California – Page 40

Hearst: Inside and Out

2013-Feb-062013-Feb-06 adohertyh1 Comment

Today is a rare double-post, featuring my favorite structure on Berkeley’s campus: the Hearst Memorial Mining Building. This beaux-arts-style hall was finished in the early 20th century, and I find it particularly notable for two reasons (beyond just being aesthetically pleasing):

1. The interior atrium reminds me of the Bradbury building, and I get a fantastic cyberpunky (see Blade Runner)/steampunky (see Steamboy) tingle every time I step through the doors.

2. The building was updated in a seismic retrofit from 1998-2003, yet is still just as gorgeous as ever. This is a case of a putting a lot of effort into saving a building that is worth saving, and doing it in a way that doesn’t obliterate the elements of the building that were so appealing to begin with.

Just pass those enormous, varnished wood doors is this stunning atrium. Today, I’m showing only a small part of it. Come Friday, I’ll offer a wider view of the space.

Big Science Moon

2013-Feb-04 adohertyhLeave a comment

This was the scene over the Berkeley hills last week, as a massive full moon rose over Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. You could practically hear scientists howling, but I suspect that was more because their experiments weren’t working than because they were werewolves.

Given all of the processing that goes into producing an HDR image, I can’t exactly say that this image “hasn’t been Photoshopped.” When you get right down to it, every single image receives some sort of post-processing, even if it’s just to bump up the contrast. What I can say, however, is that the size of the Moon has not been artificially enhanced. Our celestial cousin really was that gorgeous and enormous on this particular evening.

Sunday Special Guest Post: Ponies and Balloons!

2013-Feb-032013-Apr-27 adohertyhLeave a comment

Today’s photograph comes courtesy of Dr. Piper Klemm.

Decaseconds has seen photographs of the surreal desert landscape of Thermal before, but Piper took this picture that represents the real spirit of the place. Fancy riding clothes, beautiful ponies, and random hot air balloons drifting over the landscape. Just lovely.

Power Out: Scene of the Crash

2013-Feb-01 adohertyhLeave a comment

I live above a four-way intersection, and see three or four big crashes a year—typically from drunk drivers who run the red light. This particular night, however, saw insanity in the intersection due to a multi-hour power outage. The normally orange-hued nighttime tarmac was, on this night, lit only by headlights, emergency flashers, and road flares. It was all very strange, very surreal, and the perfect subject for a photograph.

Colorful Waterfront

2013-Jan-31 emceehammr3 Comments

San Francisco’s waterfront is really pretty spectacular at night. There’s so much color.

Clouds Over Berkeley

2013-Jan-28 adohertyhLeave a comment

Sometimes, the most glorious visions are right around the corner. Great clouds and just the right light can be frustratingly rare in California, land of infinite sunshine, so I was utterly thrilled to capture this gorgeous post-sunset cloudscape and the attendant Friday-evening bustle from the Berkeleyites stuck down on Earth.

Glowing Handrail

2013-Jan-22 emceehammr1 Comment

The lighting on this particular evening on San Francisco’s waterfront was spectacular and created this interesting effect as if the handrail on this pier were illuminated. It makes the Bay Bridge seem much more futuristic if you ask me.

Our Own Gold

2013-Jan-162013-Jan-16 adohertyh3 Comments

The water practically glows with reflected light. The buildings tower over the scene. The long exposure captures the trails of aircraft in the night sky. San Francisco’s waterfront along the Embarcadero may not have the most enormous and prestigious structures, but nights like this make that irrelevant. The scene makes “enigmatic” and “cyberpunky” into something almost friendly. (Or at least inviting.)

High atop it all is that fascinating golden penthouse structure. The visual similarity to a treasure chest must be more than coincidence.

Sinister Ginko

2013-Jan-112013-Jan-11 adohertyhLeave a comment

The days just after Thanksgiving hold still, quiet moments; the early morning fog was thick, viscous, and sinister as the fairy tale stuff. The poisonous-looking red berries, the gnarled tree limbs, and the mysterious lamposts all seem plucked from the forests of Fillory. The somewhat shallow depth of field makes it particularly surreal.

Bokeh Bus

2013-Jan-07 adohertyhLeave a comment

The bus is inherently uncomfortable: the seats are too hard, the surfaces feel like too many other people have touched them, and the other passengers come with a side of freaky west coast aggression. All of that misery is forgotten late at night; an empty bus ferrying me home is such a calm respite from the sodium-lamp misery of the outside world.

Happy New Year! Urban Canyon during the Day

2013-Jan-01 emceehammrLeave a comment

First off, Happy new year! Been an interesting year and here’s to another interesting year full of interesting photos.

The subject of this photo is familiar, previously appearing at night. If you look closely you might even spy the photographer of the previous shot.

Urban Sunset

2012-Dec-27 emceehammrLeave a comment

Cityscapes, especially at sunset, are a particularly wonderous thing. The light reflecting off of glass, the vistas down the urban canyons, it is really a sight to behold.

Effusion Cell II

2012-Dec-212012-Dec-21 adohertyh1 Comment

This is another photograph from a lab in the Charles Harris Group at UC Berkeley. I previously photographed this effusion cell apparatus from an orthogonal orientation, but I also found this shot at its long axis intriguing. The sense of complexity and purpose, but also the sense of aesthetic minimalism, always attracts me to physics apparatuses.

Long Cabin

2012-Dec-192012-Dec-19 adohertyhLeave a comment

Near Berkeley’s chemistry department are the faculty clubs. (Don’t get me started on why there is both a “Faculty Club” and a “Women’s Faculty Club.”) In any case, this lovely redwood log cabin is part of the complex. The tones of the redwood and the green roof tiles gives the picture a hint of holiday feel.

Redwoods

2012-Dec-18 emceehammr1 Comment

Here’s a shot I captured during an excursion to Portola Redwoods state park in northern California. I didn’t have my DSLR with me and so I was stuck with my iPhone but I figured that I would see what I could do with an iPhone shot with my usual suite of photo tools.