Life amplified...

... at the Yerba Buena Center... or so they say.

Rainy Day in Chinatown

Urban Wildlife

It's like a zoo at Pier 39.

USAir Morning

I should have posted this one yesterday instead of the San Francisco shot... now I'm all out of order. This was shot on the tarmac in Charlotte.

San Francisco, Westfield Center

Just blew into town. Took a nap. Went to Nordstrom to buy a shirt. Still on Eastern Time.

Stay Tuned for San Fran

I'm not posting anything tonight because I'm wildly busy. But stay tuned because I'll be in San Francisco the next few days so I should have some interesting stuff!

Headlight Overlay

Here's another car show photo. I'm not much into Photoshop "tricks" but I've been experimenting with this "Blur Overlay" effect and it sure is effective at making a dull photo more interesting.

Car Show Blahs

I shot last year's car show in January and got so many shots I did 5 posts full of pictures. This car show was something of a letdown. There were hardly any concept cars... just mostly showroom cars and some unexciting classics.

BTW... that first shot of the Jaguar hood ornament was done not with my little Fuji F30, but with my Nikon D200 and my new 18-200mm VR lens. The VR (vibration reduction) lenses allow the camera to shoot at lower shutter speeds without camera-shake blur. The hood ornament photo was shot at 1/45th of a second at 135mm and I easily got a good sharp image without using a tripod. A rule of thumb has always been that you need a shutter speed "equal to" the focal length. For instance, if you are shooting a 200mm lens you'd need a shutter speed of 1/200th second... or if you were using a 28mm lens, you'd need a shutter speed of 1/30th second to get a sharp image. I've always found this rule of thumb to be pretty accurate. Using the VR lens, I can usually shoot with 2 or 3 stops lower shutter speed than before.

I've been testing this lens and I'm really happy with it. The huge focal length range of 18mm to 200mm means that I'll be changing lenses much less often. I'll miss fewer shots that require quick reactions because I won't have to change lenses in the middle of shooting. It also means less dust inside the camera and less dust falling on my sensor. Cleaning the sensor is a real pain.

Steamy Sunrise

I've posted photos of the John Amos Power Plant before. I just couldn't resist shooting this version Thursday morning on my way out of town at dawn. The rising sun colored the steam cloud in a remarkable way I think.

The Governor and the Talk Show Host

Montel and the governor share a laugh. Earlier they were comparing knee surgery scars.

Produce Blogging #69

Another leaf shadow.
Because Thursday night is grocery night!

Public Art

Towers

I had an interesting discussion today with some engineers who design cell tower sites.

Let Sleeping Dragons Lie

I've got quite a few of these iguana photos.

Bankie

Sunrise over the Kanawha - Part 3

Produce Blogging #68

Because Thursday night is grocery night!

Mortar Man

This little man was created by someone and put way up in the cornice of an old Victorian building at 110 Capitol Street when it was being restored several years ago. I photographed it years ago but I have no idea what happened to that picture. I was working in this building today so I shot another one. "Anathema Device" photographed it recently also I see.

Eye of the Dragon

Frost on the Holly

OK... one more frost photo. You guys have asked some great questions about these, but I'm just slammed with work right now and it's all I can do to get online and post another shot. More info later.

More Frost

Here's another shot of frost on my car from the other day. The structure of the ice crystals is fascinating.

Hoarfrost is...

... a word we don't use much around here. But Tom used it in a comment a few days ago. That's what this is... hoarfrost on the window of my car as seen from the inside. I think it looks like an aerial photo with a lake.

Sunrise over the Kanawha - Part 2

Here's another sunrise shot I did on the way to work. I took this the same day that I posted the "mystery photo" of frost. This is near the same time of day and place as this shot.

Yikes... cookies

Dang, this is sad. Three empty cookie packages in the parking lot of the grocery store.

Produce Blogging #67

Because Thursday night is grocery night!

Mystery #77

I haven't done a mystery photo in ages. Do you know what this is? Post your guesses in the comments.

It's Here!

Woo hoo! If you don't know what this is, there's probably no point in explaining it.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from us to you. I wish I had some exciting fireworks or party shots for you. But of course I stayed in like the boring old guy I am. I guess I have to take down the tree tomorrow morning.