emceehammr

St. Bernard

2012-Nov-292013-Aug-16 emceehammrLeave a comment

During a recent European adventure I came across this painting of St. Bernard of Menthon (the one for whom the dogs are named) painted on a lodge near a ski lift in the Austrian village of Obergurgl. This makes perfect sense, St. Bernard being the patron saint of mountaineering and skiing, among other things. The writing at the top translates to something like “Protect us the mountaineers” and I was told the picture has something to do with fending off alpine thunderstorms. These types of paintings and altars were all over the village, just about everything had a patron saint, it seemed. I thought this one stood out, however, being 10″ to 15″ tall.

Happy Thanksgiving: Busy Intersection

2012-Nov-222012-Nov-22 emceehammrLeave a comment

It always amazes me how dense San Francisco’s Chinatown is. The number of store fronts on this block alone is staggering, and coupled with the number of cars parked along the sides of the street it feels very claustrophobic. At the same time it makes it seem busy, even though there are really only a handful of people in the shot. It just seems like there should be a lot going on here.

San Francisco Sunset

2012-Nov-202012-Nov-20 emceehammrLeave a comment

I feel like there’s a very set picture of what San Francisco looks like to people, the skyline that is depicted is usually the financial district or something including Alcatraz and/or the Golden Gate bridge. On the other hand people sort of know that San Francisco is populated with rows of apartments with bay windows on impossibly steep hills, but they don’t get the big picture here. San Francisco is at its core a sprawling city filled with such apartments and there isn’t just one hill but several. That’s what I tried to capture here, a sunset over what I believe is Russian Hill, looking down from one hill up to another.

Red Trees

2012-Nov-13 emceehammrLeave a comment

On a recent outing to San Francisco I captured this shot of the these trees in the financial district. The red color and the way the lights were strung around the trees in a swirling pattern lead to a sense of motion, as if the trees have been set on fire. Its a very interesting effect which contrasted with the cooler colors of a nearby set of trees similarly illuminated but bathed in blue, not red.

All Lit Up

2012-Nov-062013-Aug-16 emceehammrLeave a comment

In the evenings San Francisco’s Coit tower is illuminated creating a pretty spectacular effect.

Transamerica Pyramid

2012-Nov-012013-Aug-16 emceehammrLeave a comment

It’s undeniable that behind the Golden Gate bridge and Alcatraz the Transamerica Pyramid is one of the most recognizable features of the San Francisco skyline. Everyone’s used to the view of it embedded in the skyline but it looks completely different when viewed from the base, a less common perspective. It actually gives the impression of exaggerated perspective when viewed from the street beneath it, sort of like it disappears into infinity.

Spaceship

2012-Oct-30 emceehammrLeave a comment

OK, so not a real spaceship but it does sort of look like something out of an episode of Dr. Who, doesn’t it? I caught this one in downtown SF the other evening. The lighting on the building really caught my eye but only once I was directly underneath it. I captured this shot, which I think is very interesting to look at, and thought I’d share.

Waterfront Construction

2012-Oct-16 emceehammr1 Comment

You can’t tell by looking at the photo but the property being worked on is actually accessible by road. But I can see the appeal of getting things delivered by boat when you live on the water at the end of a rather steep ravine.

Up from down below

2012-Oct-112013-Aug-16 emceehammrLeave a comment

I took this shot the first day I had my Sigma 10-20mm lens to get a feeling for what it could do. To this day I am still floored at the width of the field of view. It is absurd how close I could get to Berkeley’s Campanile and still capture the whole tower.

Windsurfing

2012-Oct-102012-Oct-10 emceehammrLeave a comment

It’s a little cold for my taste but the folks around the Bay really like to get out on the water. Right around the Berkeley marina the water is absolutely jam packed with windsurfers, kitesurfers, and just small sail craft of all types. This surfer’s colorful sail really caught my eye here against the sort of drab backdrop of the waterfront condos.

Fall in the Air

2012-Oct-042013-Aug-16 emceehammrLeave a comment

Today is a double feature to make up for a lack of post on Tuesday.

This shot isn’t so much about capturing a subject as it is about capturing a time of the year. This was the moment I realized that the season was changing in Berkeley. The leaves were changing color and falling (well, as much as they will in sunny California) and the sun was shining on this fine fall morning in Berkeley.

Golden Gate at Dusk

2012-Oct-04 emceehammrLeave a comment

Going back through old photos is always a trip. This particular shot reminds me how far I’ve come in the past year. At the time I don’t think I thought anything of this picture but now looking at it I really like the contrast between the colors in the sky and the darkness falling over the bay and the silhouette of the Golden Gate Bridge. The clouds rolling in from the ocean also add a neat effect.

Author: emceehammr