Bay Bridges

The San Francisco and San Pablo Bays have a number of bridge crossings. I was fortunate enough today to be called on an unplanned trip from my home in Sacramento to Redwood City - not far from my home town. There are many ways to get from here to there, and at least two don't involve any major bridges at all. Indeed, if I was in a hurry, I probably would have chosen one of these routes. But I wasn't... and I made a few stops along the way. I should add that my friend Carmi and his recent post of the Golden Gate Bridge served to motivate me to revisit these structures.



This is the Carquinez Bridge. The cantilever bridge in the center was the first major bridge in the Bay Area. It was built in 1927 and is currently being demolished (the portion closest has already been removed... only the pier is left). The suspension bridge was completed in 2003 to replace it. The other cantilever bridge was completed in 1958 and served eastbound traffic. Since 1958, the old bridged served westbound only until it was replaced by the suspension bridge.



And this, of course, is the Golden Gate Bridge. It was taken from the parking lot of Golden Gate Fields in Berkeley. That's all I'm going to say - this bridge can speak for herself.



This is the Catilever portion of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. This is the section that was damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. The new bridge under construction will eventually replace it. It is way behind schedule and way over budget.



And finally, the suspension portion of the Bay Bridge. Although she sometimes languishes in the shadow of her world famous neighbor to the north and west, this bridge is every bit as impressive - and just as important. This shot, the previous and the next were all taken from the Treasure Island Naval Base.



Y'all know where this is!

Yuba River

This was shot on 35 mm black and white and scanned into my MacBook Pro using a Canon CanoScan scanner with a film attachment. The Camera I used? Also made by Canon more than 25 years ago, an AE-1 Program. I used a 50 mm lens set at probably f/22 with a relatively long exposure (probably 1/30 or 1/15) , a tripod and a remote shutter release.

More Long Exposures

These two shots were taken with the camera placed on my dashboard with the remote shutter release in my hand.



This was on Interstate 80 somewhere in between Colfax and Auburn. The elevation here is probably about 2,000 feet. At the moment, I was the only one within site traveling westbound, but there were a few vehicles traveling eastbound on the other side of the center divider. The blue and red lights are from a California Highway Patrol cruiser that had a vehicle pulled over - probably for speeding but I didn't stop to ask!



I think this is the intersection of Douglas Blvd. and Sierra College Blvd. I opened the shutter while approaching the yellow light and closed it not long after starting again from the green light. Although the road is pretty smooth here, the camera still picked up every little bump.

The Jewel of the Sierra

I shot this picture late this afternoon. I was standing on the beach of Lake Tahoe's North Shore looking west towards the setting sun. I couldn't even begin guess how many times I've been to the lake, yet every time - every single time I crest Brockway Summit, or Echo Summit, or which ever way I happen to be entering the Tahoe Basin, she takes my breath away. This is, in my humble opinion, among Mother Nature's greatest wonders. There is no wrong time to photograph this lake. It is impossible to for her to take a bad picture.

And on the way home, some long exposures...



This is from the vista point at the top of Yuba Gap. Most of the people who stop here do it during the day and enjoy the natural scenery facing away from Interstate 80. Of course, at night there is precious little to see unless one allows for a very long exposure and a little patience. Each of these shots had shutter speeds in excess of one minute - and it's cold once the sun goes down at 5,000 feet. It was worth it, however... don't you think?

California Capitol Building

South Fork, Yuba River

Aftermath

The Union Pacific trestle fire in Sacramento.

Folsom Lake

Alpine Hall

The Foresthill Bridge

Oh Yes They Are!

While I was setting up to shoot some pictures of the Truckee River last Saturday, these tourists (I know that's an assumption, but having lived there for five years, an accurate one I believe), just couldn't wait, I guess. I couldn't have planned this if I tried. They looked over, sort of chuckled nervously (I do have photographic evidence of a misdemeanor in progress - complete with a license plate number), and sped away. I could have protected their identity and blurred the license plate, but I am under no obligation to do so - so I didn't. You just never know who will have a camera these days.

Cross-posted on The 25 Year Plan

In No Hurry

Donner Lake

Some shots just speak for themselves...
This is one of them.

A Very Long Train

Self Portrait

Scanned From a Negative

Shades of Gray