The majestic city skyline of San Francisco appears through the fog, seen from Mt. Tamalpais shortly after sunrise. An unwitting adventurer arriving at this vista might liken the golden treasures on the far horizon as the mythical earthly paradise of Shangri-La.

BTW, the tall building under construction will be the 2nd tallest building west of The Mississippi when complete, Salesforce Tower.

Friend Thom Graham had this to say which I thought extremely astute: "The ethereal city of fog illuminated... Above the fray, Salesforce Tower with its outstretched cranes appears as an orchestra conductor preparing for a thunderous overture. "

Lens is the 67 M*300mm f/4 with a 1.4xTC plus a 2.0x TC, yes, a total of 840mm, adapted to the 645Z. Adding a 10" Baskin- Robbins container DIY lens hood to block stray reflections, this Franken-rig is quite a monstrosity. I also cranked up to ISO 1000 to mitigate my shutter speed during a slight breeze and some vibration caused by all the cars and other people moving around.

Hope you like it.

Tags:   California San Francisco SF CA city skyline transamerica bank of america Salesforce coit Hill 88 Marin county Hawk Slacker Tennessee Valley Rodeo Tamalpais Mount Mt Pentax 645 645Z Mike Oria amdscape cityscape hills fog tennessee Hill 88 www.mikeoria.com TC teleconvertor teleconvertors stack stacking

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Full moon rises behind the Brentwood, CA water tower. This was from our planned group outing this evening.

Lens is the 67 M*300mm f/4 adapted to the 645Z. 2-exposure manual blend.

This one ran front page in the Discovery Bay Press.

Tags:   California Contra Costa county Brentwood Antioch Oakley water tower tank tower night long exposure Pentax 645 645Z 67 6x7 M*300 f/4 300mm outdoor landscape city cityscape moon full clouds published Discovery Bay Press newspaper

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A red sun breaks the horizon from Brannan Island in the California Delta. Ducks dive for food in the first rays of morning.

This was a very unplanned shot, as I thought the low haze would swallow up the sunrise. I was driving in the opposite direction when i saw a small red speck in my rear view mirror and just pulled over wherever i was to assemble my gear. Naturally, it was all packed up and i needed to fish in the trunk for an adapter, etc, so was lucky to get this one shot while the sun was still red from the light scattering haze.

True crime followers, this spot is where several duffle bags containing the body parts of three victims were retrieved, back in 2000. The responsible individuals were captured and brought to justice. www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Body-Parts-Identified-Rema...

Lens is the 67 M*300 f/4 adapted to the 645Z. Single exposure.

Thanks for looking!

Tags:   California San Joaquin Delta The Delta sun sunrise sunset red red sun water waterfront waterway river riverbank Sacramento River San Joaquin River Mokelumne Island islands tract Brannan Island Brannan Twitchell Rio Vista Isleton Antioch Brentwood Oakley Sherman Mackenson slough outdoor Mike Oria Mike Oria Photography www.mikeoria.com Pentax Pentax 645Z M*300 645 645Z solar sol

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Nautical twilight, aka "Blue Hour", in San Francisco, as seen from across the bay at Treasure Island. Matt, Rob and I met up last evening to grab a fresh shot of the updated skyline. Salesforce Tower is nearing completion and looms over Bank of America and Transamerica Towers. This angle even reveals Sutro Tower between the two bygone monoliths.

Deep in the rocks along the Treasure Island shoreline are hordes of aggressive raccoons. We were prepared to skirmish with said rodents, but alas, they never appeared.

Lens is the 67 M*300 f/4 tele prime, adapted to the 645Z. It is a wonderful combination for midrange tele. This is a portion of a larger pano strip made from 34 individual frames, including 2 exposures (0 and -1.3 ev). I blended with a layer mask. Cleaning the mask was so tedious it took hours and when I was almost done, my computer crashed and I had to start over. It is now 10am and I still have not gone to bed yet.

I hope you like it! Imma take a nap.

Tags:   San Francisco skyline city cityscape night long exposure California bay bay area bank of america transamerica pyramid salesforce tower Salesforce Tower Pentax 645Z www.mikeoria.com Mike Oria Thanksgiving

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From Grizzly Peak in the Berkeley Hills, we were treated to a lovely orange sunset as the light of day came to a close.

Grizzly Peak Blvd runs along Grizzly Peak Summit in the Berkeley Hills, dividing Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Along this winding road are numerous scenic turnouts, perfect for enjoying grand views of Oakland, UC Berkeley campus, San Francisco, and Sausalito.

This is a crop from the 67 M* 300mm f/4 adapted to the 645D.

Tags:   California San Francisco Berkeley Grizzly Peak UCB Cal sunset sunrise SF Bay Bridge coit tower Transamerica downtown financial district city cityscape landscape tele telephoto yerba buena treasure island twin peaks sutro Sutro Tower Mike Oria Pentax 645D 67 M*300 300mm outdoor Orinda Emeryville marina pier

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