From near Mile Rock Beach in San Francisco.
Category: California
The Edge of the World
Shot of Mile Rock Beach on a typical San Francisco summer day.
Artichoke
In Berkeley, Artichokes are grown as decorative plants and so these bright purple blooms are not an uncommon sight. Seems like a waste to me, though.
Sutro Bath Ruins
The remains of the once impressive Sutro Baths. All that stands are ruins, but it’s pretty impressive to compare what once was to the current state of the place looking out over the ocean.
Road Work
Summer is the season of endless construction in Berkeley.
Pelican
Statue located outside the graduate assembly on UC Berkeley’s campus.
Trickle
One of the forks of Strawberry Creek running through UC Berkeley’s campus.
Football Man
A statue of legendary Cal football coach Pappy Waldorf on Cal’s campus.
Berkeley Jungle
An example of Berkeley’s lush suburban vegetation.
Reflected Rings
Sculpture installation in the reflecting pool on the Hearst mining circle on UC Berkeley’s campus.
Football Superiority
Berkeley, despite have very little success in the sport of football, has more than one monument to the sport. The sport as it is played at Berkeley is a little sad but the statues are pretty interesting to look at.
Redwood Creek Is Calm on a Rainy Morning
Yet another image from Muir Woods: when you’re faced with such beauty, how do you say something that hasn’t been said before? Maybe some pictures don’t need text accompaniment.
Berkeley Still Life
Berkeley is a pretty surreal place; as I process that, I thought my 400th post on Decaseconds might be a great time to really show it. The yellows of the birch tree are so sharp on a foggy fall morning, amid the hard, stained concrete of the past and the high-tech Li Ka Shing Building (one of my first-ever posts) materials. Visual contrast, both literal and metaphorical, align with the conceptual contrast of a place that prides itself on being countercultural while also being the birthplace of many of the technologies and ideas that make our modern culture possible.
Muir Woods Has Wood Pathways
I may continue to bemoan the theme-park-like atmosphere of Muir Woods by midday on Saturday, but in the very early morning, with dawnlight scattering through the marine layer, it’s easy to forget about all that. There are no words to describe the place without resorting to cliché. Even so, the echoes of “Six Flags: Muir Woods” still exist, like these wood pathways designed to lessen the destruction that would be caused by enormous numbers of visitors on dirt paths.
Girl with Pony in the Ring
While the early-morning pony divisions begin, the marine layer swathing the San Francisco Peninsula is still burning. I took this image almost exactly two years ago, and didn’t think much of it, but I viewed it today and found it an interesting study. The casual pose of the rider, one arm back, feet in motion, conveys a kind of confident swagger and nonchalance that matches the gentle stepping of the pony. The impact of her garb, a 1/2-scale version of the careful, quasi-historical hunter uniform, only adds to the effect. In reality, though, competition is never that simple or easy—and I think her face conveys that.
Decaseconds 