Sunset – Page 13 – Decaseconds

Six (Christmas?) Trees Above Berkeley

2019-Sep-13 adohertyhLeave a comment

Two of my past St. Lawrence University students are working on their Ph.D.s at Berkeley and I discovered yesterday that one was giving her Graduate Research Conference (Berkeley’s version of a thesis defense, but earlier) while the other was in the audience. I’m very proud of both of them.
Understandably, this had me thinking about my experiences at Berkeley. In this picture from Grizzly Peak, the perspective folds together Oakland, San Francisco, and Berkeley. In the foreground, look at those gnarled trees—they’re weird but they’ve grown tall. I’ll take that visual metaphor for the grad school experience. I took this picture on Christmas Day in 2016, so I guess that makes these Christmas trees, too.

Hay Bales at Sunset

2019-Aug-262019-Aug-25 adohertyhLeave a comment

Haying a field in midsummer leaves behind an image with a certain impressionist style, reminiscent of Monet’s haystacks.

Gentle Evening Light on Notre Dame

2019-Jun-24 adohertyhLeave a comment

November afternoons end quickly—close to the winter solstice, the sun disappears while the day is still “young”. Notre Dame’s pre-fire spire looks so calm next to the pastel clouds.

Crenellation Generation

2019-Jun-14 adohertyhLeave a comment

The collegiate gothic architecture of Trinity College developed over decades, but the crenellations atop the Chapel and Downes Hall tie the structures together.

New and Old Wood

2019-May-31 adohertyhLeave a comment

The expanses of wood in the modern architecture of Berkeley’s Energy Biosciences Building contrasts with the timber-framed buildings of old Berkeley across the street. As campus expands and the needs of modern Berkeley grow, I expect most of those older buildings in the space between Shattuck and Oxford will eventually vanish.

A Sunset No Longer Seen

2019-May-202019-May-20 adohertyhLeave a comment

Though UC Berkeley’s Energy Biosciences Building still stands, this particular view of the sunset lighting its wooden overhang is no longer available; the construction of Berkeley Way West in what was once the building’s parking lot has closed off that section of sky.

Triple Tower

2019-May-082019-May-07 adohertyhLeave a comment

Sutro Tower has a Neo-Tokyo style at any time of day, but a hazy orange sunset adds a layer of Blade Runner/Cyberpunk 2077 style to the overwatching structure.

Little Path//Big View

2019-May-032019-May-02 adohertyhLeave a comment

I took this picture two years ago, during a wonderful springtime in Berkeley when a rainy winter had made the hills lush and green. The view is enormous, overwhelming: Oakland, San Francisco, Emeryville, and Berkeley all packed into one. I like the contrast of the tiny path on the green hilltop on the left side of the image providing a quiet contrast.

In Spring, Clear Weather Reveals the Farallon Islands

2019-Apr-242019-Apr-23 adohertyhLeave a comment

Clear spring days are a time when the weather of the east and west coasts unites for a perfect 60ºF and a brilliant sunset. On those days, I could look out from Berkeley Lab and see the Farallones far off shore.

Crowds in Front of Notre Dame

2019-Apr-01 adohertyhLeave a comment

Of the people standing in the dusky light and the long line to enter Notre Dame, it was actually those at the end of the line who were luckiest: they were still outside a few moments later when the lights illuminating the outside of the cathedral activated.

Cartesian Grid of Building 66

2019-Mar-272019-Mar-26 adohertyhLeave a comment

The utilitarian, earthquake-resistant architecture of Berkeley Lab amid the verdant hills of the East Bay seems like a science-fictional setting—a location that can’t possible exist—in contrast to San Francisco in the distance.

Walk in the Park

2019-Mar-25 adohertyhLeave a comment

The density of Manhattan’s skyline makes me appreciate the political will required to preserve public open spaces in urban areas. A visit to Liberty State Park makes for a delightful break from the “concrete jungle”.

Mogul

2019-Mar-202019-Mar-19 adohertyhLeave a comment

The sunset reflected off downtown Manhattan’s towers is the perfect background for a portrait of a mogul.

Golden Dome of Les Invalides

2019-Mar-182019-Mar-19 adohertyhLeave a comment

Among the Lutetian limestone structures of Paris, the golden dome of Les Invalides glows at the moment of sunset. Before its illumination activates, I’m not sure the Tour Eiffel can match it.

Moon Over Brooklyn

2019-Mar-132019-Mar-12 adohertyhLeave a comment

Downtown Manhattan eventually ends, giving way to Brooklyn in the distance under the rising moon. I took this picture at the end of a weekend trip, just before heading back home; there was an appropriate symmetry to a sunset skyline marking the finale of a New York trip.