Mellow OB Thanksgiving Surf!

Had a bunch of fun waves this morning then went back out and shot some pictures. Waist to a little over head on some sets. Plenty to go around and a lot of party waves. Great morning!

This guy got barreled but my camera started buffering and I missed ut -:/

Peaking over the top to see the wave you wish you were on.

There were some bigger waves out there if you were in the right spot.

And some party waves on the inside -:]

Nice little split peak with a light offshore. Hard to beat.

Throwing some spray to celebrate!

More than enough waves to go around.

Thinking about heading back out for seconds -;]

Happy Thanksgiving!
 

Things that Fly and Dip

Things I saw walking around by the beach this weekend.

 

Full Moon set in Half Moon Bay

 Pre Surf full moon set in Half Moon Bay. Didn't surf here because the surf wasn't great but it was pretty.

Outer Sunset Sunset

 

After 21 years...

...of seeing Sutro Tower out of our front window and using it as a line up while surfing Ocean Beach I decided it was time to walk there.

The view from the front window.

A drone shot showing the Outer Sunset section of the walk. We are 1/2 block from the beach just behind the first row of houses. It was a 9 mile round trip.

2 miles in was the steepest section with two sections of steps like this.

It was fun to stand near the base for the first time.

And in 3D!

I took a break once there to have a snack, some water, and to do a quick sketch.

I kind of like this "Dutched" composition a little more than the straight on images.

A picture from Halloween a few days before. It was egging me on.
 

Still pretty photogenic

 C/2023 A3 is still up and on the edge of naked eye visible. With the moon coming up a little later it is still pretty photogenic.

OB Moonset

 

c2023 a3 is still here

 

Tail and Anti-Tail!

The fog in SF lifted right at sunset and C/2023 A3 was easily naked eye visible. Best comet I have seen to date! You can see an Anit-tail and Venus reflected in a tide pool. 

The sun set wasn't half bad either. If you look close you can see some sunspots mixed in with some birds.

The tail was so long it barely fit in the 70mm view (well more like 100mm on my crop sensor). I kept thinking the anti-tail was an artifact like a lens flare or reflection but then found out what an anti-tail is and that it's just how it looks from the earth's current perspective.

It's a little hard to tell but you can see it reflecting in the water just a little.

It started looking a little red as it was setting and getting into the thick atmosphere and low haze.

 

Little Bird

Saw this (Anna's) hummingbird on a walk to Safeway in Golden Gate Park.

It's pretty amazing how much the colors of the feathers can change with just a little movement. I feel like it wasn't as colorful as it could be because it was very overcast and in the lower shaded branches of the tree. But they are some of the better hummingbird pictures I have managed to get. Maybe the best? Humming birds are a PITA to get capture because they don't like to hold still for very long.

Farallon Surprise!

 Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan–ATLAS over the Farallon Islands.

We had just clear enough skies in SF that I was able to see the comet just after sunset. It was just on the edge of naked eye visible. Fingers crossed for clear skies tonight (Oct 12th) when it should be at it's brightest.

shadowy alter ego -:]

It seems my car has a shadowy alter ego -:]

 

Two Hawks Just Hanging Out

Saw these two (red-tailed?) hawks hanging out on my way home from surfing this morning.

I often see one or two lone hawks in our neighborhood but this is the first time I've seen two together. Not sure if one or both might be juveniles?

This is the one on the left in the previous images flying off.