Sunset – Page 29 – Decaseconds

Underhall

2012-Jul-112012-Jul-11 adohertyhLeave a comment

UCB’s Tolman Hall has a surprising number of urban legends surrounding its uniquely 1960’s appearance. The building is overcrowded and soon to be renovated, but I have to admit that it has a certain charm when the evening light bounces through concrete surfaces of its breezeway. The blues and greens of the shadowed campus and the golden sunset colors are appealing, to be sure, but it’s really the textures that I find so fascinating. The combination of precast and cast-in-place concrete means that there are at least four different textures here, each one reflecting and scattering light in its own, unique way.

Arcs of Transport

2012-Jun-25 adohertyhLeave a comment

Just around the corner from one of my favorite buildings, I found this spot where the curve of a footpath mirrors the curve of the passing road. The last moments of the day make for tiny beams of sunlight around my feet and tapping the tops of trees across the road. The start of summer is a perfect time in California.

Sand Fortress II

2012-Jun-04 adohertyh3 Comments

Watching the sun go down on an empty beach can make me feel like the only person on the planet, but little signs of life will always remain–be it foot prints or, in this case, a sand castle. In comparison with my previous sand castle post, this particularly little fortress is so much calmer, smaller, and more considered.

Port, Bridge, and City

2012-May-25 adohertyh1 Comment

Whenever Photomatix releases an update, I like to go back and see what I can do with old RAW files and new software. This shot is a little bit older now, but I fell in love with the way it captures so much of the Bay Area in a single image: the Port of Oakland on the left, bits of Berkeley on the bottom-right, the Bay Bridge and Yerba Buena in the center, and San Francisco itself on the right. For so much of the year, the sky is absolutely clear until the marine layer blankets the bay in fog. The fog was just sliding over the hills as I took this shot; in a few minutes, the city had disappeared.

Seaside cliff

2012-May-222012-May-20 emceehammrLeave a comment

What I really liked about this shot taken on the California coast (you may recognize the creek from previous postings) is the contrast of the reds in the rock with the green of the shrubs hanging on for dear life. The erosion of the rocks is also particularly pleasing.

Surf Sunset

2012-May-102012-May-08 emceehammrLeave a comment

Beaches are wonderful, no? The surf is so majestic.

Granada Fire Station

2012-May-08 emceehammrLeave a comment

This fire station is right across the street from the beach down in Half Moon Bay. It really adds to the small town vibe, and makes you forget for a second that this place is a destination.

Looking at the waves

2012-May-03 emceehammrLeave a comment

Another shot from our recent excursion to the beach at Half Moon Bay. We were hardly the only folks around but it was still peaceful. Sometimes you just have to enjoy the view.

Boat at Sunset

2012-Apr-27 emceehammr1 Comment

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.

Pillar Point AFS at Sunset

2012-Apr-25 emceehammr1 Comment

Just north of the hotel featured earlier this week is the Pillar Point Air Force Station on the north side of Pillar Point Harbor, itself just north of Half Moon Bay State Beach. This is home to a radar installation (the dome pictured in the background) which looks particularly impressive in the early evening on days like the day this photo was taken.

Ocean Front Hotel

2012-Apr-23 emceehammr1 Comment

This past weekend we shot some photos down in Half Moon Bay on the beach, but as compelling as the beach and bay were, I really thought one of the hotels overlooking the ocean was great. Seated behind a small dune, this place reminds me of places my family used to stay as a kid on the Washington and Oregon coasts.

Rocks and Surf

2012-Apr-202012-Apr-20 emceehammrLeave a comment

Sometimes I forget how awesome real ocean surf is.

Ocean Sunset

2012-Apr-20 emceehammrLeave a comment

Captured at the same beach as the shot posted earlier this week though from a slightly different perspective this time. Here you can get a better look at the waterway connecting with the ocean. I think that the steep bank above the waterway creates a cool looking effect, distorting the sense of scale.

Tide Returns

2012-Apr-17 adohertyh1 Comment

This weekend, Brendan and I blitzed down to Half Moon Bay (or just north of it) to catch the sunset. The beach was arched and curving from the local currents, the waves were seriously up, and I got the camera on the tripod just in time to catch today’s shot.

The Lost(ish) Generation

2012-Apr-07 adohertyh1 Comment

Brendan and I don’t talk much about graduate school (in part because who wants to hear us complain?), but it still has a big impact on how we view the world. Long hours in windowless lab spaces make us really appreciate how amazing it is to feel the sun on your face.

There’s a particular balcony on the seventh floor of Tan Kah Kee Hall that has a clear and unrestricted view of nearly the entire San Francisco bay, and stepping out onto that balcony after spending all day down in lab can be utterly overwhelming. I think this picture really captures that feeling of the sun on my face at the end of a long, and the incredible relief that brings.