The Presidio At Night

There's this archway near a pond where I work that I've always wanted to shoot at night. It has little lights on it that seem really romantic. Every night when I drive by it on my way home, I always think, "Just get out of the car, grab your camera and take a picture" and I never do. But, tonight I needed to do a homework assignment where we shoot at night using different settings on our camera and comparing the two, so I went for it.

Here is one of the shots I submitted for the assignment. Funny thing, it was completely dark but the sky and clouds look amber. Interesting...

I think I'm going to go out at night a lot more often (with my security guard, Bret, of course.)

The Rain on My Window

It's been completely rainy today so I thought I would show you my view from the inside looking out...

A Marsh in Sausalito

On Saturday I spent some time at a marsh I found in Sausalito, which is just over the Golden Gate Bridge. I found it while exploring the area looking for something else to shoot. 

I'm glad I was wearing old jeans and running shoes because I completely fell into the mud while trying to get closer to this little creek that had some amazing rocks that had been worn down by the water. I didn't realize the entire side of the creek was literally mud - all of it. 

Hope you had a great weekend! 

The Nature of Mexico

Last year, we spent two weeks in Mexico to celebrate Christmas and New Years. It as a very relaxing trip that I definitely needed.

I didn't take a ton of pictures but here are a few of my favorites. 

The sunsets were amazing and the colors were brilliant!

One of my favorite spots was the tidal pool that was at the edge of the beach where it meets the ocean. Interestingly enough, when the tide was high, especially at night, the tidal pool would get completely engulfed by the ocean and just disappear. I could never find it at night but it would reappear in the morning. 

The pineappley looking things are the actual agave plants that tequila is made from. It's a really long and complicated process to make tequila and I can't believe that the thing that is guaranteed to make me sick comes from these plants. I just loved the texture so I had to take a picture - even if my stomach was turning at the time. :)

-r-am

A Little Gloomy... I Know

I know the content in this posting isn't "happy" but I was exploring the Presidio the other day and I've always wondered about the military cemetery within the park, so I thought I would take a look. 

It was really quiet and serene, in all honesty. So much history within those gates. 

The weather was ridiculous and there were clouds everywhere. The color of the sky was amazing. You can see the two different colors of the sky and how it effected the ground. 

I also threw in some other shots of a tree I was shooting under. I love taking photos of natural surroundings. There's so much texture and every angle is totally different. I was playing with depth-of-field in these shots. I think I did okay but I'm not totally pleased. 

Next time I'll post happy pictures from our holiday trip to Mexico :)

-r-am

From Underneath the Golden Gate

A few weeks ago I had a homework assignment where we had to stand in one place and take twenty five completely different photos. Below are a few of my favorites from the series. 

As you can see, I'm under the bridge but technically, I'm at the beginning and not under what everyone believes is the official bridge. My goal was to get some of the red steel elements but also capture a glimpse of the famous portion, at the same time. I think I met my goal but I'm planning on going back to get some more polished shots. 

-r-am

Welcome!

A little about me and why I'm finally joining the blogging world...

I'm an avid reader of blogs of friends as well as people I've never met before but whom totally intrigue me. I'm addicted to reading about other people almost as much as my need to watch reality television.

During Christmas of last year, I decided I wanted to do a blog marking every day of the year with a new photo. That didn't quite work out but I'm starting this blog anyway, just a little late.

In January, I became a graduate student in photography. I'm very excited about learning how to take great photos and the challenge of getting out of my comfort zone and just shooting as much as possible. This blog will be the way I share my photos with friends and family as well as a way to track my progress and growth.

I'm excited to finally be doing this and putting myself out there. I hope you enjoy my photos as much as I enjoy taking them. All comments are welcome and I look forward to hearing from you!

-r-am