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November 27, 2005

Tree Lighting at Jack London Square

Posted by thedude at 9:42 AM | Comments (2)

November 24, 2005

Thanksgiving Day on Muir Beach

Kelly had the inspired idea to spend this holiday at the nearby Pelican Inn. We decided to make a day of it by taking the scenic route - through the city and with a stop at Muir Beach along the way. As we watched the beautiful sunset, we reflected on how much we have to be thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted by thedude at 9:45 PM | Comments (0)

November 22, 2005

A Million Dollar Idea

A story about this clever site appeared in the Wall Street Journal today. I expect he'll have his million dollars within a week. Dang, why didn't I think of this???

Posted by thedude at 1:59 PM | Comments (0)

November 21, 2005

Fun with a Fisheye Lens

A fisheye lens has limited applications, but it can be a lot of fun. The Nikkor 10.5 mm DX lens is very small, light and fast. I can hand hold shots at 1/10th of a second or more.

Posted by thedude at 8:28 AM | Comments (0)

November 20, 2005

In the "Studio" with thedude

My dear friend Jack has an impressive collection of vintage Leica gear that he'll be selling on Ebay. He asked if I'd take a few shots of the four cameras and six lenses. Of course, I immediately accepted the challenge, and rushed off to my studio, which in this case consisted of a wooden place mat on the sofa, my D2X with 60 mm macro lens on a tripod and a small reflector for the flash.

By the way, the gear is in excellent+ condition if you're interested. I'll include a link to his sale on ebay as soon as he gets it up.

Posted by thedude at 2:29 PM | Comments (0)

November 15, 2005

Hooked on Night Photgraphy

It's not that I prefer shooting at night. I'm shooting so many long exposures because it's dark when I get off work these days. That's not all bad though. These really are fun to shoot digitally - much easier than it would have been back in the days of analog photography.

Kelly works on the 26th floor of the large building in the middle of the shot on the right. Got that?

Posted by thedude at 8:45 AM | Comments (0)

November 14, 2005

Oakland's Most Recognizable Feature Creature

car•go•saur•us (kar'go-sôr'əs)
n.

Large quadruped with long, flexible neck. Frequents shoreline areas, often in groups. Eats continuously when hungry. Can consume all the cargo in a container ship in less than a day.

Posted by thedude at 6:51 PM | Comments (1)

November 13, 2005

Beautiful Oakland - My Favorite City

I've been working on a photo assignment this weekend - yes, for money! I'm looking for the definitive Oakland shot. I'm not sure I've found it yet, but I have gotten a few cool shots in my quest. We had a really beautiful sunset tonight. I shot the image of Sutro Tower with my longest lens from my rooftop. Later I used my widest lens to get the shot of Oakland's fabulous Paramount Theater.

Posted by thedude at 7:48 PM | Comments (4)

Oakland Skyline Panorama

I took this panorama last night from the rooftop. While I was setting up to take the shot, three or four motorcycle cops swooped in and closed the freeway! You can see their red and blue strobe lights in the foreground.

Some of my neighbors and I like this image so much that we're going to print it ten feet wide and hang it in the second floor lobby. :)

Posted by thedude at 11:02 AM | Comments (2)

November 8, 2005

I Think That I Shall Never See...

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the sweet earth's flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

Poem by Joyce Kilmer; photos by Dave Seitz.

Posted by thedude at 5:22 PM | Comments (0)

November 7, 2005

A Couple of Great Shots From Wisconsin

It's not that I have a soft spot for cute kids in leaf piles. It's just that this is the sort of picture parents tend to e-mail to their victims friends. In fact, some of these images are pretty good - like this one.

This adorable shot of Leah was taken by her Dad, Jeff Kerkman somewhere in Wisconsin. Awww. The bird shot ain't bad either. Thanks, Jeff! This reminds me that I have some really nice shots taken by Dave Seitz - also in Wisconsin. I'll post a couple of may favorites from Dave soon.

Posted by thedude at 6:39 PM | Comments (1)

OUCH!

Bored? You might enjoy this fun toy.

Posted by thedude at 2:18 PM | Comments (1)

November 6, 2005

Cliff House Sunset

Inspired by our recent trip to Cliff House with my ol' pal Steve, I decided to take Kelly to the same spot for a bloody mary and a few oysters on the half-shell. It turned out to be one of those rare super-clear days in the bay area. It was easy to see the Farallon Islands, some 27 miles from our table inside the gorgeous Cliff House.

Later, we had a light dinner at an old favorite - PJ's Oyster Bed - and finished the evening with a night cap at Yancy's Saloon. What a lovely day. We really should do this more often!

Posted by thedude at 11:00 AM | Comments (0)