The Daily Polaroid

bay bridge

2011-12-16T17:05:00.001-08:00

no message

Trapeze Arts

2011-03-12T12:27:00.000-08:00

Argus Analog Meets Digital

2011-01-26T12:28:00.000-08:00

Orthodox Sunset

2011-01-24T12:34:00.000-08:00

The sunset view from the Oakland Greek church plaza

Peach & Blue, 2.0

2011-01-02T23:19:00.000-08:00

Winter in Vancouver is peach and blue; the sun, when it's out, is so direct and so slanted, you have to stop and bask in the warmth of it. But it's far away, and while it's so blinding and intrusive, it's also weak and full of shadows.

Winter Sun

2011-01-02T21:54:00.000-08:00

Porteau afternoon

Gastown Nitelife

2011-01-01T22:58:00.000-08:00

Damn, it's cold. I got three shots off before Nico threatened to leave me there to shoot alone.

Beware of bears

2011-01-01T22:43:00.000-08:00

A new year begins

2011-01-01T20:01:00.000-08:00

Our first frosty morning

Last of the sun

2010-12-30T22:52:00.000-08:00

Aquabus

2010-12-30T15:23:00.000-08:00

Peach & Blue

2010-12-29T22:50:00.000-08:00

A Taste of Europe

2010-12-29T22:45:00.000-08:00

Snow and Sunshine

2010-12-28T21:48:00.000-08:00

I know that snow is a common enough occurrence in many areas, even a nuisance, but for me, it's an uncommon miracle that I'm lucky to see once a year. So the feel of it, the sight of it, the textures and the light, are new again- and it feels wonderful every time.

In Vancouver, the sun sets over the PNE rollercoaster- at about 4 O'clock.

Gastown

2010-12-26T22:09:00.000-08:00

This was really from '09, I guess I dated it incorrectly, exactly a year ago.
Funny though, because Gastown is right down the street from me now, and I want to go down and shoot some nice pictures.

Snow

2010-12-26T17:08:00.001-08:00

Christmas in Vancouver

2010-12-25T15:43:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve, Granville Island

2010-12-24T15:53:00.000-08:00

Sciue

2010-12-23T21:05:00.000-08:00

Fish

2010-12-22T21:09:00.000-08:00

Urban Details

2010-12-22T16:03:00.000-08:00

Dia de los Muertos

2010-11-01T08:14:00.000-07:00

The Family that burns together, stays together

2010-10-10T10:36:00.000-07:00

Bike Town

2010-08-04T17:44:00.000-07:00

Vancouver is a bike town. And a joy to ride in.
Can you tell?

Porteau

2010-08-01T23:35:00.000-07:00

Today we all drove up the coast towards Whislter on the Sea to Sky highway. We only drove about 25 minutes past the Lion's Gate Bridge (Vacouver's Golden Gate) up into a long bay full of forested islands that look like emerald mountains floating in a narrow sea. The horizon is full of these islands that rise to hazy peaks layered between each other, fading into the distance for as far as you can see. We are in Howe Sound, the southernmost fjord in North America. The coastline was well worth sitting in Gay Pride traffic all the way downtown.
We stopped at a small provincial beach called Porteau which sits on a small peninsula that juts out into the sound. It's full trails that wind through evergreen forests with tidy little campsites who's backdoor view looks straight across the sound from a sandy beach. There's a jetty and a boat launch. I was surprised to find a large group of Scuba Divers off shore, and when I dipped my toes into the water the water wasn't nearly as icy as I anticipated... in fact, it felt warmer than Alamitos Bay. Most likely because the water is fairly shallow there, and the sun has been shining well for weeks. This was our first cloudy day this trip.

Vancouver's Festival OF LIGHTS!

2010-07-31T00:16:00.000-07:00

How convenient for Nico and Marcia that their birthday weekend coincides with so many fun celebrations around Vancouver. There is Gay Pride, The Japanese Cultural festival, the Latino Sol carnival (the salsa was thumping across the street all day long), and the Festival of Light. Different countries have been shooting off fireworks all month- Mexico was a few days ago, and tonight's finale performance was by China.

In Strathcona

2010-07-30T23:30:00.000-07:00

Pinche Tacos

2010-07-29T09:12:00.000-07:00

The Latin Quarter

2010-07-28T23:45:00.000-07:00

Does every great city have a "Latin Quarter"? If not, it should!
Tonight we joined the great hordes of Vancouverites, donned our helmets, jumped on our bikes in sundresses and shorts, and rode up to The Drive for an evening cocktail at a cafe whose live Brazilian music wafted beyond our ears, out of the open windows spilling into the street of Commercial Drive. As we sat at our checkered cloth table, we sipped mojitos and wine and gazed out to the sidewalk. Young, hipster parents smiled by, babies riding on their tattooed shoulders. One Dad's t-shirt declared, "Say Hello to my little friend"- indeed I wanted to squeeze the cheeks of the 8 month old riding high above his head. As they passed, I admired the pair of butterflies tattooed on the back of his mommy's arms. Biking is a popular form of transportation here- babies ride in special racks fit onto the handlebars, older children follow behind in carts and on their own attached bikes. One passerby first caught our attention as she walked by with a bike that had a steering wheel instead of a handlebar, then held it because she had the shoulders of a weightlifter, and the outfit of a 13 year old- denim skirt with pepto-pink leggings and all. She had a bounce in her step that said, "I may be a middle-aged man on the outside, but I'm a fun loving teenage girl on the inside".
Our window seat became more and more crowded as the sky so gradually turned a darker shade of indigo, and more and more friends came to dance to the samba beat, singing along in Portuguese. Time to head back downhill, sundress flittering in the wind behind me as the stars twinkled above the mountains beyond the harbour cranes.

Mike Miller

2010-07-22T12:31:00.000-07:00

Had to get a shot of Zoe in front of Mike Miller's display at West Elm.
Would love to have had these pillows on the sofa when we lived in the Mission together.
I recognized a dog he used to pet sit, it's silhouette reminds me of him.

Signal Hill Diptych

2010-07-18T21:34:00.000-07:00

Grape Jelly

2010-07-08T21:15:00.000-07:00

Spa Weekend

2010-06-27T21:25:00.000-07:00

On my first weekend away from the kids, even sitting in the airport waiting for my flight home was pure un-lax-ation. As much as I love my giant toddler, I looked forward to seeing my little ones.

Dane & Gwynne's Birthday Spa Weekend

2010-06-26T21:06:00.000-07:00

To celebrate Dane & Gwynnes' birthdays, 40th birthdays at that, we took a special spa weekend trip to the Inland Empire. I booked us a room at the Mission Inn in Riverside and we proceeded to unwind.

Psychelic Furs at The Grove, Anaheim

2010-06-25T21:04:00.000-07:00

Road Sunset, almost home

2010-06-20T20:57:00.000-07:00

Round and round

2010-06-18T21:27:00.000-07:00

Long Beach Childhood

2010-06-15T20:58:00.000-07:00

i5 Sunset

2010-06-10T19:58:00.000-07:00

Cloud Making Machine

2010-06-03T19:56:00.000-07:00

Saul's Bagel is my bagel

2010-06-01T16:20:00.000-07:00

Oakland Small Dogs Unite!

2010-05-30T16:19:00.000-07:00

Bonfire

2010-05-28T16:18:00.000-07:00

Chris' visit

2010-05-28T16:16:00.000-07:00

Contigo

2010-05-26T16:21:00.000-07:00

Stone Fruit

2010-05-23T16:14:00.000-07:00

Sidsy likes birds in the morning

2010-05-22T16:06:00.000-07:00

SoMa Scenes

2010-04-30T16:11:00.000-07:00

In the Haight

2010-04-29T16:10:00.000-07:00

Echo and the Bunnymen

2010-04-19T16:07:00.000-07:00

Chair Lift

2010-04-14T23:16:00.000-07:00

Post dentist lunch at the Grove

West Oakland boyee

2010-04-14T23:07:00.000-07:00

It used to be the Emporium

2010-04-11T23:04:00.000-07:00

Spring Blossoms

2010-04-07T23:05:00.000-07:00

Does a bear hide in the woods?

2010-04-07T23:02:00.000-07:00

Anniversary flowers

2010-03-26T22:10:00.000-07:00

Birthday Cake

2010-03-21T22:09:00.000-07:00

2010-03-20T22:11:00.000-07:00

Laurel Evening Light

2010-02-19T22:33:00.000-08:00

Now what's not to smile about?

2010-02-07T22:35:00.000-08:00

Sand Angels

2010-01-28T22:21:00.000-08:00

Tide Line

2010-01-16T10:40:00.000-08:00

Big Truck, Little Truck

2010-01-15T10:42:00.000-08:00

Fly

2010-01-13T10:44:00.000-08:00

Out to Dinner

2010-01-12T10:39:00.000-08:00

Michelle

Big Coaster

2010-01-09T16:14:00.000-08:00

Little guy watches the big roller coaster

Loving Hands

2010-01-09T10:37:00.000-08:00

Bomboloni

2010-01-08T22:17:00.000-08:00

After walking through Union Square, I really started craving something sweet. So seeing the Ferry Building at the end of Market, I headed towards the bay. I knew exactly what would fill the bill- and I intended to earn it by walking, no, skipping all the way through the financial district. There is this little Italian import stand in the market place that has... um... I don't know what else they sell, tables full of whatevercrap, but they sell the most delicious bomboloni- a moist, soft, pillow of fried dough with a gooey filling (way better than a jelly doughnut, but similar). My favorite is filled with custard. Usually, I dance around the murky tank of live crabs next door. I gaze blankly at the earthy smelling mushroom stand across the aisle. All the while, trying to go past... run down the hall... ignore them! Ignore them! You don't need one of those soft, cream filled pillows of decadence! Look at the wine; look at the bay around the corner- look at the ceiling of window panes high above, but do NOT look directly at the sparkling sugar sprinkled dough balls!!
Usually, it's all I can do to try to ignore their siren call.
But today, I EARNED it. I walked briskly, with fried dough intention. But to my mouth's horror (and my hips' thanks), the pastry chef is on Vacation. Oh well. Now where is Miette....

Ferry Market

2010-01-08T21:43:00.000-08:00

Self guided tour

2010-01-08T20:35:00.000-08:00

Mission Dolores

2010-01-07T22:40:00.000-08:00

Moss Beach Seals

2010-01-03T17:40:00.000-08:00

Falling Snow

2009-12-29T11:26:00.000-08:00

Beluga

2009-12-28T11:24:00.000-08:00

Bright Nights

2009-12-27T11:39:00.000-08:00

Gastown

2009-12-26T22:09:00.000-08:00

Silver Lining

2009-12-26T11:22:00.000-08:00

Frosty Christmas

2009-12-25T11:19:00.000-08:00

Sighting

2009-12-24T11:17:00.000-08:00

Olympic Spirit?

2009-12-23T11:21:00.000-08:00

Potty time

2009-12-22T22:07:00.000-08:00

Bowl of Comfort

2009-12-22T17:35:00.000-08:00

One steaming hot bowl of comfort. Ravioli soup.

Fall Colors

2009-12-05T11:31:00.000-08:00

Aloha, Hanalei

2009-11-15T22:34:00.000-08:00

Until next time...

Hanalei Valley Flood

2009-11-14T16:36:00.000-08:00

Kauai, who's mountain sees more rain than anywhere else on Earth, endured a huge amount of rain today. Personally, I have never seen more rain fall from the sky- and for so long. It started in the middle of the night with lightning and thunder. Booming thunder! The lightning was so bright, the light woke me up. And then the booms began to follow. The wind roared and the rain pounded everything and whipped at the windows. The thunder was so loud, I put a pillow over my head while the house bolted and shook. The lightning and booming went on for a long time until finally, the booms were more and more delayed after the lightning, until they slowly faded into the distance as I drifted back to sleep. All the while the rain continued to pour down.
In the morning I woke up hearing the rain, knowing that it had never slowed down. We headed towards Hanalei for our morning coffee, but were stopped at the Princeville police station where a roadblock had been set up- the road to Hanalei was closed. Breakfast came and went, and by 10 AM, the time when the daily drizzles usually gave way to blue skies, the rain gave no signs of slowing down in the least. We decided to head out to the other (drier) side of the island. We were soaked running to the car. We could barely see out the window. As we headed out, we saw waterfalls blooming across every mountain. The rain finally started to let up when we hit Poipu and we were able to enjoy some beach time (and some puka dogs). But as we reached the beach, it was announced on the radio that the Kalihiwai bridge had been closed due to a landslide, and there was no word on when it might open. We were stuck in Poipu.
Luckily, by the time we were ready to go home, it was announced that the Kalihiwai bridge had reopened. We stopped by the overlook above the Hanalei valley, just before the spot where the road to Hanalei was still closed. There was finally a break in the rain and everyone was there to see the same thing- countless waterfalls streaming down the mountains behind a flooded Hanalei valley. The valley was full of muddy water, the taro plants drowned from sight, the road gone, the houses knee deep in water.
Locals were saying that in 15 years or more, they had never seen so much rain.
Residents stuck in Hanalei stayed with friends who blew up mattresses and welcomed the company. Unfortunately, Hanalei had no running water, and didn't still on Monday, when we left.
By Sunday, the flood waters had receded and the road to Hanalei opened. The taro plants looked as if they had never drowned. The river looked as it had before. Rainbows greeted us during our morning coffee at Java Kai. Sunlight illuminated the mountains of the Na Pali coast. Baby chickens were getting great meals of washed up worms in the grass. A great last morning in Hanalei.

Here is a view of the post storm waterfalls above the valley, and then below, the flood waters beginning to recede.

Ke'e Beach, Kauai

2009-11-13T22:42:00.000-08:00

End of the line for landlubbers wearing flip flops.

Secret Beach, near Kilauea, Kauai

2009-11-11T17:56:00.000-08:00

Portuguese Man of War, washed up by the storm. These were all over the beach. Good thing I wore my trusty Tevas!

Trail to Anini Beach

2009-11-09T22:49:00.000-08:00

Still fighting this nasty cold, so everyone left me at the condo today to rest while they headed off to Poipu for the day. It poured rain in quick bursts all morning. When the clouds dispersed and the sun came out, I decided to walk down to the beach, to rest in the sun. The very steep trail consisted of red mud, 6 inches deep. Starting at the top of the bluff, it slid quickly downhill, through a forest of flowering trees beside the golf course, into a thick jungle of mangrove at the bottom that opened up suddenly onto a quiet, golden sandy cove. Luckily, a friendly neighbor offered me a ride back to the top.

Taro

2009-11-09T22:28:00.000-08:00

Hanalei church

2009-11-08T17:03:00.000-08:00

Sunrise at Hanalei

2009-11-08T16:59:00.000-08:00

Sunrise at Hanalei Bay

Dia de los Muertos

2009-11-01T08:14:00.000-08:00

Jack O' Lanterns

2009-10-24T17:40:00.000-07:00

The harbinger

2009-10-18T11:51:00.000-07:00

This tree is always the first to turn.
Summer is gone, and fall is here. But nature is just barely starting to show us what's ahead. Every year, during my fall runs through Redwood, I notice this single tree changing colors before any others. Not all of the trees here turn colors, just a few- one right after the other. And some leaves never change at all. Some turn yellow, and then drop. Some just drop. And many trees here stay green all year, thank goodness. I know soon my weekend runs will come to an end, right when I need them the most. Soon it will be too cold to come here at all. And this tree reminds of that.

The Fox

2009-10-01T11:37:00.000-07:00

Juju kisses

2009-09-28T11:40:00.000-07:00

Oakland sunset view

2009-09-28T11:34:00.000-07:00

Ferris Wheel

2009-09-26T22:38:00.000-07:00

Evening through the screen

2009-09-25T10:59:00.000-07:00

You will not find a straw

2009-09-23T11:06:00.000-07:00

At the Latin American Club