Can 2016 Just Die Already?

"If you are good at building bridges,

 you will never fall into the abyss."

~Mehmet Murat ildan

Another new night photo as I continue to practice with the new camera! Sacramento's Tower Bridge, taken the night before Thanksgiving. I was pretty happy with how it came out, but I need to do a lot more before I am completely comfortable. It takes time to build self confidence in working with a new camera, but I am trying because it's a nice distraction from worldly messes I have NO control over. Most of the time I believe, even in the darkest times, there will eventually come a time when one looks back and laughs at the circumstances that scared or angered them. The sun comes up every single day, whether we are ready for it or not. Sigh. I don't know that I will ever look back on 2016 and laugh. 2016 needs to just die already! But if I do, I will amend this post.

 

Mood: Quiet

~Me 

Round Robin Photo Challenge: Really Old

Sather Tower
Cal Berkeley Campus
Berkeley, California
1914 Opened to the public in 1917

"The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes."

~Marcel Proust, In Search Of Lost Time

RRC: Really Old

When I read the concept for this challenge, I just knew I had to feature some of the gorgeous buildings around the Bay Area! I love that there is such variety in architectural styles all around the bay, it definitely offers something for everyone! And what better to showcase first? Why the photo above... Sather Tower which sits on the Cal Berkeley campus! The tower can be seen from San Francisco, and every time I am in the city, I always find myself looking for it. It is a nice feeling to see home, just across the bay! Now, on to some different buildings I love to photograph!

#1. Dunsmuir-Hellman Estate and Gardens. Oakland, California. 1878.


#2. Tower Bridge. Old Sacramento, California. Opened December 15th 1935


#3. James Lick Observatory, Mt. Hamilton, San Jose, California. 1887


#4. Alcatraz Prison, San Francisco Bay, California. First Building Built 1853.




#5. Conservatory Of Flowers, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. 1878.


#6. Palace Of Fine Arts, San Francisco. Built For The 1915 Pan-American Expo.


#7. Potter Schoolhouse (1873) And St. Teresa Of Avila Church (1859), Bodega Bay, California



Okay, so I threw in one bridge... I couldn't help myself! It is so beautiful, and I am so fond of it, plus it has a wonderful, rich history! In fact all the buildings I featured here do, so click on all the links to see what these buildings are about! Most of them have been designated Historical Landmarks, so you can bet there are some stories behind those walls! Take the Potter Schoolhouse as one example. It had been closed a year before Alfred Hitchcock featured it in the movie, The Birds. In fact, Hitchcock is credited with saving the building from demolition! It has not only endured all these years, but has in fact thrived! 

It is currently owned by private party, and is rumored to be haunted It has been seen on several reality shows dealing with paranormal phenomena. Isn't that fun? Spooky! Maybe a former owner couldn't bear to part with such a beautiful building. If ever a building could inspire a story, it would be the Potter Schoolhouse. But that's whats so wonderful about REALLY OLD buildings... right? :)

If you would like to participate in this challenge, or if you want to see what the other Robins have come up with, click the link at the top of the post to be redirected to the official Round Robin blog, where you will find all the information you need to play along and links to the participating photographers!

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Round Robin Challenge: On Location

Painted Ladies or The Six Sisters
Alamo Square Park
San Francisco, California

"You can fall in love at first sight with a place as with a person."

~Alec Waugh

RRC: On Location

Hollywood Location Scouts listen up! I have found your next awesome places to feature in a movie!



I bet you have seen this lovely row of six Victorian houses somewhere before! If they look kind of familiar, bet you can't place them, let me help. They were featured in the opening credits of the ABC comedy, Full House, and have at least made an appearance in approximately 70 or so other TV shows and movies! The park across the street from the houses, Alamo Square Park, is lovely and interesting all o it's own. Not only does it face these famous houses, but features a rather interesting attraction called a shoe garden, which contains every size, shape, color and style of shoes you can think of, all placed in loving tribute to someone. That's the cool thing about places like San Francisco, there is so much beauty right in front of you, but you never know what wonderful, magical gem might be just across the street, hidden away, waiting to be discovered.

Now, I Give You San Francisco At Christmas...


Union Square
December, 2012
San Francisco, California

It's not that Union Square, in San Francisco, hasn't been seen in a major motion picture, as a matter of fact it can be seen in the opening scenes of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, but wouldn't a movie about a romance set during Christmas be beautifully filmed in San Francisco? Our skating rinks could give the Rockefeller Center ice rink run for it's money!

Need A Great Picturesque Place For A Character To Grab A Bite To Eat?


Tony's Cable Car (Menu)
2500 Geary Blvd
San Francisco, California

Look no further! Tony's Cable Car serves up the BEST burgers in San Francisco! Not only is it conveniently located on Geary boulevard, but it would be adorable featured in a movie as just what it is... a quaint neighborhood burger place. God, I get hungry for their burgers just considering it! Hollywood needs to make this place a STAR!

And Now For The East Bay... Berkeley


Tilden Park Berkeley, California

If you can't find a place to relax in Tilden Park... you don't want to relax! On the other hand, if you can find something to do in Tilden Park... you don't want to do anything fun! Tilden has Little Farm, The open space botanic garden, Lake Anza for swimming, plenty of trails for jogging, the carousel and steam trains for the kids. I love this place! Berkeley in general is a pretty photogenic place, and it's not that it hasn't had it's share of movie moments! The Graduate was partially filmed here, but I think 40 years later, it should get another chance to shine!

More From Berkeley...



Last, But Not Least, I Bring You To One Very Photogenic Spot In Sacramento...

 
Tower Bridge
Sacramento, California

Wouldn't the Tower Bridge make a spooky movie... spookier? I always have the best time photographing this bridge. And to make it all a little bit more spooky, it is located near Old Sacramento, which gives one a small step back in time to wooden streets and Old West storefronts!

Hollywood... Have I Made My Case?

Okay, now that you have seen my On Location  destinations, go see what the other participants are up to. Just click the link at the beginning of this post to be redirected to the official Round Robin blog where you can find the list of participants, and all the information you need to play along!

See You At The Movies!

~Me :)

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 68~ It's Just So Dull :)

Chip Conley: "How often are you up in Sacramento?"


Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom: "Like one day a week, tops. There's no reason... it's just so dull... Sadly, I just, ugh, GOD."



I am still in a bit of a Fibromyalgia funk, still widespread pain, but I haven't lost my sense of humor. LOL. For today's posting I bring you a different bridge. This is the Tower Bridge in Sacramento. The bridge itself actually sits on the banks of Old Sacramento, which in my opinion is the most picturesque part of the city. Oh don't get me wrong, there is a lot to admire and photograph in Sacramento, especially in autumn, but I always gravitate toward the Old Sacramento area because it's such a lovely peaceful part of town. The wooden streets, and shop fronts right out of the old west, not to mention just down the road is the California Railroad Museum, It is pure charm to be sure, and I haven't spent nearly enough time there with my camera.And as much as I am looking forward to exploring Old Sacramento, I also have the Governor's Mansion on my list of THAT WHICH MUST BE PHOTOGRAPHED while on vacation in October. Exploring the whole town is something I am looking forward to.

 

So, how about that quote of Gavin Newsom's? LOL. Delightfully honest isn't he? I have been to Sacramento in the summer... OMG... It's 1000 degrees and boring as hell! NO JOKE. But poor Gavin, I think he is talking Sacramento at any time, any season! LOL, Personally, I agree! And I miss Gavin Newsom now that he is Lt. Governor, because he brought a lot of honesty to San Francisco when he was mayor as well. Given the mess with Ross Mirkarimi, I wonder how differently he might have handled things. Shrug. I wonder if Mirkarimi would be throwing around the same allegations he has with Mayor Lee. Shrug again.The world will never know I guess.



Since Gavin Newsom left San Francisco, he is rarely in the news anymore, well except for this flub. LOL. But see, I understood what he meant, I think most folks did, but it was still amusing. Newsom can be so delightfully honest about how he feels about things, and that's what I love most about him. You pretty much get the truth from him. He is kinda cut from the same cloth as Joe Biden, and that is a good thing. :) Those two are honest, and while some folks insist on calling that honestly flubs, I don't, as I am an occasional flubber or is it flubeee... myself. LOL. Those two are characters... and there is always room for a little more character... right?


Wink. ;)

~Me  :)


Today's Link


JR
http://jrclinephotography.blogspot.com/2012/07/apadf6-66.html