Full Moon Rising over the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge

Last night was one of those magical nights when sunset and moonrise balance almost perfectly for great shots. Here the beautiful light is enhanced by the brilliant lights on the Oakland shore and shimmering reflections on the water of San Francisco Bay. And it was warm to boot. What a miracle!

San Francisco Ferry Building

It's been bitterly cold all summer in San Francisco, but last night was warm and gorgeous, enabling me to get out and take some night shots I've been thinking about. My 28mm wide angle lens allowed me to capture the TransAmerica Pyramid, Ferry Building and Coit Tower in one shot. Sweet! It't the reflections on the water that bring the shot to life.

Zhang Huan's "Three Heads/Six Arms" at Civic Center Plaza

On a picture-perfect day I went over to Civic Center to check out the massive new copper sculpture, Zhang Huan's "Three Heads/Six Arms." It's 26 feet high and weighs 15 tons. I was more interested in the details of this beautiful piece rather than trying to capture the entire work. Shanghai artist Zhang Huan found spiritual meaning and inspiration in Tibet.The sculpture symbolizes the shattered history of Buddhism in China. Shanghai is San Francisco's sister city and Zhang Huan created the sculpture to bring good luck to San Francisco. In viewing this shot, I like the way the sculpture itself frames one of the three heads and draws the eye to the face. And the face is placed in a "sweet" spot in the rule of thirds.

A Study in Forms

When framing up this shot what interested me was the juxtaposition of forms. In the center, Three Heads/Six Arms. On the right,the ultra-modern angular Federal Building. On the left the old-fashioned, stogy "Manifest Destiny" monument. Oddly, the oldest-looking piece, "Three Heads" is actually the newest.

Wicked

This picture was just for fun. I liked the juxtaposition of the solemn statue and the whispering witches in the background. A shout out to Photoshop's new "Content Aware" retouch brush for easy (undetectable) removal of a light pole blocking the Wicked Witch of the West.

Capitol Dome/Serene Face

I like how the forms of the statue and dome echo each other. Both the face and the dome radiate power, confidence, serenity, permanence.

Modern Girl

OK,ok I cheated on this picture and dropped Courtney in to show scale. My philosophy is "all's fair in love and photography." Whatever it takes to realize the artist's vision is fair game. For example, this series of pictures looks (I think) non-manipulated. In fact, I worked with dodging, burning & coloring in Lightroom and Photoshop to achieve the look I wanted on every single one of these pictures.