A Spring Day in Napa Valley

Yesterday we had one of these wonderful California spring days. Bright blue skies, a little chilly close to the ocean and well into the 70s inland. We decided to drive up to Napa Valley, hoping to find some wildflower displays on the way and also to visit the photo exhibition at the Mumm Winery. It was a bit breezy, the aftermath of a recent cold front that moved through on Friday, so for sure it wasn't the best day for wildflower pictures. The drive over the Golden Gate Bridge was breathtakingly gorgeous, the Bay below filled with yachts, the white triangles of the sails bulging in the wind and white caps on the waves. There was a regatta around Alcatraz, with the racing boats heeling dramatically. The air was clear and crisp, views extended over to the Bay Bridge, the Berkeley Hills and Mount Diablo in the distance. The tourists on the bridge were shivering in the strong wind. It's part of the yearly ritual of San Francisco: millions of tourists expect to find warm California weather and get surprised by the cold air from the ocean. This in turn generates an endless demand for the local sweatshirt industry. This is a classic win-win: the tourist stay warm and take home a nice souvenir while the dealers make a decent profit on sweatshirts imported from China. Sustainable micro economics with global impact.
On the way to Napa we encountered some nice displays of iceplants, unfortunately all at busy highway intersections and some occasional small stands of poppies. None of the usual hill sides in Marin county showed any remarkable display of wildflowers, and many of the green hills are already turning brownish. In a few weeks they will show the wonderful yellow-brown color of the famous Golden Hills of California, sprinkled with the green of Oak trees.

Our first stop was at the Mumm Winery on Silverado trail. I finally got to see the entries of my fellow photographers and the winning pictures. The winning picture in the digital category of the Silverman's is spectacular: very early morning light over a vineyard just south of the Mumm Winery. The sun just begins to break through early morning fog, the trees in the background silhouettes in the fog. It's a wonderful use of light, fogs and warm early morning colors. Check out their website for an impression on their use of light. Similar in dramatic use of light to Galan Rowell. The winner in the classic category is a smart and funny collage base don the board game "Clue" and hints around a murder story involving "Captain Mustard" - nice work. The entries in the creative category were truly amazing, the winner created a surrealistic composition based on the style of Rene Magritte. Very funny, very creative.

Of course we had to take a flight of tastings at Mumm's bubbly on the patio between the photo gallery and the tasting room. We will be back next year again ... On the way down the Silverado Trail we encountered this old wind powered water pump. This engineering marvel made it from Kentucky to Napa Valley, who knows when and how ... but it must have been quite a while ago. Luckily, the use of wind energy and alternative energies is now moving again into focus, as California is turning around and is promoting the use of alternative and "green, renewable" energies. Both wind energy and solar power are among the fastest growing business segments now, many of the VC companies established or are in the process of establishing green funds and pouring dramatic amounts of money into green start-ups, and Silicon Valley icons like John Doerr are spearheading this new trend. Between the 2nd dot-com business wave and the green-energy wave, it is an exciting time to live and work in the Valley. Before turning south to head home we stopped at the Oakville Grocery. They have the best sandwiches of Napa Valley (and a good Latte as well), and on the backside they have several tables and benches were you can enjoy your food with a view over the vineyard to the temple of wine, Opus One Winery. There I finally managed to sneak in a few pictures of California poppies swinging in the breezy wind. The end of a gorgeous day ....

Bye-Bye Winter (that was not)

The first reports of blooming dogwood in Yosemite are out. This is usually the sign that winter is on the retreat in the Sierras. It's early this year due to the mild winter we had in California. We had a few good storms, even some snow on the hilltops around Bay Area (see picture below) and a cold


spill in February that did a lot of damage to outside plants, palm trees and orchards. But over all we are at about 60% of average yearly rainfall in the Bay Area and the snow pack in the Sierras is way below average as well. The picture at the beginning of this blog of Half Dome after a winter storm is from a previous year. This winter hardly saw any lasting snow cover on the valley floor in Yosemite.
March and April are the peak months for wild flowers in California, and while there are nice patches in spots that received or retained more rainfall. many of the typical areas like Corizzo Plains, Gorman or Antilope Valley are far below average in color and density. The chances to find a meadow full of wildflowers will be less this year. While this is somewhat disappointing, it also is an opportunity to do more close-up photography. All it takes is finding a good spot, the sun not too high in the sky and no breeze that moves the flowers around. So it should be a good season after all!

Napa Valley Mustard Festival Photo Contest

Bad news and good news. After waiting and checking the Napa Valley Mustard Festival web page again and again and finding no posting we couldn't help but to call and ask for the results of the photography contest. Bad news is that my pictures did not make it into the winner's circle. This year's winner for the digital category are Susan and Neil Silverman , both respected photo professionals known for great landscape pictures with incredible lighting. The good news is that my pictures still hang among the work of professional photographers, and it was fun and a good experience to actually get my own work into a contest.

This picture is my favorite one of the pictures I submitted. It also was selected as the top-favorite by several friends and family members I asked for advice in the selection process. The picture was taken at the Rutherford cross road close to Silverado Trail. It shows the not-yet pruned rows of vines forming a tunnel-like alley filled with yellow mustard leading to the entrance of a winery. The gray-brown tones of the barn and the vines contrast with the bright yellows and greens of the blooming mustard, symbolizing the onset of spring and yearly renewal. The composition is vertically balanced between the barn and the mustard field, horizontally the perspective formed by the row of vines draws to the right-hand 1/3-location. We named the picture "Down the aisle" as the mustard forms a carpet like path into the winery. We didn't get to the Mumm Winery yet, but the contest pictures are shown there until May 3rd...

Disney w/o Mickey

Architecture is fascinating - this artful combination of design, material, engineering and environment. I almost decided to study architecture, but then my right-brain half dominated and I went on to study physics. But the old love remains. Being in LA for the weekend gave me a chance to visit the amazing Walt Disney Concert Hall / Los Angeles Music Center (http://www.musiccenter.org/), built by Frank Gehry (http://www.arcspace.com/architects/gehry/disney2/). The stainless steel covered building displays dramatic curves and contrast. Sunlight, reflections and shadows play an ever changing game – a dream land for a photographer. By mere chance of luck I ran into a fellow photographer on site with his clients - a newly wed couple. Her white wedding gown, his black suit and the silver tones of the building formed a fantastic composition of tones and contrast. The strong geometrical lines are for sure not everyone’s preference for the wedding album, but for this Asian couple in seemed like a perfect fit. It’s always interesting to watch another photographer and learn from his/her set-up, composition, angle and technique. I was able to get a nice shot when the couple was posing on a platform at the end of some concrete steps, framed by an s-shaped wall on one side and the angled facade on the other side. The end of the “S” curved around the couple – symbolizing the unity they formed on their path through life’s twists and turns. As photographers we use the classic s-shape in a composition to connect fore- and background. Finding a location where shape, light and subject form and amplify a strong composition is sheer delight.