Summer pastoral

With the long summer dryness upon us after an extended rainy season, the bare hills are more colorful than their usual ruddy brown. The muted, earthy colors in this scene are pretty typical of what I’m seeing on all the local hillsides right now. The cows, as usual, seem content.

Tree on colorful bare hill with cows

Lens: Canon EF-S 15-85mm at 85mm. 1/160 second at f/16, ISO 200.

Canon T2i vamping on the pastoral.

Number 2000

In April 2010 I decided to give digital photography a go. I bought a Canon G11 and started shooting. When I got to the 1000th G11 shot, I posted it. Today’s photo is the 2000th taken with my T2i. After I get the much anticipated Canon 5D Mark III, I am hereby officially committing to post the 3000th shot from it. Stay tuned… ;^)

Old tractor close-up

The close-up is of an old tractor I found in a field next to a back road I sometimes take during my commute home from work.

Lens: Canon EF-S 15-85mm at 38mm. 1/250 second at f/11, ISO 200.

Canon T2i at another milestone of sorts.

On a clear afternoon

From yesterday’s commute stop, this was the view looking northwest from above the Sutro Baths ruins. The curved coloration in the ocean in the right half of the frame is silt from the receding tide of the San Francisco Bay. The landmass in the distance is the Point Reyes National Seashore, and just barely visible on the horizon in the left third of the frame is the Farallon Islands.

View north from above the Sutro Baths

Lens: Canon EF-S 15-85mm at 57mm. 1/200 second at f/11, ISO 200.

Canon T2i working with the bright afternoon light.

Cypress grove by the sea

Because it was pleasantly warm and fog free today in San Fransisco, I braved a much longer commute and headed down to the Great Highway looking for photo ops. I stopped at Ocean Beach, the Sutro Baths and the Land’s End Trail, and grabbed a nice batch of shots. I got several I particularly liked so I’ll no doubt be posting more during the week. Here’s the first offering–a cypress grove at the north end of the Sutro Baths.

Cypress grove at Sutro Baths

I didn’t have a polarizer on my lens. The sideways blue gradient is due to the angle and intensity of the sun relative to my position to the scene.

Lens: Canon EF-S 15-85mm at 15mm. 1/200 second at f/11, ISO 200.

Canon T2i soaking in a lovely afternoon.

Hay fever

It’s a busy weekend with the band so I’m not finding time for new shots–but, hey, they’re all new if no one has seen them. Last week I posted some photos I took while out on a drive through the local countryside. Here’s another image from the same shoot–in fact, this is the field that’s only partially in view in my “Old County Road” post.

Hay bales scattered on treeless hillside

Lens: Canon EF-S 15-85mm at 85mm. 1/400 second at f/11, ISO 200.

Canon T2i just before a sneeze.