Spritz

The temperatures in San Francisco today reminded me of our recent vacation and made me long for a Spritz…. Spritz is a wine based aperitif (white wine, Aperol, sparkling water) served in the Veneto region of Italy and also in Ticino, the Italian part of Switzerland. I was really surprised when I found a bottle […]

Yosemite – A different sunset

Sunset pictures of Yosemite usually include some of the typical features such as Half Dome or El Capitan. I have a few of those too and love them! Sunday, on the way back from Tuolumne Meadows, the sun was setting and we got glimpse here and there showing how the sky turned. And there was […]

San Francisco and Bay Bridge at Dusk

A few months ago, we were on a pier next to the Ferry Building during the evening twilight hours. I was taking some long-time exposures of the waterfront and the Bay Bridge. I like the feeling these black&white images provide. Image exposure times of more than a minute help to smooth out movements. The ocean […]

Evening at San Francisco’s Baker Beach

Last Saturday I went to San Francisco’s Baker Beach to take some sunset pictures with the cloudy sky. Only down at the beach I realized that the Escape from Alcatraz Triatlon will happen the next day. Once the runners past this mark, there is a right turn and then it goes up, all the way […]

Full Moon

I was looking forward to get some nice full moon pictures. But these past few days, rain clouds made it almost impossible. I got a few hints of a moon, but nothing exciting. Today, I finally got a clean view of a 99.6% full moon.

Verrines – Edible Art

The other day at a dinner party, I got to taste some verrines. Loved it! I couldn’t pass the chance to take some pictures while our friends prepared these delicious appetizers. Verrines, a culinary trend coming from France, are small glasses filled with layered ingredients. They can be sweet or savory and served for appetizers […]

Peach Crumble

This is my first crumble I made. It was much easier than expected and the result was very pleasing. In fact I liked it so much that this will definitely not be the last crumble I made. As we had one leftover crumble at the end of the evening, I had something to play with.

Valentine’s Night Dinner

Some impressions from tonight’s dinner… Coquille Saint Jacques sautées sur un lit de polenta crémeuse: Saumon farci en croute… … avec fenouil et tomates à l’étouffé: Gateau d’amandes au chocolat: And yeah, we had something to drink as well; courtesy of Nadia et Frank (merci!):

Horsetail Waterfall – Firefall

During February for about two weeks, the setting sun just touches the Horsetail Waterfall in Yosemite and creates something that looks like the old Glacier Point Firefall. In order to see the effect of the natural “fire fall”, there must be sufficient water flowing, some wind to generate the mist, and the sun should not […]

Carnival Splendor at night

The sunset was beautiful Friday night. Since I didn’t had my camera with me at work, I first had to fetch it. Once at the dock, the nice sky was already gone. Too bad. Still, I think that this black&white image of the Carnival Splendor cruise ship with the lights reflecting in the sea turned […]

Makeover of Carnival Splendor Cruise Ship

The Carnival Splendor cruise ship is in a dry-dock in San Francisco to repair the damage from the engine room fire from last November [link]. San Francisco is the only city on the west coast with a dry-dock big enough to accomodate this huge ship. This big ship is so close, that I could get […]

Seared Chanterelle with Polenta and Blue Cheese

Yesterday, I bought Chanterelle mushrooms at the Alemany Farmer’s Market. Reading the SF chronicle today, I got the inspiration for tonight’s dinner: Seared Mushrooms with Polenta & Blue Cheese. I didn’t really follow the recipe, but the main ingredients were the same. Next time, I will try a cheese that is not as strong as […]

Lands End – Still Life

This picture was taken 15 minutes after sunset while the horizon was still glowing. The three rocks in the middle of the Pacific caught my attention. I used a long time exposure to smoothen out the rolling waves. When I saw the result, I was pleased how this afternoon at Lands End turned out. Back […]

Yosemite Impressions

Here are some impressions from a weekend in Yosemite. The first day it was nice and sunny, the second day we had rain. Two totally different sceneries presented us. We already thought that the sunset is over. But wait, the sky opened up and the sun found its spot and illuminated Half Dome. The next […]