un cafe por favor!!!!!

Well, I've spent my first full 24 hours in Spain and am enjoying it, the love/hate relationship with the place I enjoy and love so much ~ but at the same time hating it.... flashback to the journey....

Started early and drove my sister to work as normal and when I got home, finished moving the stuff into my carry-on, which I decided my usual small camera bag was too small as I stuff it with camera, lens, accessories of both camera and laptop, and CLOTHES! It was simply too much this time and decided my slightly bigger wheeled bag would be better, and it was, though I left a lens and tripod at home, plus a few other things. Then I discovered I hadn't packed any clothes at all, so had to last-minute pack enough to last me a month in my spanish apartment.

That done, went down to wait for my transport to the airport with my two bursting at the seams suitcases.... I had so much in hand that I decided to also leave at home the hanging chair I picked up at a street fair, to hang in my balcony so I can enjoy the warm bright sol.... Once at the airport, I discovered I waited 32,8 minutes at the wrong place, and had to move all my stuff about 100 feet to the proper place. The line wasn't too bad and it took only about 20minutes to get to finally check in, something I wasn't allowed to do online to make my airport experience a bit better. Once rid of my two big suitcases which I paid a few bucks to encase in plastic - and glad I did - I sat and waited for the flight to leave a few hours later... I've always showed up hours earlier than necessary for my flights and even in recent times as much as over eight hours!! The plane was a 747 and was to be the second time I've flown on a 747... it wasn't the smoothest ride but certainly wasn't the worst. I hoped to see my City from above but the fog and cloud-covered Bay Area prevented that.....

The flight went well though I intentionally did so that I can sleep well after reaching bed-time in Sevilla. I was very happy to be able to watch three films I've never seen previously and actually enjoyed these movies!!! An adorable little baby boy sat with his single mother in the seat in front of me and I spent most of my time entertaining... then we landed at Frankfurt, Germany and now this is a different chapter!

I've flown many times into Frankfurt but this was the worst experience yet! Now they have regulations that require NON-EU travelers to pass through TWO separate and very strict security checkpoints though they may just be connecting with other flights.... I normally wouldn't mind this as it ensures WE are safe while traveling, but the sensitivity of the metal-detectors was so high that even my credit cards were hit by the metal detectors. A security man then hand-wanded me and the credit cards sounded again; he looked at my credit cards, felt them then returned them to me. Personally I wondered if he was memorizing my numbers!! Really... to configure detectors so high as to even ping on credit cards is stupid, making unnecessary work for the security personnel and to build a very huge inconvenience for already weary travelers. As result, I will now be booking my flights to someplace other than Germany and the UK, which I was told today has the same strict rules.

From Germany to Barcelona (BCN) was okay save for slight rough weather, and BCN is not a bad place but it's a very boring and commercial airport, so I don't enjoy being there. Of course the signs in catalan, english and spanish aren't too kind either..... grrrrrr

Take-off from BCN was during a most golden and cloudy sunset, and managed to get a snapshot from inside the terminal as the flight departed typically 12mins late from the catalan airport. As we finally climbed to the cruise attitude, the sunset grew in color from orange-red to blood-red and lasted a veeeery long time. I snapped away even as my camera battery flashed steadily since I forgot to charge it a final time before departure from SFO, being too busy with other things. When I arrived at the Sevilla airport, I already noticed changes in that small airport. In the past, it has always taken them 20mins or more to start loading the bags to the claim baggage area; this time it took them 15mins. I was impressed!! Plus the ramp leading to the baggage claim area was more direct and thus quicker. Again I was glad to be in Spain as the airport baggage push carts are free to use, unlike in the states. After picking up my still-wrapped in plastic suitcases, I trudged out to the sidewalk to await my friends but not till I had helped a few people getting to Sevilla to find their stuff and get to the taxis or the bus. I was shocked at how the departure pickup area was so changed, and more confusing to me as a traveler than a driver who has to pick up someone... I was glad to have seen these changes so in the chance one of my family or friends visit me and I had to drive to Sevilla to get them, at least I am familiar with the airport renovations.

At my friend's house later, I got busy getting my stuff in order so when I bus to Rota on Friday, things would be organized. I also wanted to let friend's and family know I was finally arrived and back so that they could finally celebration my absence - hahahahahaaaaaa I was tired from the long trip and my eyes were blinking like falling stars upon my weary body, but finally after 2am Wednesday night did I finally get to sleep. I must've been very tired because they have a grandfather clock and I didn't hear it at all all that time I slept... till after 11am later that day. After showering I took the bus to Sevilla, then walked downtown from the plaza de Armas bus station to see the sights, see what changes had happened since my departure from Spain, and to look for a few things for friends.

Can you believe this unedited and uncropped picture was created with a cell camera?

I was personally shocked at the number of businesses that I had seen that were now closed. On one busy main street in the center of town typically termed the street of the bridesmaids, due to the many businesses catering to that..... I found the street almost barren and empty so many businesses were now gone. It was sad to see this..... It is amazing how much the economy in one region of the world can interfere and affect so many others. Don't people realize how everything and anything is internationally, as well as locally inter-related?

Though the sol shone warmly in an otherwise-chilly clear sky over Sevilla, there were people abound, but just not buying. I saw lots of empty stores with a lone salesperson within. The cigarette smoke from the many smokers left a smell in the air where I walked, and I aimed for the clear spot around them. I walked into many stores to get an idea of current prices per product since I'd been gone so long, and it wasn't encouraging though I was glad to see prices hadn't skyrocketed as I thought would happen. My camera battery was dead so it stayed in the house being charged so I charged my cell phone just enough so I could use it as my camera in the streets of downtown Sevilla!
In Sevilla some cafe bars still use chalk to record a customer's tally on the metal/wood counters. These days this isn't seen too often but always a flash to the past when I see it done...

In bright sunlight it gives quite good results and I am always happy with the pictures it allows me to capture when big heavy camera isn't available. With a SIM card within that I had purchased at the BCN airport,
I now have a spanish cell phone number! My nephew back in the City told me about it when I mentioned that I could unlock my cell as the store I had wanted to take it to be unlocked was closed.... that as I had a ATT SIM inside, they would give me a "unlock" code functional only with an international SIM inside. In my case it was complicated as I was using my cell from Oregon with a grandfathered San Franciscan SIM inside... but both were ATT and eventually, was told the unlock code which worked this morning!!!

One of the first things I did was to buy my bus ticket for Friday to get to Rota, and now scouting around, seeing the sights in beautiful historic Sevilla, then back "home" to wait for tomorrow, when I return to Sevilla again but then stay downtown to meet my friends and get my bags to finish this final portion of a very long and tiring journey.

I'll be "home" in my apartment at about 7pm, then to figure out HOW to ferry two big heavy suitcases from the bus station to my apt, just three blocks away, still carrying my camera and other small but too heavy bag also.a store display included hidden fans which blew the skirts up, a la Marilyn-style... how "creative"! Another cell picture!!

New Years Blues

The last setting observed was from Bernal Heights ~ was amazing to see the glow looking west toward the Pacific, above the fog approaching over homes on San Franciscan hills. On the other side of the bay, Mt Diablo was gorgeous surrounded by the glow of the sunset, as windows of homes in the East Bay reflected the sun, lighting up the windows like sparkling little tree lights.

So today it’s a bright cloudy day in the City, and I’ve been running around on the third day of this new year with so many things to do and capture with camera before I leave. I took pictures recently at Twin Peaks, a place I’ve never been to as a teen or an adult, but amazingly haven’t had the time to see the first sunset of the year.

Many sunsets prior, I started a personal routine of photographing the last and first sunset of the year. Last year – just a few days ago – I wasn’t able to see the sunset due to a thick fog that came in and even thought it was wreck havoc on the fireworks, and the next day was the same. I hate missing my routine habits that help me to exist from one year to another – when one is alone, these things keep things sane and tolerable.

I went with a photo buddy to take pictures of the fireworks, and that almost didn’t happen due the fog and my friend’s work schedule. Luckily he was able to join me and we got to the
Embarcadero near the Ferry Building two hours prior to stake out a good spot. Things changed and we walked around snapping pixs and changing locations till the last half-hour, when we parked tripods and cameras in front of the Ferry Building. As it was with this huge crowd, one must think of the mass of moving people, plus where to set up a tripod where it won’t interfere with people passing, yet still be safe enough for us to work.

After the final countdown, the fireworks actually started about 200 feet to the right – south – of where we stood!! Shocked and surprised that the exploding spirals was closer to the bridge, we both folded up the tripod in one sweep of the arms, and ran at break-neck speed toward the bridge and into a loud, noisy and full-motion crowd where one would normally have difficulty walking slow!! I found a spot about 150 feet from where I stood just minutes before, and of course, inside the sardine can there was NO space to set up the tripod. I instead kept the legs extended but together, and used it as a monopod. I also had to change my camera settings, configured for a tripod-still relaxed shoot but now in the mist of a jumping crowd and walkers. It was still pretty amazing and I did get good shots, though not as many as I thought
I would have liked. Looking at a map predicting where the fireworks would be, I see I had confused the location of the Ferry Building and then of course set up wrong.

That aside, after the fireworks we started walking down the empty streets, previously closed off due to the special event and the mass of walkers. The sight wasn’t pretty: drunk adults teetering on high heels or even being carried by their men-friends. The sight of many men and women puking their old year’s stomach contents and being held by friends…. This is one of the many reasons why normally I quit going out at night in the many places I’ve lived around the world. Otherwise, it was a nice walk at night with the great architecture of the City lit up in all its eerie glory, and I
stopped often to snap a pix. Luckily I parked far enough away and avoid most of the traffic that bottle-necked immediately after the fireworks.

The next day I went around the City to get some 2009 pixs, this being the HOW of how I ended up in the Twin Peaks area…. I had no idea there was even a lookout point up there!!! I also went to another spot not much farther from there, and discovered a San Franciscan spot that overlooks the Market Street and Castro area, but seems it could be out in the boonies in rocky, mountain terrain. I love little discoveries like this and is one of the few reasons that San Francisco is so unique to me…. more picture are displayed at my foto site if you care to see them.

Today I finally went out and got a little remote controller for my camera so that I can finally snap away in a night-time situation and not worry about touching the camera itself to release the shutter. I originally wanted to get it later after returning from Spain but oh well…. I’ll now take it to Spain with me! I now just discovered that when used for long exposures, the camera displays the time of the duration by counting UP the seconds the shutter has been open!! How cool is that? While in the Marina District to buy the remote at the photo store, I walked on the street without my jacket and as I've been wearing men's suspenders for some months, I noticed a lot of interesting looks from women, and stares & giggles from men. I actually like wearing the suspenders, helping keep my pants up without the binding restraint of belts. But I usually use a belt-held lens holder when traveling and wonder how I'll be able to "carry" that now without wearing a belt. hahahaaa

My two suitcases are packed and just within ounces of being over the weight allowances for my flight. One suitcase has been opened twice now to pack yet more things within, and amazingly enough with the assistance of a friend, was even able to shut it!

Just two and a half days more and I am on that plane, and it’s going to be a very difficult decision for me to return in February…..

Maybe it's not too late....

The fog is in and breaks my annual new years' routine of photographing the last sunset of the year, to be followed by capturing the first sunset of the year. As I type this, I am waiting to enter the cold outside to photograph the fireworks near the Ferry Building... little will that do to make me smile as I'll probably be alone... as always.

But sometimes it seems as if the world and Nature is against me. I seem to always be fighting against everything and everybody, thence I gain no ground, yet make no headway. If it looks good for now, don't worry it'll be bad soon, and if it's bad, it'll get worst.

Many years ago while I still lived in Spain I didn't know if I would live another year, let alone another month. When everything looks so down that there is no sky, no hope and no light... the future looks dim. Things haven't much improved, so I still have that lingering thought to keep me company... seems the only sure thing I have keeping me company these days....

It's strange that often I look to and photograph the sky... and while I see the great clouds against a blue sky, it makes me sad.... At least I have my upcoming trip to look forward to... but that is a lot of work alone.

Have you ever thought that Life would be a burden? Ever thought that it's so much easier to just step off that pavement and close your eyes for a split second? Go ahead, nobody knows you, and nobody will care.... the street will be littered with your lifeless broken body and splattered blood for just a few hours, then Life will continue as if you never existed. There might be a mention on the news but nobody will hear it.... or take note.

It's so easy to just do it.... to take it away... throw everything to the wind and die. I've considered it many times, even as recently as a few weeks ago. It's amazing how someone else's anger and hatred can influence another, and drive you to the brink of death.

I do know one thing: nobody will mourn this person should I die. Nobody will care and I will be a forgotten nobody in minutes, if not seconds. Sigh....

It's so easy.....

It'd be a great way to start off the new year!!! Doesn't seem to look like my future will be any brighter....

It's COLD outside!!

It's been a busy few days as I have been attempting to devote time to archiving of my image files – not too successful – and still continue capturing what goes on in my life. All the while, I still have to think of packing for my upcoming trip to my apartment in Rota, and that will be a welcome "break". Of course I will be working like a slave, buying furniture and working on the apartment, which isn't in the best shape after being gone for so long. My neighbors who are watching my apartment had fallen on hard times also, and lost contact with them for months. I have been noticing that the temperatures there and weather has been seemingly a "normal" winter with lots of rain, but I know once I arrive in my apartment on the 9th, it'll warm up as it always does when I am there! Hahahahaaa

The weather just a week ago allowed me to get over to the Marina district where I stopped for a rare night shot of the Palace of Fine Arts... not often do I get the opportunity to be out at night with tripod and camera, and these past few days the Bay Area has been really frigid due to a big Pacific storm blanketing my old home of Eugene with snow while here I had to battle frigid gusting winds to get pixs of a gorgeous golden sunset last Friday and Saturday. Even in this weather, I managed to get out into the cold with bare hands to snap night scenes of the bay and the bridge from the Marin County headlands. I expected the road to the Pt Bonita lighthouse to be open due to the full moon, but it wasn't so to make the drive across the bridge worthwhile I stopped to snap pixs, though the blasting headlands winds made it very difficult to get a good steady tripod image. A photographer who later appeared next to me on the dark uneven headlands ground had his camera while mounted on a tripod fall over, when a gust of wind blew it over! OuCh!! This morning in North Beach was apparent scenes of frozen standing water... ice was everywhere - not a normal sight in the City but the weather climate is changing and it's leaving evidence everywhere!

ice on a car windshield is a sign of the
frigid weather in North Beach this morning

This isn't the coldest weather I've been through… while in the military I remember being out in the rain and snow in many places in "warm" clothing all night long standing guard duty {oftentimes all soaked through to the skin and bones}, and in Nebraska I patrolled outside a building in – 4f blizzard conditions. Of course, Germany must be the most recent time I went out willingly to photograph various female clients nude in the snow… them, not me…. And though it was cold, they enjoyed their experiences very much. When we returned to warmer places, we found out the weather outside was about –20c, which reads about –4f….. brrrrrrrr so, this change in the weather isn't the worst but still: any cold shock to the system leaves an impression on the mind and body… that it happens during my photography just gives that image more meaning.

I have another weekend road trip coming up…. Then comes New Year's when I expect to be out again in an attempt to capture the fireworks, and then jes DAYs before I leave for Spain!!! I cannot wait!!!

Please remember – if you'd like to donate to help me with my spending money to fix up my apartment in Spain, please buy a print!! Just want to donate outright? I'll send you a print of your choice/theme if you tell me what you like… remember, there's a LOT of gorgeous spanish sunsets to be seen while I am in Rota, and they will be posted as always on my photo website. As always, there are more images posted in my photo website also, and many more that are unseen by other eyes!!! Your donation will serve as a voucher for your future visit in my apartment!! :-)

Stay warm everyone and have a safe and quiet holidays!!!

I even had a chance recently to photograph
a very nice car!! yaaay!

Mendocino County for a weekend

I escaped the city life for a weekend and drove up to Mendocino County. I’ve never been up this way and have wanted to go for so long but never had time. I planned it to be an extended foto trip and would drive up HWY 1 on the winding and narrow but scenic coast with stops along the way. Then I would return via HWY 101 for a faster return to the City. Being so cold at night, I decided not to sleep in the car and booked via the internet a room at a motel on the outskirts of Fort Bragg. Located on the main street I was hoping it would provide me a simple means to explore the town.
Departing Saturday morning at 7am, I drove on almost-empty streets toward the Golden Gate Bridge. It was so eerie to see nary a car when normally I would encounter a continuously onslaught of vehicles, tour buses and trucks. San Francisco is normally a nightmare of double-parking and a obstacle-course of parking and driving hazards ~ I was already enjoying getting out of the City even for this short two-day escape.

From the bridge the sunrise over the East Bay was gorgeous and I wanted to stop, but experience from previous road trips warned me and I decided not to stop at the northern lookout point. I drove through the Rainbow tunnel and continued toward Mill Valley to get to Stinson Beach and the Coast Highway. After three decades, I would be finally going from Stinson Beach to Pt Reyes – or at least in that direction – and seeing the great scenery enroute! Up the curvy narrow road to Mt Tamalpais I stopped for a second – a long second – when I saw the fog over the bay and gentle slopes below, and snapped a pix, the first of many….

To make a {very} loooong story shorter, descriptive of winding curvy tight narrow road driving, gorgeous rocks sitting in the surf off brown and sheer cliffs, let me just say that I have been known to stop and take pictures just a few times along a drive. This trip was planned with that in mind and I did stop a couple of times. The last time this happened I was exploring Oregon in early 2006 with a friend who drove me to Newport from Eugene. This is normally a two-hour drive, perhaps 30 minutes more should the traffic be bad…. That trip took five hours. So, you may be asking, did fototaker break this record? Hahahahaaaa not by a long toss, but let me say that from San Francisco to Fort Bragg let’s say it’s about a leisurely three-hour drive and in this case, it took me eight hours to finally arrive at my destination!

I departed with the sun barely awake over the Oakland hills and stopped the engine just in time to see a great Mendocino County sunset!! The surf was filled with ocean debris washing up after a recent storm but it just made the view a bit more unique. Seeing the colors of the sun over the rocks made me quite sad as the blue splashing surf and coastal rocks made me think of the rocks on my beach in Spain, and the solitude of watching a sunset alone made me think of my solitary life then.
Within a month I’ll be back in Rota again ~ but it’s only a month…. sigh.....

The motel room was very clean and nice, though located at the very far end of the town, and it would be a looong walk in the chilling air. So I drove to the main part of downtown after the sad sunset and looked for a place to eat. Most of the prices were quite expensive – SF style – but I expected that as it's a coastal resort area. There was a small Italian-style place on a side street which I finally determined would be a good safe place to eat, and had a good big plate of pasta with warmed bread and olive oil.

A local holiday parade started after 7pm with the town residents slowing filling up the streets of the main thorough-way. Back in the old days – I was told – the parade consisted of the lumber trucks which hauled their long wood loads to and from the town. With that industry gone, the parade continued but now trucks and vans participate, each with their array of festive holiday lights as decoration. We even saw a AMTRAC which torn up the street, and the ATVs and even the bicycles were participating dressed in bright Christmas lights! I’ve never before seen a bicycle with lights such as these! Pictures of this parade are posted in my foto site.

The next morning I departed late as I was listening to the commentary of my favorite Spanish soccer team on my laptop ~ they lost 3-4 ~ then departed and headed for the long drive back. I didn’t plan to stop at all so hopefully would arrive in three hours or just a bit more. The connecting road from HWY 1 with 101 was snaky and narrow in some spots too, but the traffic was practically nil, so it was an enjoyable drive… did I say I love driving on narrow curvy roads? They remind me of the roads in the Cadiz province in southern Spain…. And amazingly the scenery was just as similar!!

Once on HWY 101 the drive was smooth and quick. Upon entering San Rafael there was a thick fog that appeared as a wave and thicker than maple syrup, and that continued for about ten miles. It was a great experience watching the headlights of approaching cars appear slowly through the gray mist, as the red brake lights of cars in front of me slowly disappeared into the soup….. sigh…. It was a great sight and I wanted to grab the camera to make a moving capture of the sight, but knew with the lower light it would be a slow exposure and decided against it. At one point, after seeing miles and miles of vineyards along the highway, I decided to stop suddenly to get a shot of the vines against a mountain topped with the golden orange glow of the sun already set, when just as suddenly and seemingly out of Nowhere, a CHP stopped behind me and informed me to move on or be ticketed for stopping… I couldn’t argue to that and left, without the shot but with a memory of the gorgeous colors seen in the blink of an eye at 65mph.

Eventually I reached Marin County and from there it was just riding the traffic tide across the bridge to the City, where I went to Chinatown first to eat something quick and cheap, before I returned “home”. It was without fanfare or celebration, and just more pixs to add to my fast-growing virtual list of millions of image files to record onto plastic DVDs.

During my trip I had poked myself in the eye with a piece of my camera strap. It was not a pleasant experience of course and with my recent correction procedure I was worried about tearing the eye but after a few minutes it was almost as good as new, though a little sore.

I ate during the trip, which is a surprise and I finally experienced a very lovely and easy drive to northern California and Mendocino County. Mendocino in itself is very tiny as I discovered, though very picturesque.

The houses display very interesting architecture, and many square-shaped buildings are seen in the area, remaining from the era when wind-mills power provided water to the homes and buildings from wells. They still exist and are interesting to see....

The below picture is of an unusual sight in downtown Mendocino: Father Time and the Maiden... which sits upon a pedestal on top of a white building in the downtown area, now a bank though it used to be the Masonic Lodge in much earlier years. Carved by mason Erick J. Albertson who worked for a local lumber mill, it was in his free time within a small shack where he made this interesting depiction of Father Time and the Maiden out of redwood. It also shows the Hourglass of Transience, the weeping Maiden with the Anointment of Her Hair, the Acacia Branch and the Sacred Urn, the Sundered Column, and the Book of Light - all of which are items symbolic of the Masonic Order. Thanks to the Mendocino Visitor Center whose kind wise volunteer provided me with this information and much more.