Clockwise from top-left: Andy in wetsuit preparing to descend a rope ladder down a cliff, Christian posing at the bottom of a kelp forest, Tim hanging out at the surface, and Steve making a dive to check out a nudibranch.

This is the remains of a Toyota dealership in Oakland that was never opened. I think it was scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2009 but the 40% slump in car sales might have delayed that.
Abandoned places I’ve gone to photograph aren’t usually this acccessible. Dealerships want a lot of walk on traffic, and this lot was planned accordingly. I guess it’s unfair to call this dealership abandoned. The lights were on, and the landscaping was still being watered. The speakers for the p.a. system were powered, but without any music playing they just issued a soft static. Someone plans to open this lot, but for now it’s on hiatus.

Getting to these orchards before dawn meant I had to wake up around 5 in the morning. It was cold and I should have brought gloves. The orchards were pretty, with the flower petals carpeting the ground but I kept waiting to get the sense that I had definitively gotten what I wanted. I found it hard to stop shooting. At one point an angry dog chased me from the edge of the orchard to my car. I found it easier to stop shooting then.

Lately, I’ve been exploring more urban waterways. One of these takes water from Alameda County down to Los Angeles, the other takes run off water from the Oakland Coliseum parking lot and brings it to the San Francisco Bay.

The Aqueduct had signs saying ‘No Trespassing or Loitering’ right next to the signs pointing out the state park bike path which I thought was a bit contradictory, you’re either a bicyclist or a trespasser. I try to see how far I can go without having to jump any fences or walk past any ‘No Trespassing’ signs. Maybe the next time I go back to the Aqueduct I’ll bring a bicycle.

The drainage canal area isn’t the nicest of spots. It’s littered with lots of beer bottles and other less savory things. I probably wouldn’t go poking around there without Louie. 70 pounds of dog at my side helps out with the confidence.

Here’s Louie the guard dog sniffing things out.

Recently, I went out to do some location scouting for a car shoot. There are some salt flats in the bay area that are a lot closer than Bonneville or Black Rock. Unfortunately these salt flats are part of the bay’s tidal marsh and when I got there they were submerged under a foot or so of high tide. I guess I’ll have to check the tide charts as well as sunrise times when I go back later. I did however find some spots to go along with my urban waterway series. Including this salt pond canal that turns at a very impressive right angle.