Category Archives: Photos

The whole shootin’ match.

Aloe saponaria

We have a patch of cool looking African aloe on the edge of the driveway next to our house. It’s a super sturdy and very prickly aloe–not something little kids should play near. In May it shoots up 2′ to 3′ tall spikes with multiflowered, salmon colored heads. Here’s a close-up of a recently opened bloom.

African aloe bloom

Lens: Canon EFS 15-85mm at 50mm. f/5.0 for 1/250 sec, ISO 200.

Canon T2i recording the homestead species.

African Iris

Where I work there’s are two atria, one at the front entrance and the other at the back (employees) entrance to the building. The only plants in either atrium are several very broad and tall clumps of long, spiky green leaves. They are called African Iris, or the Fortnight Lily. The blooms start in late Spring and go well into the Summer. Here’s a close-up of a fresh bloom I took today as I was leaving for the long ride home. (The natural lighting was quite nice so other than a little cropping and a bit of sharpening after reducing the size for the blog, the shot is as the camera captured it.)

African Iris

Canon G11 taking a parting shot.

Bright afternoon light

My commute photos are mostly taken between the hours of 2:30 and 4:00 PM. Not the best time for grabbing scenes with dramatic light, but I work with what I get. Here are a couple of shots I took during yesterday’s commute, one towards and the other away from the direction of the sun.

This is the ocean view just southwest of the Golden Gate Bridge.

The coastal view just south of the Golden Gate Bridge

And this is a bay view of Alcatraz from the upper Presidio (for people not familiar with the Bay Area, the dome is part of the Palace of Fine Arts).

Alcatraz from the upper Presidio

Lens: Canon EFS 15-85mm.
First image: 20mm, f/16 for 1/320 sec, ISO 200.
Second image: 70mm, f/16 for 1/200 sec, ISO 200.

Canon T2i working with the light.

Pole bean gnarl

This past weekend we had a free day to start work preparing the soil and plotting out our veggie garden. Early May is tomato planting time here in Northern California so we’re getting a bit of a late start. Typically, we leave some things to winter over because it provides the birds with food and perches. The pole bean teepees were still up, so I grabbed some experimental close-up shots with the EX 12 II extension tube between the lens and the camera. I’ve only used the extension tube a few times, but I’m liking the weird results.

Last year's pole bean gnarl

Lens: Canon EFS 15-85mm at 85mm (with Canon EF 12 II extension tube). 1/250 at f/5.6, ISO 200.

Canon T2i focusing on the gnarl.