Two Hikers. Mission Peak. January 28, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

The light was amazing as I topped out on the ridge to the southeast of Mission Peak last Sunday – fog was streaming across the newly green grass on the ridge. Just as I arrived two hikers passed by and it occurred to me that they might make a subject for a photo.

I thought I had the wrong lens on the camera and considered swapping it out for a telephoto, but there was no time as the hikers started across to the other side of the ridge and the light changed rapidly – so I grabbed the tripod and mounted the camera with the 17-40 zoom. I didn’t have time to fully secure the tripod so I sort of half hand held the camera on top of the tripod and clicked off a half dozen shots as they started to descend.

It wasn’t until this evening that I finally looked closely at these images, only to find that this one in particular has a simple, spare quality that I like. I’m not done with it yet – it might even end up as a monochrome image.
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Cattle. Mission Peak. January 29, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

This is probably not a sight that most people associate with San Francisco Bay, but there you are. These cattle were grazing contentedly early in the morning last weekend as I took a little-used trail to the top of Mission Peak. There was no one else around and as I crested this rise the cattle showed no inclination to move off of the trail for me, but at least the were obliging about posing with the Bay in the background.
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Near the Summit. Mission Peak. January 29, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
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