Here's page 2 of my 2003 pictures that didn't fit anywhere else. If you haven't
seen them already, check out page one!
In a botanical garden at Mills College.
Running across a jogging trail.
This ship is carrying the roadbed of the new Carquinez bridge. It's a suspension
bridge so the towers and cables were built in place but the roadbed's another
story. They shipped the segments from Japan and periodically it goes over to
the bridge and they raise a new section. Apparently one ship carries eight of
the twenty four segments. This view is from the parking lot at work.
Burrowing Owl. Near the bay in Berkeley near the marina. Burrowing owls are
these cool little owls that live mostly in abandoned burrows from squirrels
and so forth. They're not doing so well because so much of their habitat has
been destroyed. In fact, they're officially endangered in Canada as of 1995.
Things aren't quite as grim here but the way things are going it seems like
it's just a matter of time. This guy is hanging out during the day on some rocks
watching joggers go by.
California Clapper Rail. These are endangered (and have been since 1970 in its
entire range) and they spend a lot of time hiding and running around in plants
about their own height. It's rare to see one out in the open like this, even
for a second or two. I got really lucky with this shot - I was taking a picture
of something else, saw movement nearby, realized what it was and grabbed a series
of shots as it dashed through an opening. Only the one shot was more or less
unobstructed - the had a plant in front of some part of the bird.
The digital part makes it really easy to try things, check the results, and
try again. Here's a little tiny spider. I was able to try different things and
get some kind of OK result after a little practice. It's not everything I would
hope for, but it's a start and I'll have more experience next time. This kind
of close-up work turns out to be a lot harder than it looks! There are all kinds
of trade offs and it isn't obvious (at least to me) what tradeoff is worth it.
Note that this isn't a crop at all - in the full image you can see more detail
but the files are really huge. Also note that at this kind of working distance
it's impossible to keep a big area in focus which is why the body is sharp but
the ends of the legs aren't.
See the rest of Eljay.org - Travel Photos and Trip Reports