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A few years ago I went on a business trip to San Francisco, where I decided to take a few extra days to myself to do some exploring. On my first day in San Francisco I met up with my cousin who lives nearby. He took me on a driving tour of the Pacific coast. These photos are from 17-Mile Drive, a scenic route along the Monterey peninsula, featuring rocky coastlines, large crashing waves; and islands of sea lions and birds.
Click on any photo to open a gallery.
I recently came across this photo from my 2014 hike through Yosemite Valley and thought it was worth sharing.
You can view more featured photos at my Photo of the Day Collection.
I took this photo at the Tunnel View lookout on my way down to Yosemite Valley. The scene looks so pristine you’d never know that, as I snapped this photo, I was drowning in a sea of selfie stick-wielding people who seemed more interested in taking photos of themselves than of the gorgeous view in front of them.
You can view more featured photos at my Photo of the Day Collection.
During my visit to San Francisco last year I captured this bird splashing violently in the water as another bird struggled to get out of the line of fire.
You can view more featured photos at my Photo of the Day Collection.
This was taken during my hike through Yosemite Valley last year. I think I was on the Cook’s Meadow loop (at least that’s the trail I had been looking for when I started, though I had trouble finding it and just sort of made my way toward the open area). It was a beautiful October day and I had the trail mostly to myself for large stretches.
One thing I like about this photo is how the tiny people in the distance provide a sense of scale to the enormity of the tall tree and surrounding mountains.
You can view more featured photos at my Photo of the Day Collection.
I finally got around to editing the movie of my visit to San Francisco in October of 2014. It begins with a visit to the California coast before seguing into San Francisco, accompanied by a couple of familiar San Francisco-related tunes. You can watch it in HD by changing the quality settings of the video.
Still to come: the journal from my visit to California, but first I have to finish the journal from my Eurotrip last summer. I’m falling way behind–working on publishing a book will do that to you.
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It’s been a long time since I’ve posted a photo of the day, so in honor of Endangered Species Day, here is a mule deer I encountered in Yosemite National Park this past fall along the Yosemite Falls trail, grazing peacefully, completely unafraid of humans. Yes, I realize that the mule deer is not an endangered animal, but since I don’t have any photos of endangered animals, this beautiful specimen of unendangered North American wildlife will have to suffice. 🙂
Here’s hoping for a day when all the world’s creatures will be as unthreatened as this deer.
You can view more featured photos at my Photo of the Day Collection.
I just discovered that my previously posted Yosemite movie was banned by YouTube from being playable in almost every country in the world, including the United States. Apparently that’s what happens when you use Pink Floyd as your background music. Oh well, lesson learned; back to using classical music in all my videos. This new version features “The Unanswered Question” by Charles Ives, though apparently even classical music occasionally runs up against the long arm of the copyright police–one of my previous videos using a Holst piece is banned in Germany.
Anyway, here again is the compilation of all videos taken during my two-day visit to Yosemite National Park back in October 2014. You can view the HD version by selecting 1080p from the quality settings of the video.
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One of the most popular San Francisco Bay tourist attractions is the sea lion gathering at Pier 39. These gregarious beasts lounge on the docks here day and night, and you can hear their barks from far away.
To me, the best part about the Pier 39 sea lions is knowing that you’re gazing upon wild animals behaving naturally rather than captive animals on display in a zoo enclosure. They may not smell so good, but they are beautiful creatures.
You can view more featured photos at my Photo of the Day Collection.
During my walk along San Francisco Bay back in October, I noticed that this pelican and fisherman appeared to be hanging out as if they were the oldest of friends. Perhaps they meet out on this pier every day, in the shadow of the Golden Gate, enjoying one another’s company, while the fisherman shares some of his catches with his feathered friend . . . it would be a nice story anyway. 🙂
You can view more featured photos at my Photo of the Day Collection.
Michael Rappa 