One thing I love about the San Francisco Bay Area is the diversity of the surroundings. You can look to the east and see the rolling brown hills, look to the west and see green and trees. In the early morning there is often a layer of clouds that quickly burn off for a day of blue skies. This one spot seemed have all of those different environments at the same time.
We only spent a short time in Porto, so I wanted to make the most of it. One night I crossed the bridge and made it to the top of the hill after sundown for a panoramic shot of the entire city. You can see it all here, from the oldest parts of town to the near side of the river which is busy with port tasting all day. What you can also see, if you look very closely, are my friends enjoying a lovely meal on the far side of the river. I assumed everything in Europe was open until very late, but by the time I made it down to the restaurants everything was closed. I didn’t get a good dinner, but I got this photo!
As you hike through these hills along the Pacific there are lots of ups and downs. This is one of the steeper ravines that you cross, known as Pirates Cove. The pirates seem to like this place and so do I!
After a day at the Legion of Honor it was time to close and for the crowds to go home. The good news for me was that the best light of the day for photos was just starting.
I found this banana slug just sliding around the floor of the redwood forest. He can’t really see, just detect light and movement, which might explain why he thought it was a good idea to go over this stick but ended up searching around in the air for his next move.
It’s hard to keep driving when all the roads look like this. The natural beauty of Zion is amazing, and the narrow strips of road that run through it get you where you need to go while providing a contrasting perspective.
This road is intimidating in a vehicle, but the cyclist zooming towards me has a steep descent in front of him. From here he’ll make his way down the switchbacks you can see to the left, and ultimately to the far right below. One brave cyclist even passed our bus on this winding road, not for the faint of heart!
I like taking photos during the day, but I especially like taking photos at night. There are fewer people around and long exposure photos have a completely different look. On this night I was in the right place at the right time, and was also lugging my tripod around as usual. I worked quickly as a big street sweeper only waited about 30 seconds for me to do my business before almost literally brushing me aside!
I’m fresh back from Mallorca and started digging through my many many pics. This was early in our trip, and was advertised as a quick walk to a nice beach. After a few minutes of walking we learned there were a couple interesting tunnels to go through before getting the the beach right around the corner which made for unique photo op!
Before I finish my London kick I’m posting my take on the Tower Bridge. You’ve seen photos of this spot before, but this one is mine! I was lucky enough to catch some good clouds with the colors looking their best before the sun actually went down which made for this dramatic scene.
