Marin Headlands!

Saturday afternoon and evening Nathan Yan's Photo Decal took a trip to the Marin Headlands, the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge. It was one of those impossible San Francisco days where there is not a SINGLE cloud in the sky. No fog. No rain. Just sunshine everywhere the eye can see. And, let me tell you, it was absolutely completely and utterly gorgeous. I cannot wait to live in San Francisco full time. :D 

On top of that, the company was perfect. What a wonderful way to spend my day: with my camera and a bunch of photographer buddies on the most beautiful day to be outside all year. 

Recommended listening while viewing this post: Train's "Save Me, San Francisco"

One of the biggest challenges when shooting something as iconic as the Golden Gate Bridge is that soooo many people have already shot it. Everybody, and I mean EVERYBODY, takes a photo of the Golden Gate Bridge when they visit. So how do you make your photo look different that the millions that have already been shot? ... 

That's my city <3 

Alcatraz: 

Pretty calla lilies! They were growing in such an unexpected place too: in the drainage to the ocean. Look at the majesty (:

I'm digging the colors/style/feel of this image. Am I allowed to say that about my own photo? :P

Oooo. Who knew rust could be so pretty.

Brace yourself. I am about to unveil the ABSOLUTE COOLEST MOST AMAZING THING EVERRR EVERRR to happen to me. Okay, maybe not #1 in my whole life, but I am going to put this on the top ten list. 

Background: This is Kirby Cove.  This is where my parents got married (yes, on the beach, with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge-yeee): <3 I had never been before, and now I have. And you can't see it in this photo, but this is where it was. What was it you say.... Well, children, I do believe I found a... 

SHARK!

Okay. I could be lying. I am not a Marine Biologist. I do not know these things for sure. But I believe I found one. A small one. A dead one. But a shark nevertheless. Awesomeness.

I spent a lot of time looking at sharks online but had no success. I never realized just how many sharks there are in the world!!! It's craaazyyy. 

I was a little bit disappointed with the available resources on sharks that I could find online. They were absolutely great, I'm sure, if you were looking for information on a specific kind of shark. Sharks are a popular sea creature. People look for information on them all the time. It is out there. But where the heck is the picture dictionary of sharks?! Sigh.

Look at that eye! Yowzers!

If somebody knows what this is PLEASE please please leave me a comment telling me what you think it is. I do want to know. I guess. Part of me doesn't; if it's not actually a shark and I'm just completely delusional I will be oh so disappointed. *pouts* 

Anyways. I hope you are as excited as me about that find. I was just about bursting with excitement to look at the images. Actually, that's a bit of an exaggeration. I was bursting with excitement when I found it (heart palpitating, shutter clicking, breath quick and sharp--the whole bit) and then after, once I'd seen the photos, I did it all over again. But right after I finished shooting her, I promptly forgot all about her and moved on to shoot the rest of the day. Go figure. Ha ha.

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming: (including, but not limited to, an adorable little ladybug!)

And the California state flower: the California poppy.

Rodeo Beach at sunset. Oh how I've missed the edge of the continent. 

Some night shots nearby. I think it's a barracks and related buildings. But I'm not so sure...

My favorite part of this shot is that you can see the stars. (Click on the image to enlarge it--you can actually do that with every photo!)

This was the last shot of the night. Just a simple night image of the Golden Gate Bridge. It breaks my rule: I am sure everybody on the trip, not to mention thousands of photographers before me, have exactly the same image. But sometimes you have to break the rule because a photo just makes you happy. My dear San Francisco, I love you. <3 

I hope you enjoyed that extra super long post. Leave lots of comments. I am taking a poll on my creature: shark or not?!

<3  

The Last of the Roadtrip Shots

When we got to San Luis Obispo, we headed up the mountain to where Kenny stayed early in the year, before the lease started on his house. Usually the mountain is so high that it breaks through the mountains and the view is breathtaking. We weren't so lucky in that way but sometimes when you're not lucky in the way you wanted to be, you end up being luckier in so many ways.

This was one of those times.

Besides lots of photos of cool stuff from up there that I probably wont get a chance to post, I grabbed a few shots of this old boat sitting in somebody's front yard that I just adore. It had been a while since it floated, but the old cacti growing up inside of it was waay more interesting that anything I could have found in the harbor. What wonderful luck!

Lock.

Go figure.

(:

That's probably the end of the roadtrip shots. I may get nostalgic at some point and post a few more as a throwback but I think I've shared my favorites and am looking forward to new horizons. :D I leave for Florida tomorrow. Yikes. I hope I get some pretty photos while I'm there! I'll keep you updated... (:

And, overall? The roadtrip was fabulous. Absolutely faaabulous. :D

California Mission San Miguel Archangel

The kind of photo roadtrip that Kenny and I take includes a lot of quick stops. We're driving along and then all of sudden we pull off onto some random side street. This random stop was such wonderful luck that I still can't believe it. We ran into the very very very cool California Mission of San Miguel Archangel. It was a photographer's dream--everything old and beautiful. In fact, just seeing the photos from this location really just makes me want to hit up every mission in California with my camera. One down, twenty to go! :D

I just loved this. The off white manages to be so beautiful!

Locks! Still such an attraction for me... I blame Jessica Claire and her amazing idea for the lock project. Once she helped me to see them, I find that I can't not see locks... (:

Every detail was perfect. Absolutely.

Cool story alert! : When they built the missions in California, they marked the road between each one with a cross carved into a tree. The cross on a particular tree in the area was grown over with bark and lost until a harsh storm knocked the tree down, peeling back the bark and uncovering the old cross. It's now displayed in the mission, for all to see. And it's so beautiful! So very cool! (:

From the Mission, we headed back along Hwy 101. It's the old El Camino Real and it's perfectly old school and wonderfully picturesque. (:

I kinda feel like this is a very classic, quintessential roadtrip photo. Score.

ROADTRIP!!!

Kenny and I took a very impromptu roadtrip down the coast to San Luis Obispo (as in, "hey, we should go on a roadtrip tomorrow." "okay. leave at 6AM?"). We drove down Highway One, leaving before the sun rose (yikes!) from Half Moon Bay and then coming back up Highway 101. The point was to collect as many beautiful photos as possible, which isn't hard when you live in the most beautiful place in the world (well, one of them anyways).

This wasn't the kind of roadtrip we took, but I still thought it was fairly classic. It kind of makes me want to drive across the country one day. Not that I wasn't planning on doing that at some point anyways. But still.

Great White Heron. I honestly believe that herons are the most beautiful creatures on earth. mmm, take that back: they're second, after butterflies. (:

I discovered this one at Elkhorn Slough, just outside of Santa Cruz. Gorgeous.

Winery. Or something.

I could barely get the little birdies to sit still for me, but this one was sort of cooperating. (:

Maybe when I grown up I'll put a sculpture on my house too. :P

There are SOOOO many cool photos from this trip. There's no way I could ever upload them all here, but in the next week or so I'll be uploading a few of my favorites and I can't wait for you to see them. Check back for new photos! (:

Happy New Year and best wishes in 2010!