Category: Photography

Today’s digital postcard

Post author By Shelley Powers
Post date July 2, 2003

The fog was out today, but not so heavy that it triggered the fog horns on Golden Gate. Too bad, really – the fog combined with the horns is unique and one of my favorite experiences.

No dogs on Dog Beach. It looks like pooches are now banned in an effort to protect the wildlife. I can understand the choice, but I did enjoy watching the pups play in the waves.

Still, I imagine the birdlife on the beach is pretty happy about the new laws.

The Ferry Building is finished and the Tower Clock was working when I drove past it to get to the hotel. The Famer’s Market has moved there, and I plan on visiting the building first thing in the morning. I remember the Ferry Building as a hulk of a building, with only the steel frame and front and what was left of the tower.

The park along the Embarcadero where I used to live, down by the Bay Bridge, is also finished. Looks like a huge Bow and Arrow sculpture has been added. Another place to visit tomorrow.

Having a great time. Wish you were here.

Photography Places

Fog

Post author By Shelley Powers
Post date July 1, 2003

The fog was out today, but not so heavy that it triggered the fog horns on Golden Gate. Too bad, really — the fog combined with the horns is unique and one of my favorite experiences.

No dogs on Dog Beach. It looks like pooches are now banned in an effort to protect the wildlife. I can understand the choice, but I did enjoy watching the pups play in the waves.

Still, I imagine the birdlife on the beach is pretty happy about the new laws.

The park along the Embarcadero where I used to live, down by the Bay Bridge, is also finished. Looks like a huge Bow and Arrow sculpture has been added. Another place to visit tomorrow.

Having a great time. Wish you were here.

Photography Travel

The road goes on and on, and on and on

Post author By Shelley Powers
Post date July 1, 2003

When I’m on the road, I’ll either sleep like a baby or toss and turn all night, and this trip is a tosser and turner. Normally I take great joy in road trips, but this one just isn’t clicking for me. It shows in my writing, and it showed in my driving, which was, frankly, pretty bad today. Not because of the car I was driving but because I kept doing stupid things. Stupid, stupid things.

I decided to see if I could wake up my interest in the trip by varying my route and going I70 through the Rockies to Castle Canyon in Utah, and then travel up I15 to Salt Lake City.

As I expected the scenery was incredible, and I’ve included some photos in this post. Note that the day was very hazy, so the colors and lines are muted. But I think you can see at least a glimpse of the beauty of the scenery of I70 west of Denver.

First comes the Rockies, and my roommates poor old van had a difficult time making the steep grade. I was further slowed because around every corner is another breathtaking moment, and by the time I entered Utah, I was far behind my scheduled arrival in Nevada tonight.

Utah was hot, hot, hot — 105 degrees F. But again, around every corner was another vista, formation, bit of color what have you that I had to explore and capture. Even when it meant walking around in the desert and around rocks at these temperatures.

(One legacy of this adventure — a headache that began with the altitude change in Colorado and was continued with the temperatures in Utah.)

The oddest thing happened along I70 just before making the turn to I15 to head north — these bugs were crawling across the road, big ones that looked like a cross between a giant red bee and some kind of beetle. They were a dark reddish brown, all one color, and they crawled quite quickly. I would estimate their size at 1-2 inches long. I tried not to run any over, but it was impossible as more appeared as I traveled.

Now, what was even more disconcerting is that several ‘attacked’ the van as I drove past, or at least, that’s what it looked like. They hopped at the van as it went by. To me this suggests an attack. Perhaps they’re a hitchhiking species.

The further I traveled the more bugs, until at one bridge, there were literally hundreds, perhaps thousands, crawling across the road. I never, in my life, wanted a car to work as I wanted the van to work today. Do not break down, I found myself whispering.

I have no idea what these bugs are, and have never experienced anything like this. True, I’ve had little sleep the last few days, but I’m not imagining the critters. At least, I hope I’m not — I still have several hundred miles to drive. I know that I’ll have nightmares tonight from this one, which is probably why I’m still up writing this post. If anyone knows what these things are, please, please, let me know.

I ended up getting into Salt Lake City at 9:30. Bone tired. I have another day of driving tomorrow, which I am not looking forward to. However, I’ll have time in San Fran to rest up before trip home, the fogs are in this week (my favorite San Fran weather), and I won’t need to make another run to the coast for anything other than pleasure in the future.

At this point, though, what I want is to stay close to home. To continue my exploration of Missouri’s hikes and culture; to work on the Wayward Weblogger co-op server (the neighborhood is filling nicely); to contribute to Echo and some other RDF projects. Not to mention write and take more bandwidth stealing photos.

For the first time in I don’t know how long, I don’t want to travel. I don’t want to go somewhere. If a rolling stone gathers no moss, then I want to grow some moss on my butt.

outdoors Photography Places

Water, water everywhere

Post author By Shelley Powers
Post date June 27, 2003

Recovered from the Wayback Machine.

I spent the afternoon and early evening at the Busch Wilderness Center, exploring the 35 lakes contained within the area. For an out-of-water nymph like myself, just drifting between the lakes — small and large — was like coming home. What was especially delightful, wonderful, and surprising is that each lake has it’s own personality — no two were alike.

Most of the lakes weren’t much more than larger ponds, though Lake 33 was quite large, with it’s own overflow area, associated stream and wetland. Big enough for several boats, and the Wilderness Center rents boats for fishermen — fishing is quite popular, as you can imagine.

Some of the lakes were pure catch and release, while others you could keep what you caught up to a limit. No bass under 18 inches, I remember that one, but what the heck are ‘crappies’? Regardless of the rules, the fishermen I saw seemed to be happy just to be out, in the sun, line in the water, eyes half shut looking at the far shore.

But what the heck are crappies?

There were so few people that many of the lakes I visited had no one else around and I could sit by the water, watching the birds and the fish jumping at the dragon flies overhead. The weather was warm but not hot, and though there was some humidity I think I’ve adapted to it, because I’m finding that I enjoy it.

It’s a serene feeling, walking by the lake, warm humid air wrapping around you, sweat on your upper lip, and trickling down the small of your back — holding the cool breezes blowing in across the water.

I was surprised at the plant life at the Center, and I’ve seen enough Missouri Green to know what I should have expected. I expected the bushes and trees and grasses, but not the tiger lilies, yellow daisies, purple thistles, and pink primroses.

Still, the stars of this show were the lakes, bright sapphires among the green.

The road leading to all of the lakes is yet more crushed limestone, with some pretty significant pot holes. If the view didn’t slow you down, or the road didn’t do the trick, the baby rabbits that positively crawled all over the place would. I got to the point that I almost ran off the road, peering into the bushes on either side to see if a bunny was going to run in front of the car.

Can you imagine how bad you’d feel, running over a baby bunny? Well, I can. I got so paranoid at one point, I stopped for a brown leaf in the road.

I didn’t walk through the trails too much, because they were so badly overgrown. Not being afraid to walk during the summer is one thing — walking into a thicket of tics is another. My mama raised no fool.

But there was an honest to goodness stand of pines, I had to explore. It was so unusual to see the tall evergreen tress, with little of the traditional Missouri undergrowth. I’ve become so used to the persistent, all over pervasive green.

But, back to the water. Water water, everywhere.

Me and my love of water. I can’t go near water without using all of my ‘film’ — space on my digital chip — on pictures of the water, near the water, boats on the water, and so on. Cute bunnies and pretty flowers may come and go, but there’s always more room for yet another reflection, or another boat.

Photography Weblogging

Pics, stuff

Post author By Shelley Powers
Post date June 23, 2003

I spent most of the weekend on the server, but also some time on the essay “Internet for Poets: DNS – what’s in a name”. I must finish this tomorrow because the thing is beginning to look like a book. It’s been fun, though. And far less challenging then configuring sendmail on the new server.

I’ve had little time for reading other weblogs this weekend, much less to respond to any in this weblog or in comments. Liz wrote an essay on Women’s Voices, related to women and technology, and women speaking out. Though I winced when I read her description of me as being prickly and difficult at times, I do think the conversation she wanted to start became derailed along the way, and that’s unfortunate. As for me joining me in? Nah, I have little to say.

A healthier focus for me, right now, is on something I can control, something that’s very positive, such as the co-op server (which I have to get finished quickly, my current hosting arrangement ends in a week), the “__for poets” essays, and my photography and other personal rather than social writing.

No battles this week. Next week. Maybe.

I did go for a walk late yesterday afternoon, and found a couple of photos to post. If I’m not entertaining you with my antics and wars, at least I can take all your bandwidth with my pics.

I took my roommate to see the Busch wildlife refuge yesterday and we spent a quiet time with the turtles, bullfrogs, watching the sunset and getting bitten by mosquitoes. Both of my arms are covered in bites, and one elbow is swollen twice its size from the bites.

But oh, it was worth it.

Lilly Pads and the sound of bullfrogs

Curious turtles who followed us as we walked the wooden bridges over the water, lifting their heads out of the water to see what we were about. Sometimes accompanied by fish.

Sunset. Nuff said.

Refuge observation blind as dusk settles into night