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Like So Many Grains of Sand

People dot the beach like so many grains of sand. A few weeks ago I was looking out over Ocean Beach from the Cliff House in San Francisco. When I first looked I was met with this spectacle. That got me thinking about the age old adage about grains of sand on a beach. And from that my mind took off on its own, not waiting for me to catch up.

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Like So Many Grains of Sand
Like So Many Grains of Sand on the Beach in San Francisco

It seems people and technology have been recalculating the size of the universe lately and we now know its much bigger than we thought. To put it in context I’m not even sure our planet would amount to a single grain of sand on this beach.

According to estimates there are about 200 billion stars in our galaxy. That would mean our star was one of the grains of sand on this beach. But that’s just referring to our galaxy, the Milky Way. Now scientists say there may be one trillion galaxies in the universe. That basically hits it out of the park, so to speak.

It stands to reason then that there might be as many stars in the universe as there grains of sand on Earth. So that is even remotely true, then what’s the point of ever trying to comprehend it? Just trying to fathom the grains of sand on this one beach is futile to say nothing for the number of stars in the universe.

beaches in the gallery

So, for me, the only thing left to do is turn away from the beach and eat a bowl of soup. That’s the one thing I can handle.

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Interesting in Some Way

Sometimes I’ll take a photo and then look at it a year later only to find it interesting in some way. Case in point, I was looking through my viewfinder when this boy ran across the field of vision with a bird looking down at him. It’s easy to get these kinds of quick vignettes when you are prepared. By just being somewhere where things happen you will see unexpected scenes and events. This is not an unusual scene yet it reaches a certain threshold of interest. The setting, people, bird and pier all combine into a story somehow.

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Interesting in Some Way
Boy on a pier in Florida

In truth there were a lot of people here, but by narrowing the view the lens the scene is simplified. Simplified scenes leave more room for imagination. That’s not so say that scenes filled with a lot of details are’t interesting as well, there is a place for everything. For instance big cities scenes often contain a wealth of detail.

A painter makes these choices and so do I as a photographer. Choices like simple, complex, action, atmosphere are all things to consider while composing. I’ve had this image in the back burner for almost a year before I decided to explore it in my digital darkroom.

more shots with piers

My creative decisions are as fickle as the wind, and what I decide today will be forgotten tomorrow. That’s the enjoyment of what I do. I can explore a new aspect every day and never repeat myself for the rest of my life.

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Chandelier in the Cathedral

This is a large chandelier in the Cathedral of St Mary of the Assumption in San Francisco. Without a doubt it is the first think you notice when you walk in. It’s positioned above the alter and reflects the light from the windows of four corners. When I walked in it was all I could do to stand there and look up. I imagine that’s the intended effect; to give pause and a feeling that this is an extraordinary space.

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Chandelier in the Cathedral
Chandelier in the Cathedral of St Mary of the Assumption in San Francisco

My Sony A7rII camera has a silent shooting mode. I turn that on whenever I enter a house of worship or any place where the sound of a shutter might break the mood. I try to respect places like this even though I want to take photos. My desire to get a good photo does not trump my manners or sense of reverence. As much as I love to get a good photo, I’ll walk away if I feel I’b be crossing some line.

That’s not to say that happens a lot. In the vast majority of cases its cool. Even if I have to take a few chances, sometimes it’s better to get forgiveness than permission. But invading someone’s space when taking photos is not cool. If I find someone in contemplation when I walk up with my camera, I’ll walk away if I cannot capture the scene without disrupting it.

abstract gallery

For me it’s as much about the presence of mind as it is about the picture. That sometimes involves being respectful of other people’s space.

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City Across the Bay

Here is an image of the city across the bay in California. If I recall I took this from a spot just below the Golden Gate Bridge. But I could be mistaken, it could have been from Sausalito, I’m not sure. Normally I use an app on my iPhone to geotag images so that I won’t forget when writing about it later. In this case I forgot to do that or was just lazy. It doesn’t matter that much, it’s a picture, not a survey.

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City Across the Bay
City Across the Bay in California

Speaking of surveys, I met a retired surveyor a few years back who now lives on a sailboat in Florida. He used to do arial surveying with a medium format camera. That’s because back in the day’s of film, the highest resolution images came from medium format cameras. Today that’s still the case except everything is digital and hundreds of times more resolution. Anyway, the guy was selling his old Hasselblad cameras and lenses. The only problem was, nobody wanted to buy them. I think he ended up donating them to a film school.

california gallery

So while I was here in San Francisco I was walking near Union Square and a photographer was setup in a mini street fair selling his prints. He still took all his pictures with a film Hasselblad camera. I told him the story of the surveyor in Florida and he understood exactly. Film photography is a dying art and the equipment, if you can find it, is dirt cheap. Of course, you still need to develop the film and process it in a dark room. And that, is something of a lost art these days.

Having said that it seems there is a small renaissance in film photography. I’m curious to see where that goes.

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Out Over San Francisco

Looking out over San Francisco from the top of Coit Tower there is a lot to take in. It’s a good good I was here in the morning because this is popular and at other times there are be lines to get up. But on this morning there were only a few people on top and the view in all directions was unobstructed.

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Out Over San Francisco
The View Out Over San Francisco

San Francisco is hilly enough, but when standing up here on a tower everything is accentuated. I used a wide angle lens to pack in as much as possible, but of course this is only looking in one direction; it was like this all around.

I think living up on this hill and then taking a walk everyday would ensure you are in pretty good shape. And that’s exactly what you see, people walking up and down the hills. I get a little winded on just one hill but if I did it everyday maybe it would be different.

Cityscape Images

I was born and raised in California but I have never been up here. I’ve seen the Coit Tower countless times, I’ve been to the base of it, I recognize it as part of the skyline, but I’ve never been to the top of it until now. In my opinion its well worth the visit if you’ve not done that yet.

San Francisco is full of architectural landmarks but this ranks in the top two or three.

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Saturday Night Fireworks

These are the Saturday night fireworks we had here in my hometown for the annual regatta. It’s the third year and each year it gets bigger and bigger. They shut down one of the main bridge so people can stand on it to watch the Formula One races. Those boats are pushing the limits of the laws of physics, it really is crazy to watch. The day is filled with food, acrobatic displays and concerts and ends with a firework display.

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Saturday Night Fireworks
Saturday Night Fireworks at the Bradenton Area Regatta.

I took this from across the river near my home in Palmetto. Palmetto is a small town compared to Bradenton, but they share the river and during the regatta each city joins together to put on the show.

When I arrived at the little beachhead along the river to watch the fireworks there was a couple already sitting in their lawn chairs waiting for the fireworks. I asked how it was going and the guy replied it was a little cold. We laughed but basically called him on it. He was from upstate New York and his son just sent him a picture of the snow up there. Here we all were in shorts and sandals watching fireworks. Maybe he was just being facetious so I told him to send back a picture and see if he gets any sympathy from the folks up north.

Bradenton Images

I’m fortunate to live here in Florida especially at this time of year. I just returned from a couple of weeks in Canada and I can say with certainty that it is not cold here. The only cold thing is the ice in the fridge that we use to keep our drinks cold.

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On the Last Night

It seems that I’ve started a tradition of going to Lands End for a sunset on the last night of a visit to San Francisco. Not that planned it, it just seemed to work out that way. So far I’ve been rewarded with great sunsets, what are the odds of that each time? I’m just knocking on a piece of wood right now to persevere whatever good luck the photography gods have bestowed upon me. I can go a long way with a little luck.

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On the Last Night
On the Last Night in San Francisco

This time I ate dinner at the Cliff House Bistro, it’s right on the water. In fact I took this during dinner from the restaurant which is perched upon a cliff overlooking the pacific. The best part about it is enjoying a meal while watching the sunset. I took a few minutes to step out with my camera. It is an iconic location.

If you are looking at this on a large monitor you might be able to see a small island way out on the horizon just right of center. That is part of the Farallon Islands located about 20 miles offshore. I never noticed it before but while sitting in the restaurant looking out at sea it became apparent. I grew up in California and never knew these islands existed. There is a wildlife refuge there and it’s been called the “Galapagos of the North”.

San Francisco

Now that I know it’s there I’ll keep an eye out for it next time and maybe even take an excursion if I can find a company that sails out there.

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The Fine Line We Walk

This picture makes me think of the fine line we walk every day. It might even be a metaphor for how we are evolving. We can be filled with distractions so that we miss what is around us. Constant thoughts, reminders, threads of conversations, it can be hard to disconnect. This kind of challenge will only continue to grow.

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The Fine Line We Walk
The Fine Line We Walk

I think we are morphing into another type of human. In a hundred years we will be even more merged with our technology and a global source of knowledge. The question is, how will we change? I’m not worried, eventually we’ll do the right thing. We’ll evolve and make good decisions. I believe that.

In the mean time we will walk along the shore and share the experience with our friends thousands of miles away. We’ll surf our twitter feed even as the surf is pounding at our feet. We will walk a fine line, but in the end we will get it right.

seascape images

These thoughts are not about photography per se, but , through photography I am thinking them. By creating this image it leads to an idea and that is the enjoyment I get out of it. One thing leads to another and before you know it I’m predicting the future of humanity. Such are the wanderings of my mind.

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Sailing Nowhere

As far as I can tell this boat has been here for years and is sailing nowhere. One morning I headed over by the water to take pictures of the sunrise. There is a mooring field between two bridges and it’s a place to watch the sunrise or sunset depending on which way you’re facing. My theory is that this is an abandoned boat because it’s been here for years and never seems to move. Before I moved to Florida it never occurred to me but apparently there are abandoned boats out there. From a purely aesthetic point of view, they make for good picture taking.

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Sailing Nowhere
Sailing Nowhere in Manatee County

I doubt that removing the vessels is high on any municipal agenda. Eventually a hurricane come along and sink the craft and then mother nature begins her slow process of reclaiming it.

I showed up early to take this and to my surprise, someone else was there at the same time taking pictures as well. To be honest I was a little surprised. I live in a small town and rarely is anyone other than myself taking photos in the morning. In a big city or a national landmark yes, of course, I would expect all manner of photographers. But Palmetto? Well, anyway we both took some photos of that lovely morning and then went our separate ways.

Florida Gallery

As for this boat, it just stayed in this one spot and I’m pretty sure it hasn’t moved since.

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Morning Across the River

I remember taking this one morning across the river. I recently posted a similar shot from the same morning. This is a long exposure of about three minutes so that everything appears smooth and serene. That’s a theme with me, gravitating toward images that convey still and calm; that’s probably a response to living in a frenetic world.

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Morning Across the River
Morning Across the River in Bradenton FL

Often when I come here in the morning to shoot a sunrise the joggers and walkers will remark to me about what a nice shot I’m getting. They have that subtle pride of ownership in their voice as though they are sharing something of theirs with me. They are here every day and I’m not a regular. So perhaps in their eyes they are sharing “their” sunrise view with me. If I think about it, it begins to make a little sense.

I relate to the sensibility because as I reflect I realize that I do the same thing. When guests come to visit us in Florida I “share” beautiful locations with them, and almost subconsciously do it in a way that indicates it’s something I own. Of course nothing can be further from the truth, a person cannot own a view or scene. Nonetheless, something inside of us feels the need to impart ownership of a thing we cannot own. Funny, eh?

long exposures in the gallery

Anyway, this is one of my views of the river that I would like to share with you. If you like it, then by all means please feel free to borrow it.