february flowers

So you might have guessed from my last post that I have a new sidekick. So, for the past year or so it's been a bit challenging (and not top of mind, honestly) to get out a photograph. But with the gorgeous spring blossoms around San Francisco last month, I took the camera out with the little guy in his Ergo carrier. He…was not super happy to be standing around Church Street in his carrier, so it was pretty brief but it felt good to flex the Canon muscle.

Then I looked at last year's photos from the same time, and in comparison I feel a little rusty! For some reason this year, I just kept thinking the flowers reminded me of wallpaper and that's what I got!

january flowers

New year, new lens! After lots of thought about adding another lens since upgrading to the full frame 6D. I finally bought Canon's 100mm macro. The Macro Class kind of sealed the deal. I'm still getting used to it, and as always I'm somewhat focus obsessed. I need to see how crisp it stays how far away. But so far, I like!

Today was a beautiful sunny day in San Francisco. I didn't have as much time to get out as I would have liked, but was able to snap some blooming trees near my house. Same place on Church Street I took pictures two years ago March, so hopefully the'll stay in bloom for a while. Or maybe it's a sign of rapidly shifting weather patterns that will soon have my neighborhood and all of California underwater. Ok, enjoy the flowers!

angel island

New year, new resolution to post more pictures! Last July already, I went with some friends to Angel Island. Located in the middle of the bay, it is a great place to spend a long afternoon touring the island either on foot or by bicycle (which you can rent on the island). There is a long outer loop of the island and a shorter inner loop both of which are very bike/hike friendly. From the inner loop you can hike up (no bicycles) to the top of the island. From this top point, there is a 360 view of the bay area, from SF to Sausalito and Marin to Berkeley to Oakland and back to SF. On this particular day, the views of Sausalito were so pretty, they reminded me of the costal towns of italy.

We started the day at the Ferry Building which is a great place to grab some lunch from the Farmer's Market to picnic with on the Island. The Blue and Gold line to Angel Island picks up behind the Ferry Building (but will only drop you back off in Fisherman's Wharf) and you can buy your tickets either in the building or even on the boat itself.

It was a good time of year for flowers at the Farmer's Market:

The views as the ferry leaves SF are really great. I tried to make these first few look like old postcards, I think it worked!:

America's Cup Prada boat & Alcatraz: 

Some panoramas happened:

On the island itself, there are lots of interesting buildings from back in the day when it was a fort and immigration station:

The views just really aren't bad:

The Portofino-esque Saulsalito:

the rose show

Yesterday, the Golden Gate Rose Society held its Annual Rose Show in Golden Gate Park. I went picturing rows upon rows of huge bouquets or who knows, maybe whole rose bushes? I was pretty sure I'd seen an Orchid Show in a movie once (Adaptation?) which believe may have colored my expectations: Hothousey. Lush. Fragrant.

Well, here's a peek at the GGRS's event:

After walking thorough a bit, however, I was really amazed at the beauty and variety. Also, thought about the behind the scenes DRAMA. These were all cut roses. Imagine the the tension of having to select one rose for submission that has to be perfect exactly ON SATURDAY JUNE 15th. Following are more pics from the event. I did no color adjusting to any of these.

My vote for Randomest Category:

Sweet little roses, "miniflora":

Pretty black-tipped roses:

I thought the duct tape was a nice touch. Also my second favorite category, which is hard to read online: "Any Other Rose"

More miniflora:

The Queen and her King:

 The grand finale:

new year, new camera

Blog hiatus over! Back in full force with new equipment. Have been thinking for a long while about upgrading from my Canon Rebel and finally pulled the trigger. I'm now a happy owner of a Canon 6D. My biggest Rebel issues were low light performance/noise/finding focus. The 6D is amazing in all these respects and more.  On top of my excitement about the upgrade, I stumbled across this article and learned it takes multiple exposures! Check out more pics on the photographer Sara Byrne's website with a combination of portraiture and trees/flowers. So creative! So pretty!

Today was one of my first days out and about with the new 6D. I took some pictures of trees and flowers on a post-brunch walk through Lower Haight. TONS to learn,  particularly about this new multiple exposure thang.  Here are some of the shots from my walk: 

And some without multiple exposures. I swear this new camera body is making my 50mm super-preform! 

And one last little dark one from right where the yellow flowers pictures were taken.