It has been some time since I introduced my journal. My work and other travels have kept me from giving many updates. I have also been spending a lot of time developing my deep sky astrophotography. There are so many projects going at once and so much I am excited to share.
So, let’s get right to the Travel Journal.
My first morning in San Francisco as I was heading out for breakfast, I found myself surrounded by trees filled with red and yellow leaves. It was a beautiful setting. I loved the environment and temperature in that place. I had no specific itinerary for the first few days just scouting locations for shooting and attending some personal social events.
By the evening, I was with my local friend at a party enjoying good company. It was so festive and I was happy to capture some Christmas images of the children for their families to share with relatives.
Blue Angels in San Francisco
The Golden Gate Bridge is one of my all time favorite landmarks to photograph. This time, it was even more spectacular. The Blue Angels were in town for the 2015 air show. The U.S. Navy fighters performed some incredible near misses over the bridge. I am not a big fan of the air show generally, but this was an impressive day and I was happy to get a great photo. After the show, I drove to Marin Head and searched for a location to photograph the bridge again next dawn.
Mists of San Francisco Bay
The next day, I drove to the location I had found. I could see the whole bay area covered by mist and I knew this was the perfect weather for the shot I had planned. However, I was fifteen minutes late to this perfect spot. I could still see the scene I wanted with the bridge covered in mist but the fog was rolling quickly toward me. I managed to take a couple of shots before it was too late. A photography student friend of mine arrived just before me. I took a look at his pictures and you could see the two bridge towers rise above the mists with a few stars still shining in the sky. It was just as I imagined, but sadly I didn’t catch it in time.
Later that day, I had a wedding party to attend. The wedding of Peter & Lynn took place at the Indo Restaurant in Palo Alto. I helped with the photoshoot and then enjoyed a delightful dinner and drinking. Congrats to Peter & Lynn.
Long Way to Go
This was taken as I set out on the start of my solo trip to the Eastern Sierra. It was a long trip and took me ten and a half hours from Richmond to the hotel in Bishop (in part because I stopped so many times to take photos. Google maps has the trip clocked at six hours, 342 miles).
Below are some shots taken along the way.
I arrived to the hotel at around eleven that night, after the long drive, and had a quick dinner at McDonald’s. I wanted to fit in some twilight shooting at Mono Lake the next morning if I could manage to wake early enough. I would have to get up around 4:30am to really go for it, so the only thing to do at that point was get to bed.
Mono Lake
I managed to get up “naturally” with only a slight delay. I popped into my car, nearly missed a deer along the sandy road, and finally got to Mono Lake around 6:30am. The twilight was already on its way, but I still had a good start.
I have been to Mono Lake many times and it is one of my favorite lakes. I love the still water surface, the reflection, the tranquility, the alienplanetlooking rock surface and, of course. . . the breakfast at Nicely’s Restaurant nearby.
Convict Lake
I spent a long time at Mono Lake, took lots of pictures, and then headed over to Convict Lake. The sky was clear, but because it was already noon the sunlight was too strong. I didn’t think I could get any good shots, so i just took a look around and planned for a next visit.
End of the Part One. Please continue reading about the trip in the next segment.
Bonus Day in San Francisco (Coming soon)
From Yosemite all the way down to SF (Coming soon)
Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, North Lake and Mobius Arch
The trip start, from SF to Mono Lake and Convict Lake
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