Esselen Hands

A couple hour's hike from Tassajara is a place called the "Indian Caves". The "caves" are more like shallow indentations at the base of a cliff. Here can be seen some of the finest examples of Esselen cave paintings, notably the white-striped hands for which they are best known. These paintings are estimated to be somewhere between 400 and 500 years old. Some of the graffiti on the surrounding rock wall dates back to the late 19th century.

Wood Patterns

On one of the trails near Tassajara, I came upon a large stump of a burned-out tree - a victim of the fire that swept through this area in 2008. The bark was gone and I was taken by the swirling patterns of the exposed wood.

Rose

This photo was taken with a Nikon FG, with the negative scanned.

Tree Rings

Rock and Leaves

Incan Masonry

The Incans were master stoneworkers. These stones comprise the Incan fortress of Sacsayhuaman, outside of Cuzco, Peru. No mortar was used in the construction, and the gaps between the stones are such that a single piece of paper cannot be inserted between them. Some of these stones are several tons in weight, making that level of precision all the more astounding. This photo was taken in 1999 with a Nikon FG.

Olmec Face

I took this photo at the Museo de La Venta, in Villahermosa, Mexico, in 2001. This outdoor museum/garden is where many of the famous Olmec colossal heads are on display. I took this photo with a Nikon FG.

Cat-tails in the Mist

This photo was taken near Green Gulch Farm Zen Center, in Marin County, California.

Bamboo Light

A Tangle of Flowers

This photo was taken outside the zendo, or meditation hall, at Tassajara.

Garden on Buchanan

On Buchanan Street in San Francisco, just a couple blocks from Zen Center, I came upon this little garden, lovely in the morning light. I came back minutes later with my camera.

Leaves, Petals, Stones

Hieroglyphs

Winter Leaves

A Bowl of Tea

For those who aren't familiar with "matcha", or "powdered tea", this is the way it looks right before drinking (if whisked in the Urasenke style, making a froth). Matcha is always drunk from a bowl.

Madrone

Water Tank

SFMOMA

This photo was taken in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, looking straight up.

Golden Gate Bridge Tower

Poinsettia Leaves

The Himalayan region of Sikkim, India, has many wild poinsettias growing along the roadsides. The plants can grow very large - a surprise for someone who had only seen them in small pots at Christmas-time.

Light Through the Leaves 1

This photo and the next were taken at Jack London State Park in Glen Ellen, CA, near where I live. Walking through a (mostly Redwood) forest, I rounded a bend and saw a maple tree spectacularly lit up by the few rays of sun that managed to penetrate the forest canopy. I took several dozen photos before the light changed. These were the best two.

Light Through the Leaves 2