Shawn Davis Photography - Blog

A couple mornings ago I woke up a little earlier than normal and noticed that there was a nearly full moon in the sky. Thinking about it a bit more, I thought I might be able to catch it setting over the ocean just about the same time the sun was coming up. Well, I had the right idea but was off with the timing just a bit. The sun came up at 7:15am but the moon didn’t set until 8:15am. By that time the moon was barely visible. I’ll have to check out the sun and moon times more closely and give it another shot. Here’s what I was able to salvage out of the excursion.

It’s common to wake up in San Francisco and look out the window to find nothing but gray fog. On the rare occasion, it might even be sunny outside. Big, puffy , white, cumulus clouds are something that just doesn’t occur very often around here. This morning there were clouds everywhere. Usually, I have my camera with me, but not today. By the time I got around to making a few photos, most of the clouds had moved off to the east. The shot below is from Baker Beach in San Francisco and has the Golden Gate Bridge in the background.

The weather in San Francisco yesterday was looking a bit grey and I decided it was best to get out of town. I drove up to Point Reyes and stopped in at Drakes Beach where the photo below was taken. I then headed over to the Point Reyes Lighthouse. The rainy weather the day before had left the usually clear sky with a bit of texture. On the way home, I noticed the artists of the Inverness area were having an open studio event and I was able to stop in and visit with several of them. There was some really beautiful stuff: pottery, paintings and photography.

Yesterday I got to help a friend break in a new camera. The fog had fully set in and it was getting near dark, so we headed to the closest place we could think of to try to get some shots - Golden Gate Park. We parked next to the Conservatory of Flowers and started off in search of something interesting. Our best shots were at the AIDS Memorial Garden.

The Sutro Baths has to be one of my favorite places in all of San Francisco. It can also be one of the coldest. Today was definitely an exception. This is the sort of day that makes it easier to picture San Franciscans in the early 1900s visiting the bath house that is now just broken up concrete and rusting metal.

I spent this past weekend near Blacksburg, Virginia, not far from the Appalachian Trail and was able to get a few shots of the rolling hills, beautiful sky, and old buildings. There was a church on one of the hills that had been built in 1835.

Yesterday morning I drove to Stinson Beach for a hike. The trailhead is located just up the street from the fire station and early in the morning it’s easy to find a place to park. I followed the Matt Davis trail uphill to Pan Toll Station. The way out is nearly all uphill but the view from the top is fantastic. Off in the distance you can see the radio tower on top of Twin Peaks in San Francisco. You can either go back down the same way or take an alternate route to the Dipsea Trail and back to Stinson Beach.

It was already after sunset but I headed down to the Sutro Baths at Lands End and was able to get a few cool shots before total darkness set in.