Surfer near Fort Point

IMG_3575, originally uploaded by wooac.

I was out testing a Canon 100-400mm IS L Lens and spotted some surfers. This is just a crop from the full frame. It's been sharpened because at 400mm, this lens is a bit soft.

Like my previous attempts at shooting surfers, most of the time surfers paddle around on their boards and yak. About every fifth wave someone might ride one of these little ditties. But the other thing is how old some of these guys are. A lot of bald heads and hanging paunches.

The 100-400mm is definitely an outside only lens. It's just too slow and the push-pull zoom is very annoying. It's also big and heavy and white.

Easter Lily

Easter Lily, originally uploaded by wooac.

Easter Lily from Petals, A Flower Shop. Large, fairly simple flower.

Tulip

Tulip, originally uploaded by wooac.

Planted a bag of Costco tulips and only a half dozen came up. This is one of them. Seems strange for a tulip.

Mission Gift Shop

Mission Gift Shop, originally uploaded by wooac.

The Mission Gift Shop had some really strange wooden carvings for sale and they weren't cheap. These aren't your usual Made in China knock-offs. I wonder why the Chinese haven't made it into this market yet.

Staircase - Old Chapel

Staircase - Old Chapel, originally uploaded by wooac.

Looking up from one of the stairs to the circular staircase in the Old Chapel at Mission Dolores. The ceiling was painted this way by the original Indians in the 1700's. Of course it has been restored a few times.

According to the Docent, the priests would use this rough wood staircase to ascend to a small balcony and watch the congregation below. Early big brother, except by the Jesuit Brothers.

California Poppy

California Poppy, originally uploaded by wooac.

Unless you look very closely on a California Poppy, you might not notice the ridges on the petals. The ridges are the reason the water droplets are arranged in neat rows. The distribution of droplet sizes is a little more difficult to understand. One expects the less vertical surfaces to hold larger droplets but it also appears that the edges of the petals can hold larger droplets than the interior. Perhaps the ridges are more pronounced at the edges.

poppy blossom emerging from case

poppy, originally uploaded by wooac.

This is a traditional poppy, unlike the California poppies which are also blooming now. This flower case is incredibly hairy and hydrophilic. My guess is that sprinkler ran earlier in the morning because there wasn't that much fog last night. The water caught in the case magnifies the petals inside.

Lemon Bottlebrush

The common bottlebrush is another flower with more structure than one would see at first look. The pollen sticks on little bulbs at the ends of the red tubes and the stamen are buried deep inside. Since gravity and wind must play a role in the pollination, most of the successful pollen must drop from a pollinator on the top side of the flower or from an entirely different flower above. It's a curious struction because the basic brush shape seems to be an extremely ineffective design for collecting pollen.

Magnolia Flower

For years I've viewed Magnolia flowers are large cup-like petals with tinged edges but if you look inside one carefully, they are very bizarre. The pistols and the stamens are separated with different colors. I suppose the way it works is that the pollinator rubs off pollen while gathering on the top and the distance reduces the amount of self-pollination. Because the flower is so large, these sex organs are also pretty large. I wonder if this favors pollinators of a particular type. I didn't see any bees or hummingbirds when I photographed this tree so it's hard to know for sure.

Chinese Lantern Flower

Chinese Lantern Flower, originally uploaded by wooac.

I bought these flowers for valentine's day but it was so crowded in "Just Flowers" that I couldn't get the proprietor's attention. The bouquet wasn't very full and we throw in these Chinese Lantern Flowers at the last minute. But they turned out nicer than the Pincushion flower, Protea, or Leucadendrum.

Unfortunately, this Chinese Lantern Flower turned brown very quickly.

Oxalis Flower

Oxalis Flower, originally uploaded by wooac.

This is a lowly oxalis. There are fields of them blooming now. And to think, I spent hundreds of dollars buying special chemicals in Nevada to kill this plant in my lawn. I'd rather have a yard of these than Kentucky blue grass (or Bermuda grass).

Broccoli Flowers

Broccoli Flowers, originally uploaded by wooac.

We were away for three weeks and we let the winter vegetables go to seed. This is the last of the broccoli. It's probably still edible but I don't know what it tastes like.

St Joseph's Coat Rose

St Joseph's Coat Rose, originally uploaded by wooac.

I was trying to achieve the "Georgia O'Keefe" look with this rose but it was difficult to focus in the bright sun. Also the rose wasn't as accessible as it could be. Probably the next time I should setup a ladder and a tripod or monopod. Also shot earlier in the day when it is less windy and the sun isn't as bright.