Backyard Blues

I've been spending so much time on the backyard project I've been doing little else, and thus had little time or subject matter about which to post here. I've been taking few pictures that aren't of my daughter--even though she's my favorite subject, I keep those shots for the family, so have had little to put up on Flickr or anywhere else.

Last weekend, however, we took a ferry trip from Jack London Square to Pier 41. I was looking forward to that event because a) it did not involve bricks, concrete, or pressure treated lumber, b) going out on the bay is fun, c) it seemed like a great way to spend some time with my wife, child, mother in law, sister in law and her family, and d) I would bring my camera and no doubt have lots to take pictures of.

I took almost 300 pictures, most of them of my daughter and her two cousins, some of the giant cranes as they loaded containers onto huge ships, some of the city from under the Bay Bridge, etc etc. But I had all sorts of problems that professional photographers likely avoid due to experience such as that which I gained the hard way. In short, most of the pictures I took had some profound flaws that caused the great majority of them to go right into the trash when I got home and looked at them.

The trip across the bay was WINDY. That ferry hauls some serious butt once it gets out onto open water and as I stood on the top deck facing the wind, it was at times difficult to breathe. I had to turn away to get a good breath, in fact. I should have realized that this amount of buffeting around would require a faster shutter speed--even shots at 1/200 were blurry. I was also getting all sorts of stuff blown onto my lens, not just out on the boat but all day. I did get a few nice shots of the family and this one above of the ship that I quite like. But boy was I glad not to be shooting film when I saw the results. Digital rules!

Photography failures aside, the trip on the boat was very fun. I'm thinking of bringing certain British visitors out for the same in July. Not just because I think they'd enjoy the views of the city, but also because I'd like another crack at some of those shots with a much higher shutter speed.