Saturday, March 30, 2013

The Doors of San Francisco

I started this project about a year ago. I had seen posters of doors from different cities and I decided I wanted to create one with doors from my city, San Francisco. 

A few days ago, after several excursions in the search of unique doors, and after several hours of photo editing to make them all fit nicely into my template, the poster is done. I feel incredibly happy to finally have finished this project!

I hope you enjoy this eclectic collection of San Francisco doors that include photos from several of the many vibrant districts of this city, from Nob Hill to Haight Ashbury, from Northbeach to the Sunset.


Wednesday, March 27, 2013

In Search for the Perfect Magnolia Tree

When we lived in Santa Barbara, I fell in love with magnolia trees. In fact, Santa Barbara even has a house called "The Magnolia," named after the very old magnolia tree that sits on its front yard. A few weeks ago, I realized that magnolia trees were in full bloom in San Francisco, and I decided to find one I could photograph. I looked online to learn where the best ones in the city were (yes, you can find anything online these days!), and I set out to find the one that was closest to me, about 2 miles away. While walking to the address where the tree was, I ended up finding not one, but 3 amazing magnolia trees much closer to my apartment. Their beauty is simply breathtaking. Here are some good shots I took that day.

Enjoy these photos. For more fun photos, visit my Etsy store at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/WorldPhotosByPaola











Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Orange and Gray

This past weekend, we went down to Santa Cruz for a beach day. When we got there, the fog was thick and we had to wear jackets on top of our swimsuits. A couple of hours later, the sky cleared up and we had an amazing time soaking up some Vitamin D. On the way back home, our timing was impeccable with the sun setting right behind Pigeon Point Lighthouse, looking like a big ball of fire.

Here are some shots I took that day. For more fun photos, visit my Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/WorldPhotosByPaola

Egret chasing waves in Santa Cruz

Pigeon Point Lighthouse colored in gold

A Ghost Ship Sails Away in Santa Cruz
 
A Street in San Francisco from the Flowers' Perspective


Sunday, March 17, 2013

Poppies at the Park

Spring arrives early to the West Coast. All around San Francisco, patches of orange are starting to appear, signaling the arrival of the best season of them all. Poppies, the California state flower, definitely add a special touch to the arrival of spring. When I lived in MN, I got excited when I saw the first robins, here I have been getting super excited about poppies.

Last week I took a walk to the park at the top of the hill by where I live. The hill there has begun to turn. In a few weeks, a blanket of orange poppies will be covering it, making spring's arrival totally official. Here are some photos I took during that walk.









Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Point Reyes National Seashore

Over the past weekend, on our way back to San Francisco from Bodega Bay, we took a detour and headed to Point Reyes for the day.

Point Reyes is a cape on the Pacific Ocean in Northern California, about 30 miles (50 km) from San Francisco. Point Reyes is a protected area and, as such, it remains undeveloped, except for the few ranches that have been there since the mid 1850s.

One neat thing about Point Reyes is that it is right on the San Andreas fault so, when you hike around it, you are technically hiking on the fault! This time we didn't hike on the peninsula inland, but we stayed on the coast. There is a beach there that is almost always empty, making it a great place to relax, walk around and enjoy the beauty of the natural scenery.

Here are some shots from our day in Point Reyes, the beaches we stopped at on the way there, and of the Golden Gate Bridge as we came back into San Francisco:

Gorgeous California Coast
Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco in the Distance
Cows grazing around the yellow mountains
Cliff at the Entrance of San Francisco Bay
Blue, Turquoise and Aquamarine Water

Rock Formations on the Coast
Surfer at Goat Beach
Natural Color Palette at Point Reyes
Man-Made Tree Sculpture in Point Reyes
Waves Roll In and Roll Out
The Sun Making the Waters of the Pacific Shine
Dreamy Golden Gate Bridge


Monday, March 11, 2013

The Birds of Bodega Bay

We spent this past weekend in Bodega Bay, a small town located about an hour and a half north of San Francisco.  I didn't know this, but Hitchcock's The Birds were filmed in Bodega Bay, which made it very fitting to include bird photos I took over the weekend.

While in Bodega Bay, we did what we love the most: soaked up some sun and drove up the coast, stopping at every and any beach that was dog friendly. We had a blast and really enjoyed being by the ocean, playing in the sand, and relaxing in this cute little town!

Here are some of my favorite photos the time we spent in Bodega Bay, which just happen to include many birds! 

Sun setting over Bodega Bay and Sandpipers enjoying the last moments of light.
Sandpipers enjoying the richness of the sand in Bodega Bay.
Bodega Bay Harbor
Sun reflections in heart shaped Bokeh
A flock of Sandpipers walking towards us - The Birds?
Coots making their way through the reflection on the river
Great Blue Heron in flight at the intersection of the Russian River and the Pacific Ocean
A flock of birds flying our way in Bodega Bay
The waves in the Bay
Sand ripples at a beach near Bodega Bay

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Great Blue Heron

Here's a sneak preview of the great things I was lucky to photograph in the amazing CA coast over this past weekend!


Monday, March 4, 2013

Bokeh Photography - 1st Try

This past Friday, our dog got neutered so we had a pretty low-key weekend. In fact, I only left the apartment twice on Saturday and not a single time on Sunday. Although Bomber is wearing a cone, he has a very long neck, so he sometimes manages to reach the wound even when wearing the cone. Because of that, we decided he needed around-the-clock supervision and we stayed home with him.

To make my house arrest even worse, I woke up with a massive allergy, so no excursions today either! As a result, I didn't get a chance to go out and take photos. I was going to work on a collection today but didn't really feel up for it. Instead, I'm going to share some of the first Bokeh photos I've been experimenting with.

The heart-shaped ones were taken from my living room window. Thank goodness we live in the middle of the city and it's easy to find lights everywhere. The 2 bokeh of the streets were taken last week while on a walk around Market Street.

I'm still experimenting with this technique, but I can already tell it's going to be a lot of fun to use in different places!

Enjoy these photos and don't forget to check my Etsy store at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/WorldPhotosByPaola