This is Beckman Auditorium at Caltech. On the left is the Beckman Behavioral Biology building and on the right is the Baxter Humanities building. The grass field in the middle was called, rather ponderously, the Court of Man back when I was there, but I’m not sure that name has stuck.

There’s nothing especially outstanding about this picture aside from the fact that it was taken well after sunset on a monopod at a shutter speed of 1/6th of a second—and it’s still sharp and saturated anyway. I’ve been shooting exclusively digital for more than 20 years now, but even so I still find myself periodically amazed at what a digital camera plus a bit of Photoshopping can accomplish.

December 9, 2018 — Pasadena, California

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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