oakland – Matt Tilghman Photography

Bay Area Foothills in Spring – Dry Creek Pioneer Park

Matt Tilg — Sun, 08 Oct 2017 15:26:29 +0000

Lush green rolling hillsides overlook California’s East Bay Area, from Dry Creek Pioneer Park.

When spring rolls around, the California hills turn that intoxicating shade of emerald green. As soon this starts to happen, I try to hit every location I can think of. Usually top on my list are the Open Space Preserves in the Santa Cruz Mountains, along Skyline Boulevard. Russian Ridge, Windy Hill, those are usually the ones I visit first. But that’s simply out of convenience, living on the peninsula. Soon I remember that the rolling hillsides in the East Bay are just as beautiful. Mount Diablo stands out, but it’s a bit further, so usually warrants an extended trip or group outing. But on those days where I just want to get in my car and go, the Garin/Dry Creek Pioneer Park combination cannot be beat. It’s high enough up in the foothills of the Diablo Range that it offers stunning views of the bay, but low enough that it’s a manageable and enjoyable afternoon jaunt. And the oak-studded chaparral hills rival those of anywhere else in California. It should be on everyone’s springtime checklist.

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Stay Awhile – Summer East Bay Sunset

Matt Tilg — Sun, 03 Sep 2017 16:46:23 +0000

A beautiful ancient oak tree overlooks the rolling chaparral landscape, and the city beyond, from high up in the hills of California’s East Bay Area.

I came across this tree while hiking in the hills of the East Bay Area. When I saw it, it seemed like it was telling me to stay awhile. It offered plenty of shade, a nice break from the still-strong setting sun. It offered a nice place to sit, on a giant boulder underneath. But best of all, it offered one heck of a view. An unobstructed vista of the California’s whole Bay Area, and plenty of rolling chaparral too. Not to mention, a front row seat for the sunset. I couldn’t stay that long because I wasn’t familiar enough with this park to hike in darkness, but I wanted to! Yet the title of this photograph doesn’t only reflect what I thought when I saw this tree. It also reflects the tree itself. It looked like a very old tree, and so has undoubtedly “stayed awhile” itself. But drove that message home, for me at least, is the way the tree grew around the boulder. It may not have been the easiest path to adulthood, but this tree would not be deterred… or moved!

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San Francisco From Bernal Heights

Matt Tilg — Sat, 24 Jun 2017 02:23:02 +0000

From Bernal Heights, the view of San Francisco features downtown, Treasure Island, and the Bay Bridge.

In California, people often talk about “June Gloom,” “May Gray,” or “Fogust.” This of course refers to the coastal fog that can make some cities lucky to catch a mere glimpse of blue sky all summer. San Francisco is often considered one of those cities, but the gloom really depends on the neighborhood. On many summer days, fog does indeed inundate the neighborhoods west of the central hills. But as the wind pushes the fog east and over the hills, the air sinks, compresses, and warms. As this happens the fog burns off. Thus, the neighborhoods to the east, like the Mission or Potrero Hill, get far more sunshine. Bernal Heights Park, where I took this photograph, provides a great vantage to watch this whole dynamic take place. You can see the fog spilling over the peaks to the east, slowly evaporating over the Mission and downtown, and then almost always totally vanishing by the time it reaches the bay. I also love the park because this story of the fog is one I’ve watched from a similar perspective countless times in the Santa Cruz Mountains, like from Russian Ridge Open Space and Monte Bello Open Space, but now all I have done is add a city to the recipe. I find it amusing that I subconciously sought out the same old foggy dialogue.

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Bustle on the Bay – San Francisco Bay, California

Matt Tilg — Fri, 23 Jun 2017 15:07:28 +0000

In the pre-dawn glow, large container ships make use of San Francisco Bay’s relative vacancy.

This is a photograph of San Francisco Bay just before sunrise, from the top of Bernal Heights. My main quest for this outing was to take pictures of downtown San Francisco. But when I got atop the hill, the industrial part of the city was more appealing to me. I loved the contrast of the quietude of the sky and city with the bustling port. The bay will soon be crowded by recreational boaters, which makes the comparatively calm and vacant waters of daybreak prime time for industrial endeavors. I also loved the way it glowed like an ember, with the sun nearing the horizon from below.

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