June 16, 2009

The tables outside the Left Bank in downtown Menlo Park struck me as very cute and quaint, so I stopped to photograph them as I was walking down the street. When I arrived home and uploaded them, I was saddened by how awful they looked. The photos were very ordinary. They did nothing to convey the welcoming cafe feel that initially attracted me. Then I decided to change the color scheme, and the difference was immediate. I've said it before, but I am continually amazed at how much difference there is between photos in black and white and in color. I guess a truly great photo would look good in either form.

June 15, 2009

It's graduation season again. Congratulations Class of 2009!

June 14, 2009

Toddler shoe on bush outside Golden Gate Park. San Francisco can be so random sometimes.

June 13, 2009

I usually think of balloons as a sign of celebration. This one was just floating around outside a bank ATM.

June 12, 2009

On April 30, I posted a photo of french fries with a story of attempting and failing to sample the offerings from the Magic Curry Kart. We were much more successful this time, mostly because we were determined to fulfill the wish of one roommate to try the curry before she moves to Boston at the end of the month. Not that it was easy -- the curry man had gone stealth for the night, promising his location only to the first 25 responders. We were not quick enough, but an emailed sob story about the need of Southeast Asians and their curry cravings won us the location anyway.

Choosing the photo was difficult. I could not find one that accurately conveyed the cart, the curry man, and what it felt like to be in Dolores Park that night. This is the one that came closest. Although the colors aren't as vibrant as I'd like, it includes a few members of the patiently waiting crowd, the curry man, his magic cart, and with the film crew, a sense of the San Francisco street vendor phenomenon.

June 11, 2009

They've been stocking whole ruby grapefruit at work. The fruit are juicy, delicious, and amazingly difficult to eat at one's desk without (a) slurpy noises and (b) making a huge mess. But that's half the fun ...

June 10, 2009

I believe in energy efficiency.

June 9, 2009

Wavy back wall at Fraiche in Palo Alto

June 8, 2009

This photo was taken on another karma walk around the neighborhood with Murray. I had noticed the weathered fence and roses on previous walks and thought they looked picturesque. Turning it black and white enhanced the effect.

June 7, 2009

I spent the morning touring Harley Farms, a goat dairy in Pescadero. The goats are raised to be comfortable with human interactions, so they were very friendly. Sometimes a little too friendly ...

More Harley Farms photos can be seen here.

June 6, 2009

This dog would not look directly at the camera every time I raised it to my face to take a photo. Undeterred, I decided to take a less obvious approach, dropped my arm and camera to my side, and took a bunch of photos that way. The down sides are the cluttered background and blown out sky, but at least the dog looks good.

June 5, 2009

My coworker Eli and I usually have tea on Friday afternoons. He canceled on me, so I said I'd have tea with my other friends -- the stuffed animals he keeps at his desk. This did not agree with him, and he told me to stay away from Mr. Moose. Naturally, I took this as a challenge. The tea party took place at my cubicle at the end of the day.

June 4, 2009

The perfect accompaniment to roommate bonding!

June 3, 2009

I know I said no more flowers, but this was a special exception. My friend Alice takes ikebana classes, and she said this was her first arrangement that her teacher didn't completely reorganize. She asked that I take photos to commemorate the occasion.

June 2, 2009

Redwood City sunset as seen from the Whole Foods parking lot on El Camino. Finding a composition that included the interesting part of the cleaners sign and the pinks, purples and greys of the sunset was a challenge.

June 1, 2009

I made it to six months! While this photo isn't exactly what I would have pictured for my half-year mark, I think it does stand as a symbol of my dedication to the project.

I was sick -- head pounding, exhausted, unable to focus sick. The work day had been a long one, and once I made it home at 7:30, all I wanted to do was sleep. And so I did. When I woke up at 9:30, I had two thoughts: brush teeth and take photo. Leaving the house wasn't an option, so I did the easiest thing I could and tested the color manipulation function on my point and shoot. Then I went back to sleep for another ten hours.

May 31, 2009

Another low inspiration day, so we're stuck with the familiar Q-W-E-R-T-Y of my laptop keyboard. It was taken, ironically enough, while I was uploading photos for May 8, 9, 10 & 11.

May 30, 2009

My friend celebrated his last night in his North Beach apartment by hosting a barbecue on his roof. I had been meaning to go and photograph his spectacular views ever since he moved in over a year ago, so I was determined to make the most of my last chance. I got some great shots of the Transamerica Pyramid and Coit Tower with the help of a tripod, but this photo was so San Francisco -- the cable car rolling down the hill with its star of a headlight shining through a mildly foggy night -- that it made me especially happy.

The rest of the rooftop photos are viewable here.

May 29, 2009

I like the emotion and personality captured on the face in this portrait, and having only the headlamp as a light source lets the rest of the image fade nicely into black. It's too bad about the weird light reflection. I still need to figure that one out.

May 28, 2009

Quickly snapped at Safeway on a pre-camping grocery expedition.

May 27, 2009

Pacific Shores at sunset. Posting every day has helped me realize that I tend to favor vertically oriented photos. I decided to change it up a little bit this time and go with a panorama.

May 26, 2009

Cherries are so photogenic.

May 25, 2009

Day three of Memorial Day weekend was spent cherry picking in Brentwood. I took the opportunity to try out my warming filter. It skews the colors, but I kind of like the look.

May 24, 2009

The second evening of Memorial Day weekend was spent sitting around a bonfire at Ocean Beach. This Hawaii girl found it strange to have to bundle up by the ocean, but the cold didn't detract from our enjoyment of the flames and all that could be cooked in them. From a photographic point of view, I loved the firelight and the high contrast images it produced.

May 23, 2009

I spent the first day of the Memorial Day weekend at a friend's house in Healdsburg. The house was situated on the Russian River, so we spent the afternoon drifting in inner tubes and basking in the sun. I'm not sure if this is the best photo of the day, but it's definitely the most interesting.

May 22, 2009

Earlier in the week, I challenged a coworker in LA to play a prank on my desk without using any of our mutual friends who worked in Redwood City. I didn't think he could do it. Then I found this mess waiting for me when I came back from dailies. It was shocking. In addition, my lightbulbs had been unscrewed, my tape dispenser and stapler were turned upside down, my purse was in the trash, and my mouse was missing. The who was obvious, but I couldn't figure out the how. None of my coworkers would admit to doing it. A couple hours later, my LA coworker showed up at my desk. He had known he was coming to visit when he accepted my challenge and decided not to tell me! Well played.

May 21, 2009

"Bring up the warm rim" is a comment that frequently comes up during lighting reviews at work. This made me all the more excited when I came upon a real life "warm rim" at the Rodin Sculpture Garden at the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University.

May 20, 2009

I had no ideas and little time for my photo of the day, so I headed to the kitchen in desperation. This tea tin proved much more interesting than my original subject -- the toaster.

May 19, 2009

I forwarded an email announcing Anthropologie's summer sale to my coworker with the message, "My head says no, but my heart says yes." Fortunately once we went the next day, my head and heart were on the same page, and I was able to resist the temptation to buy anything. I just wish my head had remembered to tell me to adjust the white balance on my camera so the photo wouldn't turn out so yellow.

May 18, 2009

I took a bunch of shots of this fence and sign, experimenting with various apertures and levels of focus. This one was the most successful. You can read both without one detracting too much from the other.

May 17, 2009

Bay to Breakers is too good a photo opportunity to pass up, so even though I woke up too late to catch the race, I went to the Golden Gate Polo Fields to observe (and photograph) the post-race festivities. I was amazed at how many types and ages of people were represented and at the inventiveness of their costumes. This woman and her friend (who was dressed as an angel) were my favorites. I like the way her red costume pops out against the more muted grass behind her.

More Bay to Breakers photos are viewable here.

May 16, 2009

May 16th was amazingly hot. Temperatures in parts of the Bay Area went into the 100s. I felt very fortunate to spend a comfortable afternoon under an umbrella in my friends' backyard at a barbecue celebrating their new home.

May 15, 2009

I came home late after watching the movie "Earth" with a friend and realized I hadn't taken my photo of the day. It had been a long week, and I was too tired to be more inventive, so I took a couple shots of my headlights. A recent search on Flickr told me that there are a lot more interesting headlight photos out there. At least now I have some inspiration for next time.

May 14, 2009

This is the habitat of a DreamWorks production coordinator. Linux is on the left monitor. Windows is on the right. The post-its aren't usual (they made me laugh and inspired the photo), but the information on them is. I was sad to block out the art in the upper left, but I'm bound by company policy not to share it.

May 13, 2009

Beautiful sunset as viewed from the Redwood City marina after an enjoyable happy hour with my coworkers. I love the different layers of color in the sky. I debated for a while about cropping out the silhouettes on bottom before deciding to leave them in so more of the sky would be visible. Thoughts?

May 12, 2009

My roommate came home with a motorcycle. This is its front wheel. I took another photo of just the spokes, but I thought this version with a little of the tire exposed made for a more dynamic image.