Martarano's Images of 2015

Curtis Park Village-January

A photo at dusk of homes under construction in Sacramento's Curtis Park Village

Pier 14 in San Francisco-January

It's not so much this was such a great photo when I took it in January, but what happened there six months later, when local resident Kate Steinle was fatally shot there, on the right side of this photo, in July.

Looking for Delta Smelt-February

It was a foggy morning in the Delta on the Sacramento River near Rio Vista when a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service crew, accompanied by a New York Times reporter and photographer (and myself), conducted its regular monitoring program for the elusive Delta Smelt. This is the resulting NY Times story from that day. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/us/threatened-smelt-touches-off-battles-in-californias-endless-water-wars.html?_r=0

Tower Bridge Battalion-February

An ever present part of any Sacramento Republic FC game since the team debuted in the United Soccer League in 2014, Tower Bridge Battalion members make their entrance to a Hughes Stadium game against the New York Cosmos.

Sacramento State at The Nest-March

Sacramento State may have lost 78-73 to Big Sky Conference rival Northern Arizona University in this second-round matchup of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, but it was the first ever postseason game at the iconic Nest, capacity 1,000. You had to love that. Here's my Sacramento Press story from that game: http://sacramentopress.com/2015/03/25/sacramento-states-best-season-ever-ends-at-the-nest/

A Salmon Fillet-March

I just loved the expressions of these first-graders watching a biologist slice up a salmon, during a demonstration on the American River in Sacramento at the base of the Nimbus Dam.

United Soccer League Championship Trophy-April

For Sacramento Republic FC's 2015 home opener, the team brought out the hardware - the trophy the team won for taking the 2014 USL crown.

Jarrett Parker Congratulated-April

Sacramento River Cats outfielder Jarrett Parker is congratulated in the River Cats dugout after an inside-the-park grand slam. He would later make a big end-of-the-year splash for the San Francisco Giants, hitting three home runs and driving in seven runs in a win against the Oakland A's in late September.

Little League in Sacramento-April

The River Cats of the Land Park Little League receive instructions from coaches before a game at Dooley Field in Sacramento.

Faces of Young River Cats fans-May

The Sacramento River Cats became the affiliate of the San Francisco Giants for the first time in 2015, a development welcomed by many who frequent Raley Field, including these two young fans.

Learning about Pollinators- May

This photo, of young students from the California Montessori Project in Carmichael learning about improving habitat for pollinators, ran on the front page of the Carmichael Times.

Hunter Pence at Raley Field

2015 was a year that several high-profile San Francisco Giants players made rehabilitation appearances at Raley Field. The affable Hunter Pence was the first of the group, and was definitely the most popular. My Sacramento Press story on Pence's appearance: http://sacramentopress.com/2015/05/10/hunter-pence-comes-to-sacramento/

The elusive Maine coon Marty-May

I do spend way too much time photographing our two cats, especially the younger Marty, age 5, because he's so photogenic, but neurotic, and won't allow anyone but his owners get close to him.

Golden 1 Center construction-May

The new home of the Sacramento Kings, the Golden 1 Center, has been a favorite target of mine since the day construction began, since the project is just a couple of blocks from my Capitol Mall office. A parking garage across the street allowed me to get photos such as this, shot at 300mm. Here is an online photo essay Comstock's Magazine ran in August. The new arena is set to open in October 2016. http://www.comstocksmag.com/photo-gallery/golden1-center-year-transformation

Bliss Dance on Treasure Island-May

The amazing Bliss Dance statute that originally debuted at Burning Man.

San Francisco Bay Bridge from Treasure Island-May

This is a very tough to get shot of traffic heading into San Francisco via the Bay Bridge. It was taken from a remote spot on Treasure Island that's extremely difficult to reach.

Stassi vs. Cain-June

Max Stassi, a product of Yuba City, faces off against Matt Cain at Raley Field during Cain's first rehab start for Sacramento.

California Drought-July

The Governor stopped watering all of the lawns along Capitol Mall in Sacramento and this was the result by July. Ugly, for sure, but Gov. Brown made his point: Conserve Water!

Looking for Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse-July

One of the great things doing public affairs work for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is that I get out on trips like this, where our folks were conducting surveys at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge near San Jose.

Waiting for Halsey-August

From inside the photo pit, a look at fans waiting for the singer Halsey before her appearance at the City of Trees concert at Gibson Ranch.

New Politics Guitarist Soren Hensen-August

New Politics Guitarist Soren Hensen wows the crowd during his band's set during the City of Trees Music Festival at Gibson Ranch.

Cake closes City of Trees-August

John McCrea of Cake leads the band during the closing set of the City of Trees Music Festival at Gibson Ranch outside of Sacramento.

Panik at Raley Field-September

The final big name San Francisco Giants player to take on a rehab assignment at Raley Field in 2015 was second baseman Joe Panik, who was a star the fall before during San Francisco's World Series title run.

Hometown Heroes Parade-September

On Sept. 11, Sacramento honored its three heroes who thwarted an August terrorist attack on a train in Paris with a lavish parade down Capitol Mall, taking it right past my office at noon.