Brian Smith's Photos

A day up the coast — a stop in Petaluma, sea lions at Bodega Bay, and an afternoon at Fort Ross, the old Russian-American Company outpost on the Sonoma Coast.

Petaluma

A quick stop downtown on the way north — the Mission, and some street artwork.

Bodega Bay

A stop on the way up the coast — California Sea Lions, Zalophus californianus, hauled out and completely unbothered by an audience.

Fort Ross

Fort Ross itself, the wooden stockade and chapel built by the Russian-American Company in 1812, perched above the Sonoma Coast.

Partway through the visit the camera switched to a black-and-white, Tri-X-style film simulation — it suited the weathered redwood of the stockade well.

A Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica, nesting under the eaves — one of several around the fort.

Back to colour briefly for a second Barn Swallow, then a black-and-white companion to the featured shot above — the same corner of the fort, revisited a few minutes later in monochrome.

Back to colour for the rest of the visit — the coastline below the fort, and two good wildlife sightings: a Bald Eagle working the bluffs, and a Least Sandpiper down on the shore.

A last two frames back in black-and-white before heading home.

Mission, sea lions, and a fort with a switch of film stock halfway through — a good afternoon on the Sonoma Coast.