24.

Maybe the last post of the year.  Went for a short hike today after picking up two rental lenses--one prime and one telephoto.  Weee!!

23.

Trying to put the tripod I bought to use.  Also, attempted bracketing & the HDR automation in Photoshop CS3.  Nothing that spectacular to be honest, but at least I took some pictures today instead of sitting in the bar watching the football game.

22.

© Chris Mendoza

This scary looking thing was sitting on one of the picnic tables at the Mare Island Shoreline Heritage Preserve (that's a mouthful).  All these years, I've never seen a shriveled, old jack-o-lantern, but honestly, I've never looked for one.  This one was perfect because the stem and top had fallen down the inside, and it looks like teeth.

21. Dublin

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Another older one from a year ago at the Brazen Head.  It was shot while I was enjoying some Irish stew in Dublin, Ireland with my cousin.  I like this one because I rarely get a photo with a balance of still figures and ones in motion.  Hope to see Ireland again during warmer months when more castles are open.

20. An Old One

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I was going through photos on cds and transferring them to my external hard drive when this one from a Vegas trip in 2006 resurfaced.  I didn't stick around to eavesdrop on the conversation that ensued.  Taken with my old Fujifilm F30 point & shoot.  I should probably carry that one around, too, while it still works.

19. Been A Long Time

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18.

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Haven't forgotten about you, photo blog. Took this today after a much needed trip to San Francisco. It was a day full of food, drink, walking, and hanging out with a long-time friend.

17.

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I was thinking about another trip to Ireland and remembered this photo.  Haven't posted on this blog for a month now.  I'll get back to one or two a week.

16.

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15.

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Water fountain at Mission San Francisco Solano. A nice, quiet trip to Sonoma. All these years in the Bay Area, and last week was my first time to that part of the county.

14.

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13.

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My niece trying to scare me.  I need to visit her on a windy day to help her fly the kite she got a while back.  I'm pretty sure she said it's a rainbow shark!

12.

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11.

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My friends picked me up, promising beer and food. We ended up at Ikea. On a Sunday. Fuckers…

We did eventually find our way to Little Star in Albany where the Coobros were. Only the second time there, but that has to be my new favorite pizza with that cornmeal crust and ricotta on the inside.  I wish I had brought home a slice for a snack.

10.

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• Saw something pretty disgusting at the Richmond Marina, but you'll have to see it on my Flickr photostream (link below) if you want to.  I would just skip it.
• I had some good coffee today and a decent pastry.  Need to exercise.
• I need to get to my sketchbooks.

9.

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I don't know who to photograph for this portrait assignment due on April 1st.  That might be a good thing.  Do I go with someone familiar or someone I've never met before?

Looking forward to @punkcichlid's birthday brunch tomorrow.

8.

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Back and forth between black and white. This was taken after a satisfying meal at Vik's Chaat Corner.

I'd feel like an asshole if I posted this and didn't even address what's going in Japan.  Thoughts and prayers go out to everyone out there and to those that lost their lives.

7.

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This was the first time I ever saw roller derby.  It was difficult to keep track of the scoring, but maybe I'll have a better grasp next time I go.  N&K expressed interest in going.

6.

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After removing a dead bird from my car's grill, I walked around the marina in Benicia.  I felt that I had shot a bunch of shitty pictures at the Benicia Arsenal and Clock Tower, so I was inclined to change locations.  I found this small, two-wheel trailer parallel parked unattached to a vehicle and noticed its reflective hubcap staring at me like a fish eye.

5.

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There aren't enough good comic books stores anymore.  R.I.P. Rory Root and Comic Relief—The Comic Book Store.

4.

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It's not that I don't want to take pictures of people.  Maybe I just think that I'll be shooting on the street, and I'll hear, "Hey, motherfucker.  Did I ask to have my picture taken??"  Then they'll punch me in the face and break my camera, and I can't afford another camera at this point.

When I was in London last November, I was taking a picture of a woman getting a "fish pedicure" in Camden Market, and she said, "Not my face, okay?  Just my feet."  I had already been composing the shot that way, but I did consider taking a couple more that was contrary to her request just to be a pain in the ass.  I would make a terrible paparazzo.

3b.

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I really didn't like the one below and just posted it for the sake of posting something that week.  This is a product of two photos taken on BART with some layer work.  Fun exericise, and I don't think I've ever bothered to try something like this with Photoshop after all these years.

3.

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This reminded me that I need to hit the market, restock my fridge, and do some cooking.

I would like to take some photos of the chefs that I used to work with while they cooked in their home kitchens.

If I could do it over again, I would have started cooking professionally after high school.

2.

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We formed groups of three to take some portraits tonight, and most of mine were a bit blurry, so here are balloons.  Took this one after class because I didn't like the ones I had taken from above on the third floor.

1.

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Matthew Turner Park, Benicia, CA.

There were plenty of geese as usual. I thought they might attack me, and I had flashbacks of the protective, mother monkey in Nikko, Japan. I need to get those photos organized and see if anything can be pulled from the dead hard drive sitting next to my desk.