Chinatown in San Francisco

This morning I had to go get stamps from the post office. There are two post offices pretty close to my apartment.  I usually choose to go to the one in Chinatown because people are nicer, lines are shorter, and the walk is a lot more fun! As I was walking out the door with the dog this morning, I decided to grab my camera and go for a walk after getting stamps.

These are some photos I took during my walk. I love that, in Chinatown, you can always discover new alleyways, new historical landmarks, and new colorful murals, regardless of how many times you've been there!

Enjoy these photos. For more fun photos, go to my Etsy store or visit my website.

Interesting doors in Chinatown

Corner store receiving a fresh load of produce

Interesting patterns of door, windows and bricks

A dragon breaks through a wall in Trenton Alley

Clean laundry airs out with the TransAmerica building in the background

Murals in Trenton Alley

A man walks by a mural in Trenton Alley

Mural on Clay St. Good question, right?

Colorful windows greet me as I come out of an alley in Chinatown

Colonial Santo Domingo

Long overdue, here's a second post on the Dominican Republic. This time with some random shots from Santo Domingo's colonial area.  

A boy looking over the Rio Ozama at the ferry boats

Men play dominoes on El Conde

Catedral Primada de America

Tower from Palacio Consistorial

Pigeons fly over the Cathedral at Plaza Colon

Plaza Espana with Alcazar de Colon on the background

Santo Domingo at Night

The historical buildings that adorn the entire city, with their old walls and balustrades

Ocean Beach Surfers

Yesterday evening we went to Ocean Beach to play fetch with Bomber. We recently bought a hutch-it for him and it's been super fun to be able to throw the ball really far away for him to chase it. Of course, the best place to do this is the beach and, with Crissy Fields turned into a madhouse due to the America's Cup finals, we decided to drive to Ocean Beach instead.

The days are not that long anymore so, by the time we got there, the sun was already setting, the sand was cooling off, and the surfers were starting to swim out and walk back to their cars. In the meantime, groups of people were starting bonfires on the beach, and only a few were left walking their dogs. As we turned around to head back to the car after a great fetching session, we saw the full moon rising from behind the Golden Gate Park, illuminating everything around it.  It was a perfect evening at the beach!

Enjoy these photos! For more fun photos, visit my Etsy store, or go to my website.

Bolinas, California

About an hour north of San Francisco is a town that describes itself as "A Socially Acknowledged Nature Loving Town." That is the town of Bolinas, a great beginners surf spot, a great family friendly and dog friendly beach, and an all around low key place to go spend a day or longer. It  has a unique character and, many would argue, provides an all around California beach experience, at least Northern California!

Last weekend we went back to this loving town and, once again, had a fabulous time. The fun starts on the drive there, cruising on Highway 1, mountains on one side and the Pacific on the other. Once there, the warmer weather makes you want to stay for the day. This time, instead of spending the entire time at the beach, we went for a walk on the town's Main street, watched the boats on the "marina," and drank an organic, energy-charged fresh fruit smoothie before getting back on our car and driving back to San Francisco. It was perfect!

If you try to find Bolinas while driving on Highway 1, you will probably get lost as most of the signs pointing to the town have been removed by the town's residents. But, if you manage to get there, you'll be happy you did!

Enjoy these photos. For more fun photos, go to my Etsy store or visit my website.

 

Sea Shells

A couple of days ago, I came up with the idea of photographing some of the sea shells I've been collecting over the years. Today, I finally got started on that project. I started with simple still life photography of these beautiful shells, and I'm planning on trying a few tricks on them before putting them back into the glass jar where they have all come together as a lovely collection.

I have a shell collection because I love the beach. Because I love the beach, every time I travel, I make sure to set at least 4 or 5 days aside to visit a beach. As a result of my dedication to the beach life, I have been blessed with having visited some of the most amazing (and sometimes most remote!) beaches in the world.

Every time I'm in a new beach, I comb the shores in search of sea shells. Sometimes I find new shells, sometimes I just find the usual shells. Regardless of what I find, I always take one or two with me. When I get home, I add the new ones to the jar.

These shells, I believe, come mostly from Jambiani beach in Zanzibar, an island off of the coast of Tanzania. I love the spots on them. They are so unique!

I hope you like these photos! For more fun photos, visit my Etsy store or go to my website.

Wine Still Life

When putting together my selection of photographs to show at Napa, I decided it would be fun to work with still life photography. For this, I grabbed a bottle of wine, a glass of wine and some grapes and I started shooting away. I played with light, with setting, with backgrounds and these are the 4 photos I decided to include in the show.

I hope you like them! For more fun photo, visit my Etsy store or go to my website.