The Hatemi Masjid, Palo Alto’s first free-standing mosque, recently completed construction. Located at 998 San Antonio Road in Palo Alto, CA, it is accessible through a one-way street just off of San Antonio Road. The mosque is visible from San Antonio Road, but it took me a few tries to figure out how to get there.

Lately, the weather has been overcast in the morning, clear after 10 a.m., and cloudy again over night. However, when I saw clouds in the sky at sunset, I stopped by the mosque to take a few photos.

Camera: Nikon D800
Lens: Nikkor AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, ISO 320, 28mm, f/3.5, 1/60s
ISO: 320
Focal Length: 28mm
Aperture: f/3.5
Shutter: 1/60s

The top of the Arc de Triomphe offers a breath-taking view of the surrounding city. From the grand boulevards to the Eiffel Tower to Les Invalides, I could soak in every bit of urban Paris from this one location.

Nikon D800, AF-S Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8G ED, ISO 100, 36mm, f/10, 1/200s

Whenever I’m in Paris, I’ve stopped by the Palace of Versailles. Last time was no different. However, instead of seeing the same places every single time (i.e., Louvre, Notre Dame, etc.), I decided to head to Fontainebleau for a change of pace.

We reached Fontainebleau from Paris via train and bus. Of course, in an unfamiliar place, it is easy to be hyper vigilant about not missing the stop. Basically, when all the other tourists head off the bus, follow suit.

Unlike Versailles, there was no line to go inside. We walked straight through the gates and showed the Paris Museum Pass at the entrance.

Nikon D800, AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED, ISO 500, 31mm, f/8.0, 1/100s

The day started off quite dry. However, by late afternoon, we saw storm clouds overhead and experienced a little fall of rain.

Nikon D800, AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED, ISO 100, 32mm, f/16, 3.0s

Inside the Chateau, you can visit the Empress’ Chinese Museum. The collection is not extensive, but you can walk through three rooms of packed full of treasures, some of which came from the sacking of the Summer Palace in Beijing.

In other rooms, you bear witness to the pure opulence of imperial France from the richly upholstered furnishings to the walls and ceilings encrusted in art.

Napoleon’s throne, of course. Dark room, no tripod, grin and bear it. ISO 6,400 it is—noise and all.

Nikon D800, AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED, ISO 6400, 35mm, f/2.8, 1/100s

The Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden offers a delightful eyeful of fall flowers, particularly for those resigned to drought-parched gardens at home. While I enjoy walking through the gardens, I must confess that I love looking at the flowers more…at home. In the quiet hours of the night, I can admire the curves and colors of the rose petals and gasp at the details not visible to the naked eye.

Nikon D800, Micro-Nikkor AF-S 105mm f/2.8G, ISO 100, f/8.0, 1/320s

When viewing flowers at 100%, I often find small hidden insects or, in this case, a faint dusting of morning dew clinging to the innermost petals of the rose. Absolutely lovely.

During a late afternoon adventure, a handful of birds flew overhead. No time but to focus and shoot, and hope all ends well. Even without the characteristic green head, I still think it’s a mallard duck.

Nikon D800, Nikkor AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, 300mm, ISO 640, f/8.0, 1/2,000s

I think my best moon photo was from the waxing gibbous moon at 70% of full. Sure, the full moon is spectacular in its size and glow, but the overwhelming light hides all the subtleties of the lunar surface. Without any craters focus on, the moon, while grand, is not as exciting.

Nikon D800, ISO 800, f/11, 1/1,600s

I haven’t posted a moon photo in quite some time with cloudy (and busy) nights being the primary culprits. I spotted a waxing gibbous moon on the way home tonight and set-up the telescope just past sunset. Tonight, I experimented with taking photos in RAW and seeing if I could recover more shadow details than from plain JPEGs.

Looks quite a bit better than the last round.

Nikon D800, ISO 800, 1/1,600s, Orion StarSeeker III 127mm GoTo Mak-Cass Telescope

Made a bad, bad mistake. I spotted some turkey vultures nearby and photographed them flying up close. Later on, when I returned to the location of my previous photo, I accidentally took a series of RAW photos (because the cable release was locked), forgot about my bird photos, and formatted the card. Thought I was being smart, but I did not realize my mistake until I downloaded my photos and discovered that some photos were missing.

When luminous clouds float overhead, you must obey the camera and head out, even if it’s sweltering hot. That’s the situation I found myself in last Friday. I headed further down the Stevens Creek Trail than I usually go during my lunch walk and discovered this boardwalk.

Next time, I’ll revisit this place again with tripod in tow.