Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year these are a few shots I took at the Bishop Ranch Business Ranch in San Ramon.

Mad T Party California Adventure

This is the Mad T Party at California Adventure, it is like a outdoor nightclub for both kids and adults. Although it is not my type of thing I knew it would some great images. I had to help the software with the use of layer masks and adding images on top and painting in portions of the image. The movement of the people created semi transparent people along with the changing images on the huge monitors displaying the constantly changing graphics confused the software. 

I had shot about 60 shots trying to get different lighting effects, when The man, woman and their daughter walked up and looked at my camera on a tripod and decided to stand directly in front of it. It irritated me at the time but, at least I had plenty of shots. I liked the black and yellow checker board that are spinning into a vortex and how the red seems to be shining on the left side making it look three dimensional. I decided to leave the family in the shot the girl actually appears twice in the image once with dad front center and once with mom on the right.


This is the main stage and a DJ with rabbit ears was scratching records when I was photographing the Mad T Party. I could not get a shot of the main stage because there were too many people and my tripod would have created a trip hazzard. I'm sure there was a way but it had been a long day.


This is the stage located under the arch in the House of Cards.

Out With The Old And In With The New

I took a walk on the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge. The walkway is not complete it is estimated to open in 2015, it still needs to connect to Yerba Buena Island. When I saw the old bridge in the first image I could not help but think of how many times I have crossed it. I thought the new bridge is beautiful but I wounder if white is the best color it looked awfully grimy. I do like the design and it is a lot nicer drive both directions. I also went through the new fourth bore of the Caldecott Tunnel on the way. It was the second day it was open and it was Sunday and there was a backup at the entrance to the fourth bore and hardly nobody going through the other tunnel. 

Shot on 11/17/2013 and the had already started demolition.

Old Barn and Mount St. Helens Revisited (6 months later)

I visited this barn in early February 2013 the image is in the post Old Barn and Mount St. Helens. I am amazed at the amount of decay the has happened in such a short time (6 months). When you compare it to the post Barn in Washington on 97 to Barn in Washington on 97 Winter the time span is almost 7 years and the decay is barley noticeable. What is different the barn taken with Mount St Helens is on a high flat plain compared to a valley in the barn on 97. Was the wind on the flat plain able to knock the whole exterior wall down or did a group of teenagers help that wall fall? The population is greater around and closer to the barn taken with Mount St Helens. Is one barn built better than the other? Is one barn older than the other or was there more snow fall in the area that had greater decay in a shorter time? I like to watch things change over time that's why I find it interesting to revisit places at a different time of year or years later and think about what is different. If I did not take photos I would not notice the subtle or drastic changes. Photography has taught me to slow down take a step back and notice what is around me look at what is different from yesterday. If I travel what's different here than at home and take time to enjoy it. I have enjoyed watching the colors of fall this year, I got and early start when I was in Tahoe and shot the aspens in the post This Old House. It reminds me of the quote "Stop and Smell the Roses" I did research and could not find the author of the quote.

When I saw the clouds surrounding the peak of Mount St. Helens I could not help but think how similar it must have looked to the around the time when it erupted on May 18th 1980. I remember going to my Grandparents orchards a few months later it was amazing to still see the ash on the ground about 3 to 4 hundred miles away.

Old House Weed California

In early February on my way home from Manson Washington I found this old house just after some slight showers. It is just north of Weed California  a mile or two from the south end of US Route 97. 

Old Truck Town of Chelan

 I have been going to Chelan, Washington almost once a year for most of my life and there is one thing I have noticed on the way to and from Chelan. When a truck no longer needed it does not go away it becomes part of the farm or orchard, I guess it's a way to pay homage to the old work horse, just like putting an old horse out to pasture.

McDonald's Old Style

This is the  McDonald's in Yakima Washington it is strait out of the 1950's. This how McDonald's looked when they were franchised in May of 1953 the second McDonald's was opened in Phoenix, Arizona by Neil Fox an executive at Occidental Petroleum. Under the single arch located up on the roof is the original McDonald's mascot Speedee, he was later replaced by Ronald McDonald. Inside they have a McDonald's themed motorcycle, a 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz you can eat in along with a 1957 Chevy Bel Air. They also have a Rockola jukebox and the interior of the building is decorated with pictures of 1950's icon's from Rock and Roll to Hollywood movie stars. 

The New Bay Bridge

I set out to walk the new Bay Bridge after walking a mile and a half CHP turned me around. They close the bridge to pedestrians at 4pm and lock the gates at 5:30pm. If you are on a bike you can ride later just as long as you are off the bridge by 5:30pm. When the walkway is finished it will be open 24hrs. a day, it is estimated to be finished in 2015.  

The traffic on the bridge was heavy and I had planned to blur the traffic like I did in the post Bay Bridge at Night (New and Old). The traffic was just a little faster than stop and go.

The sun had just set to the right of this image and I had a light just over my left shoulder. I am not sure if it was sodium vapor or incandescent. That is what made the lower left hand corner a warmer color. I had the same kind of light over my right shoulder, but I was shooting at an angle. In this shot you can see the first stars starting to come out. I don't know what the bright one is, but I am sure it was not the north star.

Hood Ornaments Good Guys

These are a few of the hood ornaments I saw at the 20th Good Guys Car Show in Pleasanton California. 

Pontiac Chieftain Hood Ornament

1947 Pontiac Woody

The Dodge Brothers Ram.

1934 Ford DeLuxe Fordor the same model of car that Bonnie and Clyde died in.

1938 Packard

Desoto

Buick

1958 Studebaker Provincial Station Wagon