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EYES WIDE OPEN • Ed Aust Photography

"The act of the photographer is closer to reading than it is to writing. They are the readers of the world." — Ferdinando Sciannaa

  • Caught by Surprise: A few of my favorite photos

    Caught by Surprise: A few of my favorite photos

    For years I’ve walked around with a camera around my neck, alert to whatever I might discover. I’m constantly surprised by the world around me. These are a few of my favorite photos from the past 10 years.

    Ed Aust

    February 26, 2023
    East Bay
  • Street Photos • Feb 25 2023

    Ed Aust

    February 25, 2023
    East Bay
  • All in a Day’s Drive & Walk

    We drove to Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park in Oakland, walked around, took photos. Simple as that.

    Ed Aust

    January 28, 2023
    East Bay
  • César Chávez Park, Berkeley, CA

    I was walking in César Chávez Park and came across this couple on a bench. The sunlight through the clouds reflected on the water and I knew it was perfect for a photo. I didn’t intend to take photos on this walk—the light was flat and dull, but I brought my camera along just in…

    Ed Aust

    January 4, 2023
    East Bay
  • Geologic Artistry at Arches and Canyonlands National Parks

    I have an art assignment for you. Your medium is buried sandstone. Your tools are sunlight, wind, rain, and snow. You have 65 million years to create something astonishing. Get going. It wouldn’t be a stretch to call Arches and Canyonlands National Parks two of the most beautiful outdoor art galleries in the world. Carol…

    Ed Aust

    December 7, 2022
    East Bay
  • Street Photos, Oakland & Berkeley • August 16 2022

    Some call it “street photography.” I meander, I take pictures, sometimes with my cell phone and sometimes with my Fujifilm X-Pro3, sometimes in color and sometimes in black and white. My goal is to look and discover the world around me, the humorous and the sad, the blessed and the tragic. I look for color,…

    Ed Aust

    August 16, 2022
    East Bay
  • Salt Point State Park

    We recently spent four days camping at Salt Point State Park, where six-thousand acres of diverse forests mingle with astonishing geology and rugged coastline about 100 miles north of Oakland. No showers and foggy nights left us worn out, but it was a good weariness, and good friends joined us the final day. Photographing nature…

    Ed Aust

    July 23, 2022
    East Bay
  • Photos from China 1986-87, Part II

    Here are more photos I took while roaming around Zhengzhou and the Henan Province in the 1980s.

    Ed Aust

    July 18, 2022
    East Bay
  • Photos from China 1986-87

    Shortly after we married, my wife Carol and I taught English at an agricultural university in central China. It was 1986 and China was emerging from decades of trauma under Chairman Mao. Our students studied ardently under impoverished conditions; most of them are now published scholars with important roles in universities in China and around…

    Ed Aust

    July 7, 2022
    East Bay
  • Pacific Grove

    Pacific Grove is the only city in the U.S. to ever pass an ordinance making it a misdemeanor to hurt a butterfly. I first visited the city in the early 2000s to attend an art show at the Pacific Grove Art Center. It was December and its downtown was lit up with Christmas lights like…

    Ed Aust

    July 6, 2022
    East Bay
  • Oakland First Fridays

    On the first Friday of each month, the nonprofit group KONO sponsors a big block party in Oakland. In the heart of the Koreatown Northgate (KONO) district, street artists, jesters, performers, musicians, dancers, DJ’s, and vendors gather to celebrate diversity and community. Five blocks, closed to traffic, vibrate with artistic, cultural energy. As a photographer,…

    Ed Aust

    July 3, 2022
    East Bay
  • Self Assignment: Photograph your elbow so that it looks half-way interesting.

    I gave myself this self-assignment a few weeks ago. My brother said, “Careful—more pictures like this and someone will get out of joint and have a bone to pick with you.”

    Ed Aust

    July 1, 2022
    East Bay
  • My backyard

    Just a few photos from my small backyard garden. It’s getting dry due to the drought; we’ve been able to keep it green so far but by the end of summer it won’t be so lush.

    Ed Aust

    July 1, 2022
    East Bay
  • My pre-Covid commute

    Before the Covid pandemic, I rode the Bay Area Rapid Transit trains to and from work every day. I never thought I’d feel nostalgic about crowded trains, but I actually miss them these days.

    Ed Aust

    June 30, 2022
    East Bay
  • Artists at Work—Larry M. Hatfield’s paper-crafted birds

    Besides painting and drawing, my friend, artist Larry M. Hatfield, sculpts with paper. He is a retired high school teacher, graphic designer, and illustrator who now dedicates himself to the arts. This morning I helped him install two large birds at First Presbyterian Church, Berkeley. His website is at larryhatfieldart.com.

    Ed Aust

    June 30, 2022
    East Bay

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