Ghost

Sent in by an avid reader (thanks Mom!). The story is that she saw this cookie and it reminded her of a photo from many years ago, which she dug out of  her archives (it runs in the family). What a great pairing!

The Apple of Man

One of the favorite costumes that I've seen -- so simple and very clever. For those who don't know the reference, see this link at Wikipedia.

Wild Mushrooms

These images represent a small sample of the myriad types of mushrooms that appear just within my neighborhood in the fall. I'm simply amazed at the diversity. Some are huge, some are small, some are layered, some are clustered, some stand alone, and come in so many shapes. They would be delicious grilled on a BBQ if only they weren't also poisonous.

Colors of the Fall

The reds and yellows of the oil boom mirror the changing season. The blurriness was unintentional but it adds a lot of motion and draws out more of the color.

The image of leaves on a barberry bush is ok, but what I really like are the saturated pinks, yellows, and greens, and all the colors in between. The blue-green block in the background? That's a watering can. I used it to add extra color to the image by taking advantage of the property that a large aperture results in a blurry background. The color is there without having a recognizable object distract from the foreground image.

Students in Their Natural Habitat

Tree-sitters protesting UC Berkeley's plans to chop down an oak grove.

I found this postcard on the ground next to the chain-link fence, a stark representation of what eventually came to pass. The light is coming from the numerous Klieg lights that surround the site. Normally that kind of lighting can come off as harsh and unattractive but I think it really works out here.

Looking out past Coit Tower

Looking out past Coit Tower.

Chinatown Shop

Inside a shop in Chinatown (San Francisco).

I love the flattened sense of depth in this image. Is that a contradiction? The large blurry lantern in the foreground leading to the sharp items in the background add depth as the view looks through the store. At the same time there are so many objects with similar colors and lighting that they just blend into each other, resulting a flattened jumble of colors and shapes.

On the Beat

San Francisco police officers.

Pure Red Blueberries

As a surprise I was taken to go blueberry picking out in the countryside. I picked several handfuls but very quickly became distracted by taking photos of the berries instead. I started by taking the standard photos of berries on the bush, in various clusters and of various colors, but found that capturing the intense colors, contrast, and shadows to be far more interesting.

To capture the image on the left, I held the bucket up directly in front of the sun, tipped the bucket toward me so the berries would pile up, and took the photo with the camera in my other hand. Holding the bucket high and shooting upward made it easy to ensure that only the pure blue sky was in the background. In addition, the simple blues and reds help emphasize the silhouette of the berries.

The image on the right was captured with the bucket on the ground. I placed the bucket so that the blueberry bush cast its shadow while still allowing direct sunlight to hit the bucket and to cast the red light over the berries.

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If you want to go fruit and berry picking (and live in the Puget Sound area), see the harvest schedule to know what's in season at http://www.pugetsoundfresh.org/fruits_nuts_berries_harvests.htm