Sunset views

These pictures were taken in Venice in 2007 during a wonderful trip there with my wife. The first picture is of the Ponte dei Sospiri or Bridge of Sighs. The bridge spans the canal between the Doge's palace, which contained the interrogation rooms and courts, connecting it with the main prison.

The second image was taken from the Rialto Bridge on the Grand Canal. Venice is such a lovely city, there are beautiful views everywhere you turn. I must have taken close to 1000 images in the three days I was there. These are just two.

City by the Bay

This image was taken a few weeks ago. I went up to Sibley park in the Berkeley hills and set up a tripod. Originally, I was disappointed that the horizon was not as clear as it had been a few days before. However, I was happy to see the light ray effect as the sun set over the fog bank. Can you hear the angel chorus in the background?

I was playing with a lot of manual adjustments during this photo shoot. (I'm still learning the in's and out's of the D70s). One thing I think I will have to remember in the future is to turn off the auto-ISO setting when I want to shoot dramatic low-light stuff. Leaving it on tends gets you ridiculous ISO values (1600+) and grainy blacks.

Spanish Bay Sunset

Spanish Bay Sunset, Monterey, California

Besides being a beautiful sunset, the sand on this beach is quite amazing. Made from the constant pounding of the granite and marble rocks of the bay, the sand is incredibly fine and packs together very solidy. It's almost like walking on a concrete sidewalk. You don't sink and you hardly leave footprints. Talk about being environmentally friendly! You could drive a truck down the beach and scarcely leave a mark.