Montara State Beach

Last week, I went to Montara State Beach on California Highway 1, north of Half Moon Bay. Didn't have a lot of time, so ended up taking just a couple of photographs... one of the scene and a self-portrait.

I think this one came out pretty nicely.


I then took a self-portrait. You can see the flash in the photo - no time to set up stands, etc. I could have photo-shopped it out, but chose not to spend the time. Kind of gives it a "real" feeling to me.

New Years 2009 Fireworks

Taken from Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay. Showed up there with plenty of time before the fireworks began. Hung out and enjoyed the beautiful view, chatted with a few people, etc. till the show started.

Initially, I hadn't planned on taking any photographs, but once I was there any doubts were gone.

Had my camera gear with me, but didn't have a tripod. So I put the camera on the roof of the car. Had to put the lens cap and trigger release cable under the lens to get the right angle. Got a lot of light trails and cars in the photographs, but cropping them did the trick :-)

Lessons learnt: Take a tripod when you're taking your camera. You never know when you'll need it.









An un-cropped view

Gateway to San Francisco

I had been thinking about going to the Marin Headlands and taking some pics of the Golden Gate Bridge for some time. Saturday evening, Feb. 07, I decided to do it. Left home, thinking that I had plenty of time to get there before sunset.

I've been living in the Bay Area for many years now, but still manage to get surprised by unexpected traffic jams. Stuck on Howard Street, I watched the sunset, and then darkness enveloping the streets. It was dark when I finally got there.

• Shot a few pics of the Golden Gate and then my car
• Lent my tripod to a fellow photographer who was without one
• took a picture of a couple with my camera as their camera couldn't handle fill-flash, and was making the Golden Gate a black blob.

Took the top down on the drive back. Met a friend back in the city, dinner, hot chocolate, and then back home.