October 13, 2020 — San Francisco Bay, California
The smoke had finally cleared and what was obscuring the view was not smoke but fog, which is the way it’s supposed to be. Boaters were once again out on the bay. Boats passing in the mist.
During the worst of the weeks of smoke from the Glass Fire in Napa and Sonoma counties, we were seeing AQI numbers over 300 for days in a row.
AQI stands for Air Quality Index. The scale runs from 0, which is perfect, to 500, where the air can almost be cut with a knife. 301 to 500 is classified as hazardous. Breathing is pretty much the same as smoking, except what’s in the air is even worse than tobacco smoke. Think of what was burned. That’s in the smoke. During this time, “air quality” was an oxygen moron: anyone who thought there was oxygen in the air was a moron.
Of course, if breathing the smoke was bad for us, think of those who lost everything — including in some cases, their lives.
The climate is changing. There’s no doubt about it. And with climate change comes changes in local and regional weather patterns. For us it means heat and drought.
But we still have our fog, and that is reassuring.
(Nikon D500, Tamron 100–400mm f/4.5–6.3 Di VC USD. RAW processing in DxO PhotoLab 3.3; Editing in Adobe Photoshop.)
PS — I’ve been deeply enmeshed in other activities, but I shall return to regular blogging and to reading blogs soon.
AMAGA Photography Blog 
I’m so glad to hear that the smoke has finally cleared! There’s a beautiful solitude in this image and …hope. Wonder if it makes sense.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you. Yes we are all glad the smoke has cleared and of course that means the fires are getting under control. Yes there is hope in this image.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beautiful image, love the boat, wonderful! Yes, climate change, no doubt about that.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you very much. I rarely have anything in my pictures that isn’t natural, but the boat, as I said to Marina, is a sign of hope.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The boat to the right of center drew my attention even at a distance. Only a closer look revealed the swan-like boat further left. Subtlety works.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks Steve. One of my followers on Instagram said that this was minimalism to the max. I said that I was exploring the borders of minimalism but when I reached it it might be so minimal that I might not see it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
bless the fog…!! That wee boat..gorgeous
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you very much, Paula.
LikeLike
Well done, Michael, well done – words and image! It’s not easy to be concise about important topics and still get the message across, but you succeeded – again, with both the words and the image. Here’s to low AQI’s!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you very much, Lynn. Both for the picture and for the words. Here’s to low AQIs because we don’t have the reason for high AQIs.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is true subtlety!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
LikeLike
One time, many years ago, a buddy and I were cruising around looking for photographic subjects when we saw a car go flying, almost literally, into a parking lot and the senior housing project behind it. A few seconds later it was followed by a police cruiser, then a fire engine. We went in to see if there was a photo opportunity but first helped with knocking on doors to alert folks of the fire. In one building where the fire had spread the most aggressively the smoke was dense and the air almost unbreathable. It was choking and as I knocked on a door a police officer came through a fire door and the smoke following her was billowing as thick as one might imagine. She was choking and I joined her. I imagine that might be what you and your neighbors experienced by your description.
The second boat adds so much even as subtle as it is. I am very glad that not only are you now inhaling fog rather than smoke but that it seems your home must have been spared and hopefully most of your neighborhood.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a harrowing story! The smoke we were experiencing was bad but nothing like the smoke in or immediately adjacent to the fire itself. Thank you very much; I do believe the second boat adds a lot.
LikeLiked by 1 person