A great place to eat in San Francisco is Bushi-Tei in Japantown. Chef Waka (Seiji Wakabayashi) creates Japanese-French fusion haute cuisine while keeping the prices on the low end of the fine dining scale. Every dish served tastes ultra-fresh and this soft shelled crab was no exception.

Tripod, 8/10 sec at f/4.0 on ISO 100, 17-35mm f/2.8 lens

More green… this one is of a fern frond unfurling (say that three times fast!). I took this picture while in a fernery in Christchurch, New Zealand where they have many ferneries and gardens (MANY).

Handheld, 1/90 sec at f/4.0 on ISO 400, 17-35mm f/2.8 lens

Sometimes just because I have a camera in my hand, I'll take pictures of stuff just because it exists. In this case, the maple leaves were green, uniform, and attracted my attention.

Handheld, 1/45 sec at f/4.0 on ISO 100, 17-35mm f/2.8

I never really thought of it (especially since bananas in my grocery stores are sold two or three at a time) but I guess bananas grow in circles… I've seen pictures of bananas while they are still on the tree/plant in a giant cluster, but for some reason I didn't think about how they must be connected together to form that giant cluster.

Handheld, 1/50 sec at f/2.8 on ISO 400, 17-35mm f/2.8 lens

I have a lot of photos of the San Francisco Skyline but this is one of a few that I have taken from within the city capturing both the imposing Transamerica Building and the first span on the Bay Bridge. The shot was taken from a rooftop in just north of Chinatown.

Handheld, 1/1000 sec at f/4.2 on ISO 200, 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6 lens

While at a church picnic at Cuesta Park in Mountain View, California, a bunch of us watched a hawk sitting in a tree eating a squirrel. Later, the hawk flew around a little until it was harried by a robin. I grabbed this shot as they flew past.

Handheld, 1/250 sec at f/5.6 on ISO 200, 70-200mm f/2.8 lens

Sea Lions are massive creatures. I took this photo of a boy who spent several minutes just staring through his cupped hands (presumably to eliminate the glare reflecting off the aquarium glass) just watching sea lions swim past at the Sea Life Center in Seward, Alaska.

Handheld, 1/60 sec at f/2.8 on ISO 800, 70-200mm f/2.8 lens

I took this picture in January of 2005 at around 11pm at night with the sole illumination from a fairly bright moon. Even with the moon out, it was quite dark, and I couldn't really see Half Dome through my viewfinder. I ended up taking a couple shots and adjusting until it was framed okay. I was actually using the digital camera to act as a virtual light meter for my film camera. On film, I was shooting Velvia 50 and had the lens stopped down to f/11 or f/16 and taking 8 to 15 minute exposures. To calculate how many minutes I'd need, I took several test shots with the digital (of which this was one) and calculated the approximate shutter speed I'd need on my film.

Tripod, 63 sec at f/3.5 on ISO 800, 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6 lens

Can a large bridge looming over an inlet be a picturesque place to have dinner? It turns out it can. Sharon's By The Sea is a pleasant place to dine in Noyo, California. (The food could have been better prepared when I last visited in 2007, though.) The bridge for Highway 1 crosses over the Noyo river as it enters the Pacific Ocean right over Noyo Harbor where Sharon's is located. At first I thought it was rather odd for such a nice view to be dominated by such a massive concrete structure. Then after settling in, I got over the initial feelings of oppressiveness and began to find the bridge added character to the view. Sometimes what I want in a view is to be completely isolated in nature, but there are other times when I find it interesting, even comforting, to be surrounded by reminders that I'm grounded in civilization.

Handheld, 1/60 sec at f/11 on ISO 100, 17-35mm f/2.8 lens

Dale Chihuly is an extraordinary glass designer. His works can be seen in various locations from the Bellagio in Las Vegas to the Monterey Bay Aquarium to the Rockefeller Center in New York City. Recently, the de Young Museum in San Francisco had a large exhibition of Chihuly's works. Photography was difficult since photographic support (tripods and monopods included) wasn't allowed into the exhibit. I did the best I could and took a lot of pictures of Chihuly's work. This example is of what he calls a Macchia - which as far as I can tell is a bowl within a bowl.

Handheld, 1/30 sec at f/2.8 on ISO 400 (exposure digitally adjusted +2 stops), 17-35mm f/2.8 lens