Moon Fire

After last week's trip to Rodeo Beach I began plotting my return by checking for low tides around sunset/sunrise to hopefully get a better shot. And since the tides correspond to the phases of the moon I also checked to see if I could line up any landmarks with a rising/setting moon. Friday the 24th a crescent moon would be setting due east an hour after sunset. Looking at google maps (double true) the north end of treasure island lined up with alcatraz and the north tower of the golden gate. A great alignment for a photo. Technology can be a huge help in getting extraordinary photos. It can also help save me gas and bridge toll by checking bay area weather cams and seeing nothing but fog at the golden gate.

So around sunset I pulled Mir away from her farming video game and headed north past woodland determined to find something to line up with the moon. Along poleline road we passed a huge hay bale fire that was sending a thin ribbon of smoke up the valley. The smoke cloud created wonderful lines on the northern horizon and we found a solitary oak on the way to Knight's Landing with the Sutter Buttes in the background.

The tree is a little small and I probably should've shot this direction again from a closer position.

Up the road with the same tree but now looking east to the sunset and moon.



Realizing the tree will be around longer than the burning pile of hay we headed back to try and get the descending moon above that fire. Maneuvering along some back county roads toward conoway ranch I found a good spot to line everything up. The pile looked to be about 20 feet wide from this angle and probaly 40-50 long. It was a scene I definitely don't expect to see again.

Last Weekend

Last weekend was a decent one for photos. Watering the backyard garden found an industrious spider who had set her web up in the right spot to catch a few rays of light passing thru our trees. The first photo is looser with some color leaking thru the fence in the back while the second photo was from further back and zoomed in so a black pot would provide a solid dark background.


Later in the day a few clouds appeared on the horizon and I headed out, again, to the sunflower fields. Unfortunately as the sunlight waned the clouds thinned even faster. There was just enough color in the sky to make an acceptable shot.


The drive back into town made the trip worth it. A local great horned owl had found a nice perch along F St.


Sunday Mir and I headed down to Marin to check out a small waterfall that fell onto the beach and into the ocean. The exit for that hike happened to be the same exit for Stinson beach. After sitting in traffic for 5 minutes only to move a couple hundred feet we gave up (I'm fine hiking a couple hours to see a waterfall but 5 minutes in traffic practically destroys me) Golden Gate park was option no. 2. Looking for the first uncrowded place to pull over we happened upon a trail down to a nice black sand beach. While we're both appreciative of the beauty in nature this beach was a little too au natural for us. Mir, with the help of an unexpectedly large wave, did get in the spirit of the beach for a while as she let her jeans dry.


Deciding to skip the unmarked beaches we followed signs down to Rodeo Beach on the ocean side of the park. This one was more family friendly and had some nice rock formations along the beach. Mir on a big rock looking for sea creatures.


and a nice set of rocks that I'm going to have to come back an visit on a clearer day at low tide.

Starlight Sunflowers

Checking the weather report for a repeat of Saturday's sunset was a little depressing. Not a cloud in the sky for at least 10 days. Not sure if the sunflower fields on Road 102 were going to last that long I decided to head back out last night to try some starry skies behind the flowers. It's pretty hard to compose a shot in nearly complete darkness, especially when it's watering night and the field is surrounded by a soggy moat. And as dark as it was on the ground there was still too much light in the sky being right between Davis and Woodland. We need to get that dark sky ordinance rolling again.



That's the Milky Way running along the left edge of the photo.



If it's not too breezy I might try going out again for one good and long star trails photo.

Sunflower Sunset

As the first drops of rain fell I knew the skies were working towards a grand sunset. It was about 4:30 and I was stuck in Woodland sweating thru an American Legion baseball game. The rain was not only a cool relief but a reminder to keep my eyes to the sky. I already had in mind a sunflower field about six miles down the road from our house that was waiting for a colorful sky to compliment it. Back in the office I watched the clock and would peek my head out the door every few minutes to see how things were developing. By 8:00 I knew I had to get out and shoot. I was all ready to skip out of work for a half hour or so when Chris told me he only needed one more photo and the little league folks would email it in in a few minutes. A conundrum. Do I leave now, drive 10 minutes, quickly shoot, drive back, and work on one photo or wait a few minutes, stay as long as I like at the sunflowers, then go straight home? I chose the latter and fifteen minutes later realized that was a bad choice. The sky was absolutely perfect as I left the parking lot, a good 10 minutes from where I was supposed to be.

There was still some color in the clouds when I arrived but nothing like it was just minutes earlier. Though my patience is usually a virtue this was one moment where time was not on my side.



Hopefully the sunflowers are patient enough to give me one more chance.