fstopandsee

At first I was bummed I was getting off the water before sunset, but then the sun broke through the clouds right over Sausalito and lit up the harbor with bright yellow rays of light.

This epic sunrise is a great way to kick off a happy new year! It was a cold morning to be out at Emerald Bay but the effort paid off big time with this colorful sunrise! Here’s to all of our efforts bringing great rewards in the year ahead!

I harnessed some Christmas energy and experimented a bit to get this shot. When taking pictures of Christmas lights this year, I found that out of focus lights created a much more dramatic effect by making the light much larger. When I saw these holiday decorations in my neighborhood, I decided to take photos both in and out of focus. By re-focusing at different spots I was able to highlight the shape of the lights. The result is really dreamy on the edges, while at the same time pulling your attention to the angel in the center. Merry Christmas!

They call it the Emerald City, but on this night the sky turned all of Seattle purple and blue just as the sun was disappearing! It took me quite a while to get this panorama shooting 19 individual frames handheld and working around window glare, and I really like how it turned out. A combination of good light and clouds like this makes up for all the times I’ve lugged my camera around and the weather didn’t cooperate.

Styles change over time. At one time clunky exposed steel was what bridges were expected to look like. Today the more dramatic white tower and cables of the Bay Bridge really shines over the water.

Typically the Golden Gate Bridge gets the spotlight, but on this atypical day I was all about the puffy clouds and let the bridge take the background.

Normally this spot is accessible by car, but with 15 feet of snow falling in the last two weeks, Hwy 89 is closed. The good news is you can still get to the spot if you are willing to snowshoe. It doesn’t even seem like there is a highway there with all the snow, but after snowshoeing a couple miles you are at the top of Eagle Falls looking out over Emerald Bay.

Point Reyes has many miles of beautiful seashore. The sunset only makes the view better. Walking out to the very tip of the peninsula was fun, and making our way back in the calm after sunset was very peaceful.

The San Francisco Bay as seen from 757 feet above sea level. Starting at Ayala Cove, first by bike and then by foot, I made my way to this point for a view of Tiburon and all that lies beyond. The view toward San Francisco was foggy, but this view toward Tiburon was very clear.

In celebration of World Turtle Day, I went deep into my archives to find this friend. Diving with turtles is always amazing, and this particular one seemed particularly happy to pose on the bottom of the ocean while I took this photo. Long live the turtles!