertaining as well, and this one was no exception. As it flew just over my head, the gull and I made eye contact. It seemed to say... "I am not here to poop on you, I am just along for the ride." Okay... as long as we understand each other! LOL. And everything went fine. The bird behaved. I behaved. Just two bird brains with an understanding between us! LOL. And it even posed for me, so what more could I ask for?

:)

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

49 Square Miles Surrounded By Reality

"San Francisco is 49 square miles surrounded by reality."

~Paul Kantner

What's my idea of a perfect day? A day in San Francisco... better yet... a day on the San Francisco Bay...

 

Cupid's Span


Ghiradelli Square


The Love Of My Life
Golden Gate Bridge




Alcatraz






 Stormy Skies Over Marin


The End Of The Day



"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

~Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Note: "Cupid's Span" by artists, Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen

Marching Into March

"Stare. It is the way to educate your eye, and more. Stare, pry, listen, eavesdrop. Die knowing something. You are not here long."

~Walker Evans

It's a brief post today. I am going out with the camera a little later, and it will be a bit of an adventure, so I am taking care of my Fibromyalgia by resting and going to bed earlier than usual. I will post the photos from the day either tomorrow or perhaps Monday. 

Stay Tuned.

San Francisco Bay here I come!

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

The Comeback... Congratulations Team Oracle USA! 2013 America's Cup Winners!

"When I'm all grown up, come what may, I'll build a boat to carry me away."

~Guy Gavriel, Tigana 



The weather couldn't have been more lovely! Well, it was really windy, but the temperature was perfect for an early autumn day! The timing couldn't have been better! Alan and I drove across the bay at the last minute, on a whim really, and it all came together when we found the perfect place, a dock on the San Francisco Bay, near Chrissy Field, to watch history be made as team Oracle USA came back from trailing behind Emirates Team New Zealand 8-1, to win the 2013 America's Cup regatta race!



Our vacation doesn't begin officially until next Monday, but after the fun of yesterday, it's difficult to not think of it as already here! A beautiful day! A little time, sitting on a dock of the most beautiful bay in the world, and time with Alan... what more can a girl ask for?

:)

"A passage under sail brings out in the course of days whatever there may of the sea love and sea sense in an individual whose soul is not indissolubly wedded to the pedestrian shore."

~Joseph Conrad

2013 America's Cup Race, San Francisco


Mood: Lighthearted!

~Me :)

A Day On The Bay

"If you're alive, you can't be bored in San Francisco. If you aren't alive, San Francisco will bring you to life."

-William Saroyan

Last Wednesday, Alan and I decided to take a cruise on the San Francisco Bay. We had a free ticket, so we only had to purchase one! It was amazing! So much fun. I love dating my husband! After the cruise, we had lunch on Pier 39 at the Wipeout! I love the bay, I could have stayed out there on the water all day!


We sailed passed Ghiradelli...


Next the Palace of Fine Arts and the Marina Green...



Next Fort Point...


Onto the Golden Gate...

Past the Marin Headlands...


Next onto Alcatraz... "The Rock"


And finally... back to San Francisco at Pier 43


I LOVE it here!

:)

I LOVE dating my husband!

:)

-Carly

The 58,000 Gallon Spill

"When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world."

-John Muir

Sigh. Yesterday, a container ship passing under the Bay Bridge, scraped a support tower of the bridge. The bridge wasn't damaged, but the ship sustained a deep gash to the lower side of the vessel, which resulted in a 58,000 gallon oil spill. Originally, it was announced that only about 200 gallons of oil had been spilled into the bay, but later in the afternoon, that number was revised. As of this morning, nine bay beaches had been closed to the public, as well as points just north of the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County.

A number of birds have been pulled from the water off Chrissy Field, covered in oil, and small balls of tar have been washing up on shore. It's pretty much a foregone conclusion that the water in the bay will be tainted for years because of this spill, which breaks my heart, because I have a deep love for that bay, and the creatures that live in it. I am going to San Francisco today, to try and get some photos of the cleanup efforts, as well as the spill itself. I want to see if for myself. I will write a follow up entry to this posting, if I get some photos that accurately represent the spill and the cleanup operation. For now, you can read about the spill, and see some video of it, by clicking the link below.

Major Cleanup Under Way For Bay Oil Spill (KGO 7)

-OndineMonet
Golden Gate Bridge
Fort Point
November 9th, 2005
Afternoon