The Rolling Stones, The Cow Palace, Daly City, July 16th, 1975

The Rolling Stones came to the Cow Palace, a giant barn used to host horse shows and various conventions, for two nights in the middle of July way back in 1975, about 39 years ago! Yikes! So, with my new Epson scanner, I decided to re-visit these slides, which have held up very well considering. The only thing I remember is that I was using a Nikon FM and a 300mm fixed-focal Vivitar lens, a very slow and heavy one at that.

Greek Islands

I thought it was time to return to some travel photography and revisit some of my favorite places. One such favorite is the Greek Islands, which we haven't set foot on since 2005, almost nine years now. I really need to get back there with better photographic equipment. These four examples were taken with the Konica-Minolta Dimage A2, an 8-megapixel camera with a 28-200 built in lens. It has, by today's standards, a tiny "1 1/2 by "1 inch articulated screen on the back, not that great for "chimping" It also has an optical viewfinder that tilts up 90 degrees for waist level shooting. It was also the first camera, if memory serves, to switch from optical viewfinder to the back LCD when you move your eye from one to the other. The top two photographs are from Santorini, our personal vote for "best island in the world". Below that are a church in Mykonos, an island we have visited twice on day trips but never stayed on, and Hydra, a remarkable little island an hour south of Athens by ferry. We stayed there for three nights and days of complete relaxation. Walking, swimming, taking pictures, and enjoying the outstanding Greek cuisine.

Life on the Farm, Corvallis

My wife and I got the grand tour of my son's sustainable farm venture, Farmland LP, in Corvallis, Oregon, over Easter weekend. A lot has changed since my first visit two years ago. The bottom photograph shows eagles flying over a large pasture where ewes and their lambs are grazing. There is some attrition with newborns and the eagles are ready to take advantage. Above that is a ewe with her two newborns about 15 minutes old. When we walked by this paddock a little later, she had cleaned up the lambs completely. Chickens, sheep, cows, and pigs are spread out over the three main plots of land that make up the Corvallis part of Farmland LP. 

Abstracts From The Air

This is a series of abstract photographs taken seconds apart as we climbed out of San Jose en route to Portland. The wing of the 2 engine Bombardier prop jet was above me, allowing for a good view below. Photographs taken with the  Sony RX 100, still my favorite take with me anywhere camera.

Snapshots of Opening Day, Oakland A's, April 2, 2014

For the past few years, my wife and I, along with our friends the Tennants, have been guests at the Oakland A's opening game which includes a pre-game food and wine fest two hours before the first pitch. Our hosts are Mike and Kathy Crowley, Mike being my former third baseman back in the day and current team president of the A's. This year both the Crowley girls, Paige and Meigan, were in attendance as well. With seats right behind the A's dugout, we were sitting in the Catbird Seat for sure. The bottom photo shows Paige posing with the famous Banjo Man who attends every home game and strums the thing tunelessly but enthusiastically almost non-stop. Paige jumped up from her seat and went down a few rows to visit with him when he sat down for a break. Above that is the crowd welcoming former A's great Ricky Henderson when he was honored before the game.

Neil Finn in San Francisco, April 1, 2014

Last Monday night, Neil Finn, leader of my favorite band, Crowded House, swept into San Francisco at the Palace of Fine Arts on his solo tour with a group of young, highly talented, and empathetic musicians. Any evening with this stellar New Zealander is a treat and this performance was no exception. I tried a slow shutter speed for shot number three, just for fun, and like the resulting blur. All shots taken with the Sony RX 100 at 125th of a second, F1.8 and ISOs ranging from 1000 to 3200. A nice night with dinner before the show with three other couples.