Ocean – Decaseconds

Trio vs. Trio

2023-Jan-162023-Jan-15 adohertyhLeave a comment

I found myself returning to one of my earliest Decaseconds posts (almost exactly 11 years ago) as I updated my Top 32 album on Flickr—the digital portfolio where I display my best (or simply favorite) photographs. Finding “Waves and Rocks Dwarf Man” in that set, I saw both the excellent light and composition that my old Nikon had captured in 2011, as well as all of the places where my choices in processing the original image now left my unsatisfied. Rather than simply reprocessing that original image, I went back to the folder of camera raws from that day and selected an image I took just moments later to tackle. (Always keep save those raw files!) I not only like this composition better than the older one, but I also feel that I have brought something new out here, rather than simply reprocessing something old.

Watching the Waves in Brazil

2019-May-222019-May-21 adohertyh3 Comments

Standing on the cliffs of Florianopolis, Brazil in spring is just the time to record a “picture postcard” image.

Up and Down Humarock

2019-May-062019-May-05 adohertyhLeave a comment

May has brought summery weather to the North Country and reminds me of summers past. The rock-strewn beaches of Humarock, outside Boston, provided the backdrop to boyhood Junes and Julys.

The Old Grid

2017-Jul-192017-Jul-19 adohertyhLeave a comment

My favorite cities are those with borders artificially constrained by water (like San Francisco, Hong Kong, or Manhattan), usually leading to towering structures and high density. San Francisco’s situation was different for a long time; a subset of NIMBY residents (alongside an array of other economic factors) meant that this grid of smaller buildings persists, in spite of housing shortages and corresponding high housing prices. As this slowly changes and the city begins to warm to the idea of new development, this uniform grid of little buildings might someday shift.

Currents Beyond the Gate

2017-May-31 adohertyhLeave a comment

The Bay Area features a surprisingly large number of preserved open spaces. The lone figure on the hillside, looking from the relative emptiness of the Marin Headlands across to the grid of San Francisco residences, emphasizes the point well.

Crepuscular Rays

2017-Mar-30 emceehammrLeave a comment

Golden Gate

2017-Feb-032017-Feb-02 adohertyh2 Comments

The Pacific Ocean meets the San Francisco Bay through the Golden Gate. With so much happening in a concentrated location, the density of interesting stuff frankly demands a panorama to capture it all. I particularly like the tiny shape of Alcatraz, floating off to the left with its windows reflecting the setting sun.

Saturday Afternoon on the Pier

2016-Sep-30 adohertyhLeave a comment

Spending an afternoon on the pier in Pacifica, CA is as good a time as any. Crab fishing has its varied sets of tools and techniques, but the experience to me has been about more than that. Cooking on a portable hibachi and getting crusty with salt spray is the real core of the process.

Golden Coast

2016-Sep-29 emceehammrLeave a comment

Feeling nostalgic.

Resilient Tree at Sunset

2016-Sep-28 adohertyhLeave a comment

Of all the plant phyla, I’ve always felt a particular affinity for the conifers. Those spiny softwood survivors have a diverse yet particular set of aromatic compounds that accompany them; I can chart a lot of happy memories to pine or cypress groves and their applied organic chemistry. Starting on the east coast, through the midwest, and finding myself in grad school on the west coast meant contact with a lot of different species. These ocean-wind-sculpted examples from Pacifica, California are particularly dramatic.

Surf and Surf

2016-Sep-08 emceehammrLeave a comment

North Carolina has beaches for miles.

California Coast II

2016-Sep-07 adohertyhLeave a comment

Looking back on some of my earliest shots of the California coastline this evening: Light-leaked soft blues and golds are the colors. Is the soundtrack the jangle of surf music guitars or just the crashing of waves?

Rough Coast

2016-Jul-22 adohertyh2 Comments

California coastline is so much bumpier and more dramatic than the eastern locations I grew up with. Can you spot the two tiny people on the left cliff, overlooking the water? Nothing like a couple of tiny people to provide a sense of scale.

Another California Coastline

2016-Jul-13 adohertyhLeave a comment

Coastlines are so common in stretches of California that they are just a bit mundane. The subdivisions and mid-twentieth-century houses along the shore just don’t seem exotic or strange enough for a “special” place. Seeing a picture like this one makes mid-80s synths play in my head.

Cliffs at La Jolla Shores

2016-Jun-08 adohertyhLeave a comment

La Jolla Shores is a righteous beach: good swimming, okay surfing (I’m told), and excellent Southern California sights. As mid-twentieth-century architecture has grown on me, I’ve even come to appreciate the homes and UC buildings overlooking the beach—but what must it have been like to visit here 100 years ago?