Tag Archives: california

Oakland Architecture

This is a piece that will probably lead to me having another go at something. In this case, these pictures were all taken with my phone. It was an opportunistic thing but I shall make the effort to go back with some more camera options at some point before too long. Oakland is one of those cities that has been around for quite a while so it has some interesting architecture mixed in amongst the more boring city center buildings. A short walk from the office at lunchtime takes you passed a few of them.

There is a great art deco feel about some of the buildings. The intricacy of the carvings and the colors of the stone make for some great looking places. Also, a couple of the theaters are really old school and they just look great. Very close to the office is a split where Broadway and Telegraph go their separate ways. The difference in angle is not substantial and you can be a few blocks further up and they really haven’t diverged much. Consequently, Oakland has its own version of the building fitting in to a tiny plot. New York may be famous for this but I think Oakland’s version is even more extreme. See what you think. Now to come back with more time and better lens options…

SFO Quick Visit

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On my way home I wanted to stop into SFO to get something specific. JAL operates their new 787s into SFO and the daily arrival is around 4pm. I had seen a few shots from people catching it coming in and had been planning to try and get it for a while. This was a good opportunity since the weather was looking nice. I got there slightly ahead of time and just in time to catch an EVA 777 coming in.

It was a quiet time at SFO so I was able to relax and watch the activity along the shoreline between arrivals. A few departures looked interesting but the light was too far round to get a decent shot of anything that wasn’t departing from the 28s. A few heavies did go from there and I made sure to shoot them for practice.

The JAL 787 showed up as planned and so I got my shots. I was a little unsure about lens choice. SFO is a place where the 500mm can be very useful but it is too much for the longest aircraft when they are abeam you. The 787 is a deceptive aircraft that looks smaller than it really is so I was a little unsure as to whether to risk the long lens and miss the shot. I started out with the 100-400 which was fine for the part where it crossed the threshold and the aircraft holding for departure. Things looked about right so I quickly swapped back to the 500 and it was not too much. Good to know in future.

I was about to head home after the arrival when I looked up and saw a four engine jet passing over heading to the approach. A quick check on Flightradar24 confirmed it was a Swiss A340 so I figured I could manage ten more minutes. Once it was on the ground, a Virgin and BA 747 pairing were taxiing out. The Virgin jet went off 01 so was not well lit from my side and the BA jet spent so long taxiing it was clear the sun would be below the hills before it got going so I called it a day.

Sonoma Skypark

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A return trip to Sonoma was something I had been planning and I went back up for the Saturday burger lunch. This time I was a bit more focused on actually getting some images of the visiting aircraft. The lunchtime run attracts a great selection of aircraft. I would keep an eye on what was happening since the better location to shoot from is on the other side of the field. Regular trips across were required when something either appeared in the pattern or I could see someone getting ready to head out.

We saw some nice aircraft. A great 1952 Beech Bonanza made a visit along with a Taylorcraft and a Stinson. I also watched a group head out in a combination of a Cessna, a Super Cub and an Apache. Trying to pick the right spot to get them when airborne but not too high was not easy. Thankfully, Eric gave me some good pointers. However, depending on how heavy they were, things could change a bit.

The weather was great again so the lovely winter light, even in the middle of the day, made for some great shooting. I had other things I needed to do during the day so I didn’t stay around as long as I would have otherwise liked. However, it was still fun. I also shot some images of some RC models that the guys were flying between the movements of the larger aircraft. Quite hard to shot since they are close and move a little bit more erratically but panning practice is always welcome.

Bodega Bay

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Our run down the coast brought us to Bodega Bay. Neither of us had been there before but we had heard it was pretty and also knew about its appearances in The Birds! No attacking avians on this day but we initially passed straight through the town without being terribly impressed. However, we had seen a turning off towards Bodega Bay head so a backtrack took us along a different road around the bay. We were also hungry at this point!

Fortunately, we soon came to an area where the fishing boats tied up and there were two places selling crab sandwiches. One was a small hut which only had a couple of items on the menu and the other was a bigger looking place with a wider menu but a lot less people. We figured the simple option of doing one thing and doing it well might be the case in the hut and went for their crab sandwiches. They were excellent. No wonder the place had a line outside it.

Suitably reinvigorated, we headed up to the headland. Here you had a view back to the bay but a more interesting view of the cliffs and the shoreline. A stroll up the cliff path was in order (that crab sandwich needed to be burned off) and the appeal of more crashing waves on rocks was too much for us to resist. The sun was shining and the wind was not too strong so it was a really nice place to be and, while we weren’t alone in thinking this, with so much space, it never felt like you were in a busy place. What a great end to the trip.

Pacific Coast Highway

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Returning from Mendocino County provided the option of driving along the coast heading south. The Pacific Coast Highway is a great choice if you have time on your hands and we did have. Therefore, we headed this way. The run down the coast is a combination of great views, long runs along the cliffs and the occasional area of twisting road around the inlets that occasionally cut into the shoreline. When the road is quiet it is a lot of fun. If you get stuck behind a bunch of RVs, it suddenly is a little less enjoyable.

We stopped a number of times en route to enjoy the view. One diversion out towards a lighthouse provided a lovely overlook of the shore including a bay below us that was full of sea lions. Despite the crashing waves, this area apparently provided a bit of shelter and the sea lions were seemingly taking it easy behind the protection of some rocky ledges.

There are lots of areas with large rocks slightly offshore. This reminded me a lot of the coast of Oregon (which, since we weren’t that far south, is probably not that surprising). Heading south we were looking into the sun so had some lovely reflections of the light off the water. Occasionally the edge of the road was very close to the top of the cliffs so you do have to stay focused as you drive along but it is a beautiful area on a sunny day. I imagine if a storm is rolling in from the ocean, it is also dramatic but a little less welcoming.

Russian Gulch State Park

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While eating lots of good food is a fun part of a trip away, it does provide you with some encouragement to have a bit of exercise too to try and offset what you have consumed. Combine that with some scenery and a plan starts to emerge. Nancy had found out about a trail at Russian Gulch State Park that led to some waterfalls. This seemed like a worthwhile venture so off we set.

Sadly, our planning did not prove to be quite as good as we had hoped. The access route to the park was closed off at a certain point which we assumed to be the normal starting point. Instead, I think we were a bit further out that the distances in our guide suggested. Also, the distances they gave, even assuming the change in start point, were a bit optimistic. Consequently, as we headed further in and the clock ticked by, we realized that we were not going to get all the way to the falls and get back out again before it started getting a bit dark.

The valley is very sheltered, particularly at this time of year, so the lack of direct sunlight means it is a bit darker in there and, as the sun drops, it will get a lot darker than the surrounding area. It also gets a bit cold since the area is very moist. We wisely turned back to ensure we weren’t going to get uncomfortable. Besides, judging by the flow of water in the river along the valley floor, the falls were probably not at their most productive.

The valley itself was really pretty. Combinations of all sorts of plants that like damp environments and tall trees reaching up to gather sunlight at their highest reaches made you feel like you were in a scene from the Hobbit. I was particularly impressed by some young trees that had chosen the stump of a chopped down tree to use as their base. The little trunk rising out of roots that were drooping down the sides of the stump looked very cool.

When we had finished the walk, we headed around to a sinkhole in another part of the park. This is apparently quite impressive at high tide and when the waves are strong since the hole makes all sorts of sounds as the air is compressed by the water. Sadly, it was low tide while we were there so it was just a big hole. However, the walk there did give us a great view of one of the bridges along the Pacific Coast Highway.

Fishy Rotunda

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Just to see who pays attention here, this is very similar to a previous post here about the inside of the Rotunda building in Oakland. This time I brought the fisheye lens with me to see what other effects I could get. It is a building designed for very wide angle lenses!

Llamas

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No long story for this one. A llama farm was beside the road in Albion and I wandered over to see the animals one morning as they grazed. They seemed mildly interested in me for a while and then kept eating. I grabbed some shots of them and then went on my way. I know llamas are hardly a rarity these days but it is still interesting to see them.

Fortifications

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The Marin Headlands provide a great place to enjoy some lovely coastal scenery. They were also a militarily significant location for many years. Protection of the entrance to San Francisco Bay meant that a string of forts were built along the coast here. The high ground provided an excellent base for large guns to take on an attacking fleet. Some of these forts were operational while other emplacements were built just in time to be considered obsolete and they were never finished. Now you can walk through the gun emplacements and imagine what they would have been like when operational.

Point Cabrillo Lighthouse

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A lighthouse usually attracts the attention of tourists. I’m not sure what it is about them that fascinates people so much but it works. Point Cabrillo has a beautifully restored lighthouse that we took a look at. It is about half a mile from the parking lot to the lighthouse but this didn’t seem to deter too many people. The walk down was a long straight road so you could see where you were going the entire time. With a sunny day and a gentle breeze off the ocean, it couldn’t have been nicer.

The lighthouse was shut down and replaced by a marker beacon many years ago but a group got together and restored the building and reactivated the light. It is now an official navigation marker again. The next step is the restoration of the surrounding buildings. This is still in progress but you can rent out the old lighthouse master’s house if you wish. A lovely spot and a nice looking house. Might be a bit creepy at night though.

Amazingly enough, I did manage to get a few times with nobody near the lighthouse to grab a shot sans tourists. A lucky break but one I was grateful for. The rocky coastline is a very attractive place on a nice day but it doesn’t take too much imagination to see why a lighthouse would have been needed. Some of the exhibits in the building itself amply demonstrated this. The light bulb itself was surprisingly small. For those camera people amongst you, the optics these guys use are pretty impressive.