Two are better than one.
My son at dinner at Ecco, the best restaurant in Burlingame:
Winston enjoyed the petrale sole and a giant piece of cheesecake, I settled for the white veal. Every dish here is exquisite, and the chef’s many Fodors awards testify to his 27 years of expertise in this one location.
iPhone6.
Lots of style.
I have long thought that the truly great waitresses in greasy spoons are answering a vocational call. My local place – Neal’s Coffee Shop close by Millbrae, a town far nicer than the yuppie infested Burlingame Avenue nearer which I live – boasts the best waitresses in town and they have been there forever. Rosie (what else?) has great style, is exceptionally professional and always ready with a kind word and a smile. Her voice is from somewhere beteween the bottom of a gravel pit and the bassoon section of the orchestra, and you probably would be wise not to mess with her.
One of the reasons Neal’s has so many regulars is the sheer professionalism of the staff. It may not be fancy but it has character, great food and class. Class? I can’t define it but I know it when I see it.
iPhone 6 snap – with results like this who needs a fancy, complex camera? Surely the stealthiest camera ever. Rosie had no idea I took this, thinking I was reading the screen. She is now in possession of a gorgeous 13″ x 19″ print of the above which is already a crop from the full frame. All those folks saying how MFT is good for 13″ x 19″ only, and you really need FF (this from people who never print) etc., etc., are victims of the most appalling technique, even if half their net worth is in their gear.
The purist’s choice.
400+ hp, stick shift, center lock wheels, ceramic brakes, no turbo, 8,000 rpm red line. A driver’s car.
iPhone 6, HDR.
The first recorded use of the fish eye lens.
If you had to choose the finest ‘photographic’ painting in London’s National Gallery, it would certainly be Caravaggio’s ‘Supper at Emmaus‘. No photographer has ever captured the moment so well.
And your second choice from that collection would surely be Botticelli’s ‘Portrait of a Young Man‘ for its singular focus and color pallette.
But the Arnolfini Wedding would not be far behind. Painted in 1434 it is the oldest of the three and arguably the most technically complex. It’s all there – advanced perspective, lighting to put Vermeer to shame, tight composition.
All the indicia of wealth are there – the fine clothing, the costly surroundings, the little dog, the fruit carelessly disposed at left. The man is in charge, dour as he may be, the spouse newly pregnant looking up to her man in supplication. She is so much property. But there is sublime magic here and it’s in the convex mirror which Jan van Eyck has cheekily included right in the center. Look closer.
The first vision is of the backs of his subjects. Look closer and you see van Eyck and his assistant. And van Eyck doubtless got paid for painting himself. Wonderful. And the cheeky bugger has signed it ‘van Eyck was here’.
What photograph ever accomplished as much?
Towering might.
The giant sequoia that grow here at elevations of 5-7,000 feet are the oldest known living things, with ages up to 3,200 years. A half-day drive from San Francisco, these adjacent national parks are less favored by tourists than Yosemite, which is all the better. However, quite why many parents see fit to bring their infants remains a mystery – their children would be safer at home and certainly cannot comprehend what is on view here. And their incessant screaming hardly helps with the spirit of place.
I spent a couple of days there with my son, staying at the only game in town – the Wuksachi Lodge – and we had a great time in the 50F daytime crisp weather. At this time of the year several roads remain closed but the major throughway – The Generals’ Highway – was clear with no snow in sight.
Winston atop the 6,725 ft Moro Rock overlooking the Great Western Divide.
The thin air at this altitude makes for a solid workout on the way up.
Sunning among the giants.
Fallen giant. Beetles have created an abstract art form.
The General Sherman tree showing fire damage to the bark from hundreds of years ago.
A youngster at 2,200 years or so, the Sherman in Sequoia NP is 25 feet in diameter and weighs over 2,000 tons.
We enjoyed picture perfect weather.
Many sequoias grow in close proximity to one another.
Thick bark confers fire resistance and high tannin content prevents disease.
Siamese twins.
The Generals’ Highway runs through the parks – a miracle of roadbuilding.
The light snow cover on the peaks testifies to California’s drought.
Instead of building a water pipeline from nearby Canada, our politicians – devoid of imagination or business acumen – are enforcing conservation.
Death from toppling over is the major cause of the giants’ demise, owing to the shallow root structure.
The 1,700 year old General Grant tree in King’s Canyon – sequoias routinely shed branches as they grow.
All snaps taken by my son Winston on his Panasonic LX100 except for the first, taken by me on an iPhone 6.
Big boys:
Local roads:
If you enjoy a nice drive the route below is recommended – it goes through both parks and skirts their west side along Dry Creek Drive (a B road, but drivable) via Three Rivers in the south-west corner, as beautiful a loop as you could hope for, and mostly deserted on the weekday we did it. The pointer denotes the Wuksachi Lodge – maybe the most overpriced motel in America:
Bikers should check out The Mountain House in a lovely location where Dry Creek Drive and Highway 245 meet.