To celebrate Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day, I stepped into my back yard and shot this picture of a palm tree. Camera: Panasonic GH2, Lens: Hunk of cardboard with a hole in it.

About “computational photography” and how I am using a fairly inexpensive “hacked” camera that performs like one that costs ten times as much.

From The Connected Traveler

A video tour through Filoli, a US National Historical Trust site and a California State Historic Landmark. Located south of San Francisco, it is considered one of the finest remaining country estates of the early 20th century and is known for its magnificent but peaceful gardens, with some 500 types of roses and 200 kinds of camelias. While the valleys of Sonoma and Napa are famous for wine tasting, Filoli has apple and pear tastings and offers such civilized activities as flower shows with tea. Mostly, it is a place to lose yourself in beauty.

Filoli is NOT an Italian name. It is an acronym for the motto of its builder, gold magnate William Bowers Bourne. Filoli means “Fight for a just cause. Love your fellow man. Live a good life.” He did.

Filoli is open to the public.

For YouTube version go to The Connected Traveler

I was sorting some old photo files and found this hotel interior. It was in Trenton, New Jersey, I think. Or was it in Hong Kong, or New Delhi or London? Dunno.

Home Sweet Home

Andy Goldsworthy's Spire: San Francisco Presidio (c)2010 Russell Johnson

Took a walk through San Francisco’s Presidio a couple of weeks ago and saw how artist Andy Goldsworthy managed to create beauty out of destruction. Cypress bark beetles made a feast of some 150 Monterey Cypress trees and Goldsworthy built The Spire from those felled trees to celebrate the history and future of the forest.  Young trees will grow up to meet the sculpture, which will eventually disappear into the forest. Even the beetle damage had the look of some ancient cave painting.

Cypress Bark (c) 2010 Russell Johnson

The trust that runs the national park is replanting some 1,200 trees along the Bay Area Ridge Trail over the next few years.