Category: California

Wall of Steel

adohertyh2 Comments

I’ve previously posted a handful of images from UC Berkeley’s student machine shop. (I even did a recent post for the Berkeley Science Review, where I talk a bit more about why I love this place.)

Today’s photograph is of the wall of that shop with its endless array of bits and blades for the plethora of machines that require them. Clicking through to view the full-sized image is particularly rewarding; each of those little strips of color is a label, put in place decades ago, describing the bit type and size, along with taped-up charts of conversion factors and tiny tutorials on how to use it all. Even a single drill bit is patterned with a mosaic of dents, dings, and damages that tell a story of the countless times it has been used; to see so many together, in one place, tells a story of generations of scientists working their damnedest to convince their experimental apparatuses to cooperate. More than plaques on a wall or papers in a file somewhere, this is the real testament to scientific achievement.

Wall of Steel

Two Bridges

emceehammr1 Comment

One more shot of this iconic structure, I found this shot compelling because you can see not only the Golden Gate bridge but also its cousin, the Bay Bridge as well as the SF skyline in the background there. If the shot were only a bit wider you’d be able to see Alcatraz and you’d be close to fitting almost all of the Bay Area’s most famous landmarks in one shot.

Two Bridges

Miniature Marin

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Continuing the Marin Headlands bombardment, today’s photograph shows the northern approach to the Golden Gate Bridge with Angel Island in the background. This was also my first attempt at post-processing to simulate the use of a tilt-shift lens, which produces the illusion of a miniature reality. I think it works quite nicely here to give the bridge a feeling of being part of a model railroad set.

Miniature Marin

Point Bonita

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If I hadn’t taken this picture myself I probably would have guessed this picture was captured on the coast of the PNW. I really enjoy this type of terrain, found in the Marin Headlands north of San Francisco, with evergreen trees on rocky cliffs rising above the sea. The looming rain clouds really make the shot for me, giving this that real maritime feeling.

Point Bonita

Transpacific

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On Monday, Brendan showed you his view of the Golden Gate Bridge; today, it’s my turn. I was lucky enough to capture the moment an enormous container ship passed under the bridge on its way into the Pacific Ocean. The scale of both the bridge, and these behemoths of the ocean, shocked me when I first thought of it. I had been watching this ship for almost an hour as it maneuvered its way through the bay from the Port of Oakland, and as it passed Alcatraz, I realized that the island and the ship were nearly the same length! To then see the ship pass trivially under the Golden Gate was astonishing.

By this point in the evening it had started to rain, and keeping the lens clear was becoming increasingly difficult. I didn’t dare risk missing the moment the ship passed under the bridge, so I dried the lens, put the cover on, and waited patiently for just the right moment.

TransPacific

Pony and Rider

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Last month, I had a chance to shoot Brighton Boast a Bit (a.k.a. Posey the pony) and Piper J. Klemm (the rider) as they practiced a bit at Show Park Del Mar. Capturing motion is a very different experience for me, given that I’m usually shooting some pretty static landscapes, but I particularly liked this shot of Posey looking a bit unhappy as Piper asks her to pick up the gallop. The swooshing tail really tells the story.

Pony and Rider

Sonoma Winery

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The Napa and Sonoma vallies are just filled with an odd mixture of beautifully manicured lawns and working farms, sometimes even coexisting on the same property. This embodies the reality of viticulture, that it all starts in the fields.

Pictured here I’ve got a picture of the Ram’s Gate Winery on a beautiful spring day. The nice cloud detail and blue skies are contrasted with the simple architecture and field in a, I feel, particularly compelling manner.

Ram's Gate Winery

Sand Fortress

adohertyh5 Comments

To the adults at the beach, it was December: the light was fading fast, the wind was a bit chilly, and every surfer had a wet suit. To the kids, though, it was summer. A day at the beach is always a slice of summer, with the wave splashes and ambitious sand construction projects to prove it. With the camera down at “kid height,” the beach stretches on forever and I faced a contest in which serious consideration was given to who had created the most imposing edifice.

Sand Fortress

At the Controls

adohertyh4 Comments

UC Berkeley’s student machine shop has a truly fascinating collection of old machines that are still fantastically useful. (I’ve posted on it before.) This particular photograph is of a lathe’s controls–both those for moving the tool bit relative to the metal as well as those for the automatic feeds.

When everything I work with in the laser lab is computer-controlled, it’s refreshing to work with a machine that works entirely from a clever design of gears and cogs. There’s a solidity and strength in a device that is completely independent of interference from microprocessors.

At the Controls