Bruce Airborne, Oakland Coliseum, 1980

This had to be one of the last shows I ever shot with an SLR and a long lens. I had been lucky to see Springsteen a few times in smaller venues than the Oakland Coliseum, a cavernous basketball arena, but the view looking down on the stage from my seat off the floor gave me a different perspective. I was also with friends who had never seen him before, and it was enjoyable for me to see their reactions to his three hour performance. I was using an inexpensive, slow 300 mm tele but came away with a few keepers because the light was good. There's no way I could hand hold one of those monsters today.

Bruce Springsteen, Santa Clara University, October 3, 1976

In the middle of a big nation-wide tour in 1976, Bruce Springsteen filled a date at Toso Pavillion on the Santa Clara University campus. For some reason, I lucked out into front row seats. I was so close, I had trouble focusing. I actually had to lean backwards to get accurate focus. Shot number two shows The Big Man, the late Clarence Clemons, and in number four, "Miami" Steve Van Zandt of "Sopranos" fame. Bruce and Stevie share the microphone in the third photograph. I was using Kodak Ektachrome slide film at 400 ASA and a Nikon FM 2 with a lens I can't remember. Good memories.

Graham Parker and the Rumour Down the Years

Ever since the first time I heard Graham Parker and the Rumour, probably on KSAN in San Francisco, I was hooked. Recently, I bought a dedicated film scanner to replace my dead one and set out to scan some decades-old slides. Even though it's a flat-bed model, it runs rings around my old Canon model which took forever to complete the same task my new Epson is doing in a third of the time. These photographs are from three shows, The Old Waldorf in 1979 when Parker was at the height of his career, the Savoy Hotel in 1976 when I saw him for the first time, and Winterland in 1977 when he opened for Thin Lizzy. The photos were taken with the Nikon FM 2 and a lens I can't remember. Kodak Ectachrome 400 slide film, if I recall.

Rain at Last and a Bird

Here it is February 2nd and we're finally getting some rain. Normally, I don't really enjoy rain, but we've been without it for so long, it's a welcome sight. The second photograph is of a bird my wife likes for some reason. I took these because I was fooling around with the Sony A7 and kit lens which has been roundly disparaged on the internet but I like just fine. Today is the Super Bowl and I could care less who wins, but it's an excuse for a party my friend Tom is hosting. 

Dinner at The Slanted Door

My son and I were at the Slanted Door early enough to grab a couple of seats before the place filled up last Friday. I was also able to grab a few shots before the food came and one after as well...but only one as the food was occupying my attention by then. The food porn shot is of one of our three shared dishes, the pork belly with lettuce, cucumber, cilantro, and a delicious dipping sauce. All shots taken with the Sony RX 100 at 3200 ISO.

Hyatt Regency San Francisco

Last Friday, I joined my son, Jason, for dinner in San Francisco while he was in the Bay Area for work. Before heading to the restaurant for dinner, we walked through the lobby of the Hyatt Regency. Using my Sony RX 100, I was able to get a few shots of the interesting architecture of this hotel, all in the lobby. All photographs taken at ISO 3200, if memory serves me right. A remarkable result at such high ISOs from the relatively small sensor in this camera.

Ione, California

I'm just back from a golf/watching football weekend at my friend Chris Volta's house in the Gold Country town of Ione. A good day of golf in beautiful, shirtsleeve weather in the middle of January followed by a disappointing day of watching football. Both my teams went down to agonizing defeats, but the food was great! Thanks Volt. These three photographs were taken at the site of the former reform school for boys, commonly referred to as Preston Castle, where actor Rory Calhoun and tennis great Pancho Gonzalez were once incarcerated. Beautiful light just before sunset. Photographs taken with the Sony A7 and kit lens.