It’s hard not to take photographs of wildflowers, such as Ice Plants and California Poppy, when they are in full bloom. The colors are so bright and vibrant against any background. I had my micro lens with me when I saw these flowers at separate occasions, but it was too windy to change lens out in the wind, so I used my 80-200mm. Continue Reading
Here are a couple of Mendocino coast views from the property we stayed in Elk. The backyard drops about 60 meters to the ocean whose rugged, rather dramatic coastline continues to the north and the south. The image above is to the north, and the one below is to the south from the property. Both images were taken at the same time, and I used the same camera setting, too. Continue Reading
A group of us took this Skunk Train from Fort Bragg. The train is serviced by California Western between Fort Bragg and Willits, traveling 40 miles in seven to eight hours. Unfortunately, the first tunnel out of Fort Bragg has caved in and been closed, which shortened our round-trip to one hour. It is estimated more than $300,000 to re-open the tunnel. The operator of Skunk Train, Mendocino Railway, is asking for help to raise the fund. I am a bit of a railroad fan, so it would have been great to take the trip as we planned. Maybe I will go back for a different occasion.
The locomotive pulled three cars, one of which was an open car. Because of the shortened trip, it was traveling extra slowly at 5mph. As soon as the train left Fort Bragg, it took us through forests and meadows for 3.4 miles until we came to a stop just before the closed tunnel. I stood in the open car the whole time, and it was tricky to take photos on the train, because the light changed as we went through the forests. I had a polarizer on and it was not suitable to take certain shots because it was too dark. It would have been convenient to have two cameras; one with the polarizer and one without, because putting the polarizer on and taking it off is too much work, and it can introduce problems in the process.
When we drove through redwood corridor on Highway 128 between Boonville and Navarro, it seemed California redwoods are still in abundance. They tower over us as we drive through the dense forest. But apparently, an estimated 95% or more of the original redwoods have already been either cut down or burned. I wanted the forest image with the highway going through it. We found a section with a long stretch of the highway and set up my tripod for some long-exposure shots. The sunlight was creating some nice rays through the trees but does not fully reach to the ground. Luckily, it was Tuesday morning and there was very little traffic, so I did not have to wait for a long time to have the highway to myself.
I wish I had a bracket to hold the camera vertically on the tripod. These redwoods are easily 50 feet tall, and the horizontal shot like this does not really show the true redwood corridor.
Ever since I saw a photo of Glass Beach in Milky Way Scientists, I was looking forward to the opportunity to visit and make photography of this beach. It’s a tourist attraction in Fort Bragg but I could not help but find myself disappointed about the state of the beach. Though visitors are not allowed to pick glass off of the beach, many have done so, and the beach is not as one would expect from the pretty name. From this image, it may not look that bad, but most of the beach is covered with regular pebbles and sand.
This was a blind shot with the camera placed on the beach. I did not mean to blur the foreground, but the shutter would not fire when I tilted the lens down to try focusing on the foreground. I used a polarizer, so perhaps that’s why I could not get the shutter to fire. No doubt it would have been a better image if the foreground was clearer, but I think it gives a different mood from otherwise focused image, so I decided to blog it. With the foreground blurred, this image draws more attention to the water, rocks or sky, though the Glass Beach was supposed to be the subject… Maybe I should use a different title.
Bernal Heights Hill is not an exception. As summer approaches, hills of Northern California turn golden and reminds us of terms we use everyday, such as Golden Gate and Golden State. In another few weeks, the hill of Bernal Heights should be all brown, well, golden as that is the preferred term. I used a polarizer on my 200m telephoto, and this time, I followed the rule of 90 degrees. But it was not until post production when the blue from the sky came alive and the burnt grass golden. Before that, it was rather a dull image with average colors. As the day gets longer and the hill becomes golden, I should visit there again later in the afternoon to get a good golden color during the golden hours!
This was one of those days when I was glad I carried my camera with me. I was walking around the neighborhood with my camera to try my new polarizer filter. It was a warm spring afternoon in San Francisco, and I found this older dog resting in front of a house, in a shade. If s/he was a younger dog, s/he might have reacted to my stopping and taking photos, making it harder to take a shot, but s/he did not care. S/he did not even want to move when I was adjusting manual setting to compensate the filter (I was too lazy to remove the filter) and kept staring at what I was doing. I was glad I had my camera, because I don’t think I would have been able to take a similar shot with my iPhone camera, because s/he was in shade and zoom would have introduced some noise in the low light situation. I just love the expression on his/her face, not caring about me.
Not a good composition (there were so much distraction going on at the front of the restaurant) but wanted to share this black and white image of the Stinking Rose restaurant, because the lighting on the restaurant sign was fantastic. The morning sun was illuminating the sign well and the colors from the sign were very vibrant. After I turned it into black and white, it ampted up the lights hitting the sign even more and made it silvery and psychedelic-ish. The image looks as if the sign is glowing in the dark at night.
As mentioned, the Columbus Street was pretty busy with commuters and street cleaners. I thought it made the scene too distracting, so I decided to move the vantage point higher. The background is not very interesting, so I kept the exposure level closer to the original, which made the background dark and hard to see. In hindsight, however, the lighting on the restaurant front could be as illuminated as the sign and might have made an interesting image, despite the distraction. Should have played around more with composition…
Liverpool Lil’s is an English pub popular among locals in the San Francisco neighborhood of Cow Hollow. When I was at a table, I really liked the diffused amber color in the pub, which gave it very warm and comfort feeling. That’s why I took this shot. But the photograph had some subtle problems, such as highlights and noises. Turning it to black and white solves most of the problems, I think. The comfy feeling is lost by turning it to grayscale, but it retains neighborly feel to it.
Restaurants with lots of objects on the wall and different lights can be a good scene to photograph. Modern restaurants with minimal decor can also work if there is good energy from people. Inside restaurants, you will definitely need longer exposure and people moving around can cause problems. But when you work around these potential problems, you can get interesting images. Since it requires longer exposure, it is better to set the camera on the table and try different angles. Tables can be wobbly, so make sure the camera won’t move when you press the shutter; otherwise, use a timer/remote. As long as you don’t use a flash and you don’t hold the camera, people won’t notice and you can get good shots.
Familiarity is comforting. When you compose an image, that could work in favor for the photographer. For example, this big sculpture, Cupid’s Span on San Francisco’s waterfront Embarcadero, is well known among the locals in San Francisco, but probably not so much among visitors who have not been to San Francisco recently. However, the ferry building in the background is one of the iconic buildings and it has been around for over a century. This composition might give those who are familiar with the ferry building a quick realization that it is an image of San Francisco Bay waterfront, while an image with the sculpture alone might not. And such familiarity can induce people to like an image. Famous landmarks, such as the ferry building, can not only sustain a major role by itself but help make images as a supporting role.
Photography is sometimes art of exclusion. When an image has too many objects, it can lose focus and interests. But at the same time, an image can be enhanced by adding a supporting subject that gives the main subject meaning. I tried to demonstrate that in this image.