HDR Photography
Today’s guest post comes courtesy of Colin Hill.
Here is the boat lauch ramp on the shores of Lake Pontoosuc, just north of Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Although spring has arrived and the sun takes longer to disappear behind the mountains in the distance, the water is still icy cold to the touch.
Sunset over Puget Sound are always something special (assuming its not too overcast!), with views towards mountains and the silhouettes of small pleasure craft anchored just off shore.
Oakland isn’t always the most gorgeous place to behold, with more than its fair share of graffiti-laden, disused industrial areas. (You can see little hints of them for yourself in today’s shot.) When I get down to the San Francisco Bay, and the tenor changes, I can appreciate it so much more. Unlike the east seaboard of the U.S., much of which has a consistent architectural style, the Bay is a mish-mash of little buildings that fulfilled whatever roles were needed when they were constructed. I get a warm, satisfied feeling from the way the chaotic clutter of boats separates the sometimes-distressing Oakland from the clean, crisp water of the Bay.
Berkeley Marina is a wrench-shaped peninsula in the San Francisco Bay; the “handle” supports a bumpy road to the area itself, while the “head” has docks and a smattering of yacht clubs, restaurants, and smaller hotels aimed at the people mooring there. The larger boats (mostly of the sailing variety) are in the center of the Marina, but on the southern side, in a slightly-sheltered area, are the docks for the much smaller boats. Here, locals come to learn the basics of sailing and wind surfing in the shadow of the Port of Oakland and its massive container crains.
Having taken sailing lessons here myself, I can confirm that the placidity is an illusion. In a boat with a center board instead of a keel, the degree of resistance to the wind is much less, and the crew is required to really use their weight to control these little boats. Today’s shot captures the boats as I prefer to remember: ready to sail, but sitting calmly at the dock.
In Pillar Point harbor there were a couple of lonely boats anchored here and there, and not moored to a pier. As the sunset I grabbed a shot of this one silhouetted against the setting sun.
Decaseconds 