Daniel Thorp's Photo Blog

back in the saddle again

2011-05-24T11:51:00.000-07:00

I realize it has been a long time since I posted but I am back now and hopefully will post some great shots for everyone to enjoy. A little break from photography has helped me re-energize my passion for this great hobby of mine.

I decided for my first portrait from my little hiatus away from photography should be someone I care about. DJ "la Coqui" is just that person. She is one of the Bay Area's most popular Salsa/Latin DJ's and just happens to be my co-worker and good friend. If you love music, you will enjoy her radio show on Thursday's @7pm at http://www.tomaradionetwork.com/home/page/djlacoqui

Trip to The Rock

2010-10-28T22:03:00.000-07:00

Three years ago was my first visit to the infamous Rock called Alcatraz. For a native San Franciscan, people used to harass me about never visiting an Island that hosts nearly 130,000 visitors a year. Three years ago I finally visited the island with a group from Keeble and Shuchat Photography. Every year Keeble and Schucat hosts a trip to Alcatraz that allows its participants a full private guide of the Island that most visitors never see. We arrive after all the normal visitors leave at 4pm and stay until 10pm.

We were picked up not by the normal Blue and Gold fleet but a Tug Boat. Took a few shots while on the Tug but since the the salt water spray started to get a little stronger I put the camera back in the bag for the rest of the boat ride.

Once we got to the Island we were split up into small groups and led by Park Rangers that have worked on the Island for Decades. These guys had tremendous amount of fascinating information from the history, to the stories of famous inmates and even about the flora and animals species that populate the Island. Just a wealth of information that made the trip just that much more exciting.

This is a grill of the 1934 Diamond T Fire Truck that still runs and is used in case of a fire. The truck was restored by inmates at the Nevada State Prison at Las Vegas in 1998. The Irony of it.....

Without the hoards of visitors, we were able to capture shots of the cell blocks and corridors void of people. Very cool.

First I took a few pics of my buddy John before splitting up and shooting on our own. I always wanted to shoot this type of picture in one of these cells just to give a perspective of how small these cells really are.

Same cell as above but of course without John ;-)

After shooting a few shots in the cell blocks, we went outside and walked around to the west side of the Island to catch the sunset behind Golden Gate Bridge. We lucked out with the weather and had a beautiful sunset. Normally, fog would block any chances of such a scene.

Once the sun went down, we walked around the perimeter of the Island taking random shots of the severely worn structures and equipment that use to keep the most dangerous people in the country behind bars.

The old generator room I am sure has seen better days

Stack on the power house building

The old and now unused water Tower

Inside the industries building

To show support and pride to the World Series bound SF Giants, the Park Rec lit up the light house bright Orange.

A view of thew lighthouse and the warden's house from the Parade grounds. The Warden's house was gutted by a fire started by the Indians that took over the Island in 1970

On the Island is a very unique perspective of San Francisco's Skyline. Coit Tower and the Transbay Terminal are also lit up in orange to pay homage the the world series bound SF Giants.

I found a very interesting site that gives a tremendous amount facts about the Islands history. If you interested, Please check it out..Alcatraz and its History

San Francisco 2010 Fleet Week

2010-10-16T16:40:00.000-07:00

Every year since 1981, San Francisco has hosted an event that is extraordinary to view in person....Fleet Week. The purpose of Fleet Week is to bring awareness to those that serve in the armed forces and more recently to demonstrate disaster preparedness. I am a San Francisco native and have never gone to this event. I have always avoided it as if it was the plague. I dislike large crowds and growing up in SF, I have learn to really dislike tourists. What a shame that I have allowed my prejudices and fears keep me away from such an exciting fun filled event.
This year one of my closets and oldest friends and fellow photographer Eliot invited me to go with him to finally witness what Fleet Week is all about. Even though I was without my big lens, it is still at Nikon waiting for parts from my accidental drop while in Sitka, I still wanted to attend and enjoy the show all that Fleet week has to offer.

We arrived a few hours before the Ship parade was suppose to enter the golden gate to try and find a good location to shoot and to set up our equipment before the crowds started to pour in. With the extra time we had available before the show, I decided to take a few candid shots of some of the people waiting for the show to begin and an assortment of boats out on the bay.

The first part of the show was the parade of war ships entering the Golden Gate and heading to the viewing piers where civilians will be able to have the rare chance to walk onto the ships for a self tour.

The SF Fire boat lead the parade with its water canons fully on.

Once the ships cleared center stage, the helicopter show began. Showing off their skills on how they rescue people stranded in the water.

First the Air Force showed a mock rescue using divers and helicopters to retrieve a victim stranded in the water.

Then came out the Coast Guard showing off their training skills.

Once the air show started, I fully understood why this event is so popular every year. Even though I did not have my big lens as explained earlier, my 70-200mm lens with a 2x extender did a fair job. I did not get the most tack sharp images but non the less, I still managed to get some images I was proud of.

The air show was a mix of small acrobatic planes, to a commercial jumbo jet to military fighters. All of them had reasons why they were exciting to watch.

Watching a 747-400 buzz the bay was a sight to behold. Nothing can really describe watching such a huge aircraft making maneuvers at such low altitudes while having a majestic SF Bay as a background. Of course, I am a little biased since I actually worked on this aircraft for 15 years while employed with UAL. It was a surreal and profound moment for me.

I imagine the pilots of the Fry's Electronics sponsored MiG-17's and L-39 feel damn proud of their achievements. They are the only civilian-owned aerobatic jet team in America and they are fantastic to watch.

Before the Blue Angels perform for the finale of the air show, a C-130T also known as Fat Albert that carries all the supplies for the Blue Angles and is the true work horse that allows the Blue Angele's to perform through out the country was able to strut its stuff first.

At last, I bring you the Blue Angels.

This may have been only my first Fleet Week experience but it will definitely not be my last. Next year I hope to visit the ships up close and personal and once again enjoy all the airshows. I also hope to go more than just the one day. I can't wait until next year ;-)

Sitka, the Finale

2010-09-04T22:48:00.000-07:00

I was extremely fortunate that Dan Evans offered to take me to His and Janet's cabin on Baranof Island to spend my last few days in Sitka. This was totally unexpected and a wonderful gift from Dan. What a royal treat this was. Marc, Andy, myself with Dan, Janet and their dog Neva all piled in their little boat for a four hour ride to a place I will not soon forget.

Andy was very kind to offer his driving skills to relieve Dan from almost 6 days straight of driving the boat. Good job Andy....smooth driving all the way ;-)

During the ride we some spectacular scenery and wildlife which included a water fall with an Eagle flying across the scene. Too bad I was too busy adjusting my aperture to capture it in real time. I know Andy got the shot but with the miracle of modern day photography....I can at least show you what we all saw ;-)

I think this was the only Sea Lion I saw on the trip. All the previous seal shots were of Harbor seals. I am all too familiar with the loud bark of these guys. Every year sea lions invade San Francisco piers and cause a big nuisance for the local fisherman and harbor masters alike.

The one thing I sort of blew it on this trip was not taking a snap shot of one of the coolest things I say Dan do. He had a dinner plan to make fresh fish once we made it to the cabin but the only problem was that we did not have any fish yet.

Dan pulled into a little cove en route to Baranof, rigged his fishing pole with a lure that had a treble hook, cast the lure out a few yards and WAMOOO!!!!!.....A fish was on. The fish came off the hook but it did not take too many more casts before Dan had a solid hook into a salmon. Instead of grabbing my camera, I grabbed a gaffing hook to bring the nice size salmon onto the boat and into a bucket. The fish probably weighed a good 15 pounds. After the fun and exciting drama, I earned the name gaffer Dan to help distinguish between the two Dans on the trip.

After the beautiful four hour trip, we finally pulled into a very surreal cove that must of been straight out of a movie. I huge rushing waterfall to one side while a few cabin homes lined the shore. Simply amazing. The only way in this place was either by boat or float plane.

I met this young kid James fly fishing in the cove. Very nice kid...earns his money on a boat that does guides in and around Sitka. Too bad he does not work for the best..Dan Evans or as we know him through this adventure, Sitka Dan. No one will be able to top Dan...NO ONE!!!

The path leading to Dan's cabin continues until it reaches a serene lake that Janet loves to kayak on with her incredible air filled kayak. The picture bellow is not the kayak of course but a boat that seems to have a permanent home right where it is at.

This lake feeds a very fast moving river down to the huge waterfall that leads right into the cove.

If you were knowledgeable enough of the area and of course we had Dan, there is a small slipper trail that veers off the main trail and into some natural hot springs that have a few pools right near the above rushing river. This was just the coolest thing ever for me. I have heard of hot springs but I have never actually seen one.

The upper pools were very hot...around 109 deg according to a local and they progressively cool off to a cool 104 deg alongside the river's edge. Perfect temp for a fat bodied person like me. That did not mean I did not get into the hotter pools and just have some fun with it.

Below is Dan and myself just goofing around trying to get an off the wall shot.

Dan ran into the actual river for a little cooling off. The temp of this water is damn cold.

For me, I choose the very very comfortable hot pool right along the river's edge. A perfect fit for me. Bare in mind, I do not usually take my cloths off in the public as you can see by my skin tone but for this occasion...it was worth the embarrassment.

After a few hours of sitting in these pools, I was totally and utterly relaxed. I had a very hard time climbing back up to the main path and back to the cabin.

At night, Baranof island's little cove is as gorgeous and mystical as it is in the day time. We had a full moon to light up the cove and show us all it glory.

If you look off to the left of this picture, you will see a little structure that houses three baths that are feed by the hot springs you saw earlier. Dan and another helped build these "public" baths for all to use. The hot water continually fills the tubs while the overflow drains feed into the cove. This offers constant hot water and ensures the tubs are filled with clean water even if one uses soap during their bathing experience.

I spent many hours in these tubs and loved every minute. It may have cut into my photography but when you are in these hot spring tubs....you just do not care :-D

As a sign off and my last picture of Sitka, is my view out the hot tub rooms that I spent so much time reminiscing of how lucky I was to be experiencing what having a good life is all about.

Thank you all for following me on this magical trip. Sitka is a heavenly place that most never see. Most people come on cruise ships...hit the trinket shops and leave without experience any of what Sitka is all about.

I would like to give a big thanks to Dan Evans for showing us the intimate side of Sitka that took him 30 years of knowledge building to show us in just a few days. I now consider Dan one of the finest people I have met in my life and hopefully will be able to maintain a friendship that will mutually benefit us.

I would also like to thank Marc Muench and Andy Williams for again topping what I thought could not be topped. Every trip I have gone on with these guys, I learn more and more. I always come home a better photographer and a more humble photographer.

Sitka's Raptors and Bears

2010-09-04T16:54:00.000-07:00

Most of the workshop participants were flying home on this day but some of us were lucky enough to enjoy a few more days. One of the participants staying for another day was Chris. She and I decided to share a cab ride and go visit the raptor center and the forest of the bears.

The raptor center is to help those unfortunate raptors that get in the way of those pesky human elements like cars or even bullets. Aren't humans great.

The forest of the bears was next on our list of activities. An odd place since it was built using old very large vats that once was used to manufacture pulp. There were three of these very large vats that housed several bears that have been rescued and now being treated before being released to a variety of zoos through out the country. This little non-profit place is doing a lot of good for those local brown bears that would otherwise be left for dead.

They just received three orphaned cubs. The mother bear was killed by once again those great humans that just wanted her hide.

Cubs doing what they do best....playing

They also had some full size brown bear. Man these guys are HUGE. Just check out those claws. I see how one swipe with those can kill a person or rip a door off a car.

As all of you probably are....this guy was getting tired of bear shots. I think I gave him a head ache :-D

Next was something unexpected and very special....stay tuned

Sitka part 4

2010-09-04T13:59:00.000-07:00

Dan showed of his back yard to us which is acres of bog and forests. I really need to have a summer home in Sitka with spreads like Dans. The bog is full of picture opportunities and a great place for a macro lens. Did I mention it is the one lens I left at home :-(. No bother, I used my 70-200mm and snapped off a few shots.

I think Dan's "yellow" lab had the most fun diving into the mud ponds chasing sticks. I do admit, I had a blast watching this girl having fun. It reminded me of my never say quit to playing fetch yellow lab at home.

Dan also brought us to an overlook. While we were driving up the mountain I had severe doubts that there was anything to take pictures of since the higher we got the thicker the fog was. Lesson learned...never doubt a local that has shot this area for over 30 years ;-). I loved the location he brought us to. It was just such a surreal place with the foliage and fog mixed together.

....And super yummy salmon berries

This was either Marc or Fred taking a shot in the mist. It was just too thick to see who was who.

Every once in awhile a clear spot would pass us through the clouds to show off some beautiful scenery.

The last night of the workshop Dan and his wife Janet spoiled us with a super meal. Surf and turf with some outstanding hors d'oeuvres.

Please pardon the iphone pictures but it was the only camera I had at the time. :-D

I think I ate at least three crabs that night....so good

This may have been the last night of the workshop but I had a few days of pure joy still left in Sitka.....stay tuned

Sitka part 3

2010-09-03T13:16:00.000-07:00

I combined two days worth of pics since the rain did kick on. Even though the rain was not heavy it did narrow our shooting to a few locations but that did not stop us from shooting away.

The first location I would like to show you is Sitka's Historical National Park that houses a dozen or so Totem poles that were built by the indigenous peoples known as the Tinglets over the past hundred or so years.

Marc held an off camera flash class during this time since this is the perfect situation where an off camera flash will help with a little fill light onto the subject for dramatic looks or even to just fill in some of the shadows. Some of the totem's are buried in the dense dark cover of the parks foliage. Here are a few examples of where I used my flash with the help of my shooting and workshop buddy Ross.

I used Dan's paper coffee cup as a snoot to light up the top character of this totem. Nothing like using what you have handy.

Natural right from the right and my fill flash from the left. I actually used Marc's flash by triggering it with my off camera flash on a flash cord. Thanks Marc...I know it was not your intention for me to use your flash but it was just so convenient. Maybe this is the start of Nikon and Canon working together in harmony ;-)

Fill flash was used here just to fill in some of the harsh shadowing of the totem's facial features.

Again, natural light from the right and some fill flash on the left side of the totem.

The last one is a vertical pano I did with pathfinder, another great photographer and friend, shooting his wide angle. This is the only totem that is out in the open and i did not use a flash. The original file for this shot is super sharp and is 24" by 72". I think I took a total of 12 shots for this. 6 vertical by two rows using a 70-200mm lens.

Here is a small portion to show you how much detail is in the pano. Nothing extraordinary but it was fun to do and great practice at a vertical pan

Another very cool place Dan brought us to was the The Medvejie Hatchery. The workers there gave us intense details of how they retrieve the eggs and sperm from the salmon, mix them and then incubate them. Each batch of fertilized eggs are carefully marked, track and tested. After depletion of the eggs and sperm form the salmon, the fish go to a process center where they are turned into pet food or even human consumption outside of the US.

These two specialize in clubbing the fish evident by the blood splattered on one of their faces. I think they like their jobs.

Even Ross got into the action...I will leave out the violent side of Ross for all the kids sake but I would not want to get on Ross' bad side. :-D

A fresh vat full of fertilized eggs ready to be incubated and eventually set free back into the ocean.

Along the hatchery was a shallow stream full of pink salmon...a smaller species of the King salmon or Chinooks in the pictures above.

With the bright coloured moss in the stream with the fish crowding the waters, it almost looked like an oil painting.

Water was no obstacle to Dan while trying to capture a great shot.

......Part 4 on its way soon....

Sitka part 2

2010-09-02T13:17:00.000-07:00

As I had mentioned in my last post, my D3 had a damaged lens attachment but that is not the end of the story. It turns out, Dave Evans, owns a few old Nikon film cameras which have the same lens adapter and was willing to part with one until I get a new one from Nikon. Yeaaaa!!!! Can Dan do any more to make my Sitka trip even better??? Oh yea....Just wait until I show you some of his secret spots....simply awesome.
With my D3 in Hand and my semi working 200-400mm lens in hand, I was ready for business. We left the harbor early to spend as much time as possible on the water before heading back to land to visit the Sitka National Historical Park which houses the famous totem poles.

We first ran into what many of the local residents do for a living....fishing. These guys and gals work very hard for their living and I have the utmost respect for them.

Sadly, this harsh life style comes with its hazards and Sitka has a monument for those that died at sea.

That last picture leads me right into what we ran into next....whales. These animals are so graceful yet extremely powerful. The noises they make are surreal and beautiful. After awhile, one can actual tell by their noises when they will come up for air....so freaking cool. Unlike the night before in the big boat we were in, Dan' boat was able to get much closer.

With the last wave from the whales, we were off to capture some more wildlife. Since we did not capture breaching whales, we decided to try and capture breaching salmon. Marc, Dan and I spent an hour trying to capture one of these jumping fish in focus off of a boat and believe me, it was not easy. I have hundreds of blurry shots and the ones that were in focus, the fish were looking the other way.....man this was difficult but so much fun. Marc....of course....got a perfect shot. Maybe a few more years of practice and maybe I will capture one tack-sharp as well ;-)

Heading back to the harbor we ran into a deer swimming. Personally, this is the first time I have ever seen a deer swim and they are pretty good at it. I was surprised how fast they can swim.

We stopped off on a little island, the bennies of owning a small aluminum boat is that we can almost go onto any small island for a look around.

Within the islands are dense forest like atmospheres. The greenery is just so bright it almost glows.

Marc with his infamous pose. This is the spot Marc saw a weasel or mink...too bad he had a fish-eye on his camera.

Later in the day we went to the totem pole park but the rain kicked on so we decided to call it a day and go back to the totem pole park the next day. I will end this day with some shots of a Great Blue Heron I took on that day and a few shots of Sitka Harbor at night.

.......stay tuned for part 3

Sitka, Alaska with Marc Muench Workshop

2010-09-02T09:31:00.000-07:00

Every time I join one of Marc Muench's workshops I become reinvigorated in my photography. I spent the last few weeks in one of the most gorgeous locations in the world filled with extraordinary scenery, wildlife and wonder. Probably none of it better shown than with our guide, friend and fellow photographer Dan Evans.
When looking at the weather reports leading up to my trip, it looked very grim. It showed rain, rain and more rain. Flying into Sitka from Seattle, my aerial view was nothing but thick vicious looking clouds. My hopes were starting to diminish greatly. By the time I got to the hotel, the weather looked threatening but it was not raining. As a matter of fact, I was even able to capture the moon through my hotel window just before going to sleep. If this shot was a sign of things to come, I was very happy indeed.

On my first day on Sitka, I went with Andy Williams and Dan Evans on Dan's Boat to tour Sitka surrounding waters and what it had to offer for a few hours. I did not know what to expect since I have never shot of a small boat. I am definitively glad I had my D3 and 200-400mm f/4. With the over cast weather and the boat rocking around, I pushed my camera and the lens as far as it would let me.

Just as we were leaving the harbor, Dan spotted a few Bald Eagles....

As we traveled from island to island, we encountered many sea otters and harbor seals. Even though the harbor seals were very skittish, we did encounter a few that seemed to tolerate our presence.

Captain Dan within only a few hours managed to show us some incredible wildlife as well as scenery and this was only day 1....WOW!!! I love this place

I have no idea what happened to this poor guy but he still seemed to fly ok.

Sadly, we had to go back to catch up with the rest of the group. I could have easily spent all day with Andy and Capt. Dan cruising around the islands taking pictures in every direction I looked.

What I did not know and quickly came to realize was that everyday I spent in Sitka was a day full of photography opportunities while spending some great time with fellow photographers. The best was yet to come.

That evening, we all went on a charity dinner cruise. I use dinner very loosely here since we all just got a cold slice of pizza but the photo frenzy that persued was well worth over looking such minor details.

Whales were abundant and we ran right into their feeding of krill. When I picked up my D3 w/ my 200-400mm f/4, I realized something was very wrong. The camera was not working and I could not get a shot. Whales were everywhere and here I was struggeling to figure out why my camera was not working. I soon realized that my early morning boat trip the camera must of dropped since my lens mount on my camera was bent and my zoom ring on the lens was dinged bad enough it would not turn....I was Soooooo bummed out.

Dan Evans loaned me a canon w/ a 70-200mm lens but before I was able to figure out how to properly use it, I was only able to snap off a few shots. Oh well...I am glad I brought a back up camera. Too bad it was sitting in my hotel room.

Here were the few shots I was able to snap off...

I was even able to capture a puffin.....it isn't very sharp but it was the only one I captured on the trip ;-)

Common Murre's are in the thousounds on St. Lazaria Island. This is an incredible island. It looks like a scene right out of jurasic park. I will defeinitely take more pics of this incredible place next time I visit Sitka. I just wish I had more pics to show you.

Day 2 I was set to go back out with Capt. Dan and Marc Muench for another half day of boating around Sitka's small Islands and coves.....

Dropping in on Downtown San Jose, Ca

2010-08-17T13:38:00.000-07:00

The other day, I met up with Steph otherwise known as schmoo for a San Jose photowalk...yeaaaa. It does not get much better than going shooting with Steh no matter where the location.

I had a little time to kill before I met up with steph so I went to the farmers market at San Pedro Square to see what they had to offer.

Met this man making one of my fav foods...Naan in a traditional tandoori oven. I still have not figured out how they transported such a heavy item. Not only was the oven super hot, it must of weighed a ton.

Since Steph does nothing ordinary, she met me by dropping in with flair and panache.

For some reason there seemed to be a lot of fire engine activity that day. Everywhere we went, we heard and saw fire engines speeding around.

During the mid day light, walked around a bit trying to find photo subjects. Not so easy with the high contrast of sunny San Jose.

I stole this idea of a self portrait from Steph. Her imagination and vision for self portraits is way beyond my skill level.

When night started to fall upon us, we were at City hall.

In the window display, they had some seriously disturbing art.

At the end of the night, Steph and I ended up at Sanatana Row where photography became way more difficult. Not because of the subject matter but because of the security and the San Jose police department. During the next few shots, a security guard informed us that our type of photography equipment was not welcomed there and we had to seize taking pictures. Since I did not comply, they called the San Jose Police....we were next told to either leave the premises or get arrested for trespassing. Not much of a choice but rather risk any more drama, we left.

Thanks Santana Row for being so silly with your anti-dSLR policy and making us photographers the focus of your duties while treating us like criminals. I am sure the people of San Jose are grateful that their tax money is going to such a worthy cause.

While at the end of our photo-walk was full of drama and disappointment, the walk in general was a great time especially since I spent some time with the great schmoo. Next time hopefully we won't attract so much attention. I think in total, we had two San Jose police officers and six security officers escorting us out of Santana Row. I am such a threat, watch out world....Dan is out there taking random pics near you.....Be scared....be very very scared :-D

California Academy of Sciences

2010-08-16T19:07:00.000-07:00

The new Housing for the California Academy of Sciences is simply a marvel. I have visited California
Academy more times than I can remember from when I was a toddler into my adulthood and it still fills me with wonder. The new structure at Golden Gate Park is filled with new exhibits as well as keeping some of the time tested crowd favorites of the past.

I was amazed with the Rainforests of the World Exhibit, especially all the butterflies cruising at the top of the canopy. Even though no flash is allowed, I still tried to capture these fragile beauties.

I even saw a few spiders and reptiles hanging around

One of the left over exhibits and also one of my favs is the Swamp. The Swamp houses an albino Alligator that one can see from above and below the water line.

Albino alligator with an alligator snapping turtle

That fish is playing in dangerous territory.

The Steinhart Aquarium is a must see. Unfortunately it was too crowded for me to shoot any shots of the Aquarium inhabitants. While exiting I did sneak one shot of the very cool jellyfish that are lit up so beautifully.

Next time and there will definitely be a next time, I will try to capture more of the Aquariums inhabitants. Hopefully in a few months when summer is over, the crowds will die down to allow enough space to take pictures.

Hakone Gardens w/my best bud and fav model

2010-08-12T11:28:00.000-07:00

Once again, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to do a photo shoot with my best bud and fav model Stace at the lovely location of Hakone Gardens in Saratoga. Please, if you are ever in the area or even need a place of bliss to wind down, you must spend some time at Hakone Gardens. You can't help but feel recharged once you visit this hidden gem in the hills of Saratoga.

Stace was a true trooper dressing up in her traditional Chinese outfit. As you can imagine, with her beauty and strong presence, she attracted many onlookers but that did not deter her from allowing me to snap off a few shots.

Thank you again Stace for a great day and allowing me the honor of taking your picture yet once again.

A Frog with Attitude

2010-07-09T22:28:00.000-07:00

Last week I captured this shot at the California Academy of Sciences during a brief visit. Next time I hope to spend more time going through the exhibits. I especially would like to go through the Rainforests of the world exhibit.

Trying but did not suceed

2010-07-08T11:52:00.000-07:00

For a long time I envisioned a pano of San Francisco's Skyline from a somewhat unique perspective. Last week I went out with my photo friend Steph from Schmootography to try and capture this elusive shoot that I just can not seem to let go of until I have captured it the way I have envisioned it. Unfortunately I failed once more but this failure will not distract me from trying to go out once more to try again.

First a few shots that I captured on the same day that I DO like.

This shot was taken from Treasure Island. We were on Treasure Island to visit an old friend of mine that runs a photography studio there. If you are ever in the need for a professional studio shot or shots, Eliot's studio is the place to go. Check out his site....390inc. He has a very nice studio setup that can handle any modeling shots or portraits that one can need.

When we made it to the location I want to shot my pano, we had some time to shot other cool scenes. This one is a shot of the new and old Bay Bridge with a ship container crane taken while we waited for the sun to drop and hopefully light up the city in wondrous Dusk colors.

Finally the sun was down, the clarity seemed to be ok and the colors started to show themselves. The bad part was the wind was strong, the haze was thicker than I thought and the colors just did not turn the way I hoped. The result was a city skyline that did not come out as sharp as I wanted and the colors were just not there. Oh well.....Next time

The Art of Iaido

2010-06-08T22:21:00.000-07:00

Iaido when witnessed in person gives the feeling of a bygone era that just is not seen any more. In these times of fast paced MTV based commercials blaring at 110 decibels, Hollywood's blockbuster action packed movies and everyone getting food on the go instead of a sit down home meal, Iaido feels out of place and past its time. After the shoot, I realized how very wrong I was and how desperately art forms like Iaido are so important to our well being.

Iaido takes years upon years to even grasp the mastery of the art form. By definition, Iaido is an art of drawing a sword out of its scabbard, as fast and clean as possible, with evident naturalness and fluidity, being the main objective to cut the enemy long before he is able to draw his own sword or use any other type of weapon. Sounds simple enough, right??? What I witnessed during a recent shoot at a local Dojo in San Francisco drove this definition to shame. Iaido to me is a mixture of meditation, skill, gracefulness, beauty, power and finesse all rolled up into one.

Please allow me to share a few of the shoots I took that day. Since Iaido is a strong but clam art form, I created a simple lighting technique for the shoot. One Bare SB900 strobe to light up the background and one SB900 strobe w/Honl 1/4" speed grid approx 45deg to the left. Both set at 1/32 power and fired off by pocket wizards.

After witnessing at awe with this art form, it sparked some kind of need for peacefulness that only comes when all outside stimulation is turned off and quite time becomes a priority. On the way back home, I turned off the radio and just listened to the outside world and my thoughts. When I got home, I turned off the blaring TV and opened a book that I have be meaning to read for months. This is the way life supposed to be lived.

I would like to thank Sensei Andrej Diamantstein of Eishin Ryu Iaido and his students for the honor of witnessing and capturing just the tip of this beautiful yet powerful art form.

Star Trails

2010-05-14T19:24:00.000-07:00

Last Night was a day where the sky was absent of the moon and a great opportunity to take a picture with star trails. In San Francisco Bay Area, there are not many places one can take such a shot due to all the light pollution in the area. Another interesting added element to star trails is to find something for the foreground that will add to the shot.

Last month while talking to a photo bud of mine, we came up with the idea to use the Lick Observatory at Mt. Hamilton as a foreground for the shot. We would have both elements, absence of light pollution and an interesting foreground. What we did not plan on is how long it would take us to drive from San Francisco to the observatory. The last 18 miles took us an hour and a half due to the very steep and twisty road.

By the time we finally reached our destination it was very late. We set up our equipment and then the bomb hit....I forgot my cable release. Luckily John shoots Nikon as well and allowed me to use his release. Sharing a release for very long exposures is definitely not optimal but I was thrilled John was loaning me his release for at least one shot. After the one good exposure each it was well past midnight and I had to get home.

Next new moon, hopefully the weather will be clear and I remember my release so I may take a few more compositions of this very cool spot for Star Trails.

The Lick Observatory has two telescopes. This is the smaller of the two and as you can see, the scope was moving throughout my exposure.

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T14:34:00.000-07:00

A dedication to my mom

I miss you

I cherish you

I love you

I wish I could spend the day with you

Just know your son is thinking of you

On this special day that commemorates you

I bid my love to you

Your strong roots have always given me the strength to achieve

even when missing you

I thank you

I need you

I miss you

by Daniel Thorp

Marc Muench Workshop in Death Valley

2010-04-19T15:19:00.000-07:00

I was born and raised in California and have never gone to Death Valley. I was one of those ignorant people that assumed that Death Valley was all sand dunes with no color and more importantly nothing exciting to take pictures of. Was I wrong, very wrong. My experience with Death Valley during this workshop has opened my eyes to brilliant colors and beauty that Death Valley has to offer. In the few days that I visited the Desert National Park, I only witnessed a fraction of what Death Valley has to offer.

Day 1:
The whole group met at Stove Pipe Wells where we would call home for the next few days. That evening, we went to the Dunes to take some late day to dusk pictures. Anytime I go on a photo trip, I tend to take a day or so to become acclimated to my surroundings in order to see shoots. Usually the first day I am just scrambling to take shots but not really paying attention to details or composition.

Here are a few attempts to capture desert lines and the very cool line patterns of the dunes.

My only color shot of the day

I saw a few lizards running along the sand leaving behind a few tracks that broke the wavy patterns of the dunes

This is my attempt at a self portrait

Day 2:
We started this day early. Up by 5:00 a.m. and out the door by 5:30 am to catch the van to this morning's shoot...Bad Water and Artists Palette. Mother Nature just did not cooperate today but I still took a few shots. The light was a little flat and bad water hadn't dried up enough to make the edges of the geometric-shapes curl up. I heard the edges of these shapes can curl up to 2 feet. Maybe next time.

Bad Water

Artists Palette

After breakfast and a short break, we went out to shoot some of the wild flowers that are in bloom during this part of the year.

There was not much wild life to speak of but I did however see these little red bugs. They were so small, at first I did not notice them. Once I laid down on the ground to capture the flowers, I saw these little buggers everywhere.

This is my one attempt at IR with plant life.

Later in the afternoon, we went out to capture the sunset. I do not remember the exact location where these pics were taken but Andy and Marc found this spot on their last trip. This was the only water I saw on the trip and with the heavy amounts of salt, it looked like icy waters. A very cool Desert trick.

Jamie modeling a chunk of salt crystal. Please do not fret or send me emails, I did put the salt back ;-)

Day 3 "the finale"
By far, day 3 was the best day of any workshop i have been on. It was just a very fun day hanging out with the other photographers and witnessing a phoneme that no one has explained with confidence.....We went to the "Race Track"

On the way to the Race Track, we stopped to take a few quick snap shots of a very beautiful place. The ground was covered in volcanic pebbles with bright purple flowers carpeting the ground.

Back into the van and off to the Race Track. On the way we saw a great sign that is very famous.

The Tea Kettle Junction Sign

When we arrived at Race Track Playa, we first took some pictures on the north end of the Playa which is slightly elevated over the southern end by a mountain that is slowly pushy itself up and out of the Playa.

Like an iceburg, we only can see the tip.

We had a lot of fun on this little mountain on the Playa. Here is Marc doing is famous pose.

I am just happy I made it to the top. To celebrate I took off my shirt and enjoyed the cool breeze blowing at gusts of 40mph. A few others in our group got down to their bare essentials but since this is a "G" rated site, I won't post those :-D

Once we got the the southern part of the Playa, the fun didn't stop. We had to burn a few hours before the light was good. So what better to do than take a short nap.

Scott taking a quick snooze

Once the sun was low on the horizon and the shadows were long, shooting commenced.

What a great trip, with great people and a fantastic place to shoot. I will end this thread with a picture of the dunes that I always thought was the only subject Death Valley had to offer of any interest. I am so glad I has proven so wrong.

Just for your amusement, I added a very short film Marc Muench Took of me with my lens cap rolling away at high speeds on the Playa in Death Valley. The wind gusts sometimes were fierce.

PLease click here --> The Answer to Why the Rocks Move on the Playa

B&W conversions

2010-04-05T15:05:00.000-07:00

In honor to all those B&W fans like myself, here are a few conversions from my Yosemite day trip.

Mirror Lake

Yosemite Valley

Merced River Feeder

Yosemite for a Day

2010-03-28T16:07:00.000-07:00

My good friend John, his daughter and myself took a 250 mile long drive to visit Yosemite for a half of day. It may sound odd but I really wanted to try to capture Yosemite before the snow melted. As we drove through the valley floor, it was painfully obvious that almost all of the snow was gone. This just left bleak brown plant life that did not express beauty to me. I did take a few shots here and there but nothing really excited me and I just could not over come my disappointment that what I envisioned covered in snow was now just dead wet brown plants. Oh well....next year I will give it a go a little earlier.

Instead of making it a complete loss, I decided to make John and his daughter models for a day. What better location than one of natural wonders of the world.

John and his Daughter

Here a few shots a took of Yosemite's scenery. No matter how disappointed I was that the snow was gone, this area of the world is just simply gorgeous and will always be one of my favorites places to visit.

Valley Floor with an almost full moon

Mirror Lake

One of the feeders for the Merced River

A Day of Tranquility

2010-03-24T22:33:00.000-07:00

It has been a few years but it was time to visit my favorite acupuncturist Dr. Andrew Wu in Cupertino. My mom was suffering from a pinched syatic nerve and I needed to go in for my semi-annual check up. To add to the day of healing and tranquility, I also wanted to bring her to Hakone Gardens in Saratoga to witness the beautiful landscaping and to enjoy the peacefulness this place can bring to visitors.

Here is a picture of Dr. Wu and his assistant

Dr. Bi and his wife the pharmacist

This is super rare pictures of myself but i wanted to show everyone just how many needles were placed in me and where.

Just a few needles in my head

Here are a few in my tummy as well as some kind of wire hook up that connects some of the needles to a cactus....oh yes...you heard me right

After our treatment, we went to the gardens to relax and absorb some beautiful scenery.

I had a great day hanging out with my mom. I am so glad the weather cooperated and Dr. Wu was able to treat my mom. Crossing fingers that it will help her.

Thank you mom for a great day....I Love You.

Cal Rubgy and Old Friends

2010-03-21T11:58:00.001-07:00

This Saturday I was invited to go see the Cal bears play St. Mary's Gaels Rugby Match with my father and his two long time friends. These three Berkeley alumni over many years have enjoyed meeting up to watch Cal football and more recently Cal Rugby. This marked my first experience watching live Rugby and I was thrilled. Even though I kept bugging my dad about the rules and strategies of Rugby, it did not dampen the excitement when a great play was made by either side.

The over sold grand stands and surrounding stand-only locations were packed with fans. By the time the game was about to begin, security had to turn people away from the entrance. Even "tight wade hill" had spectators filling up to see #1 in the country Cal against #3 St. Mary's face up for what I thought would be a great game. As it turned out, Cal handed St. Mary's a severe beating 56 to 5.

Here are a few shots I was able to capture with my ever surprising Canon S90. Who said one can not use a point & shot to capture sports? :D

Thank you Dad, Ralph and Jeff for allowing me to join your traditional outing. I enjoyed myself thoroughly and hope I will be invited once again on the next Cal alumni get together.

One Day of Winter Fun

2010-03-20T09:42:00.001-07:00

It has been several months since my last post but with the bad weather, my busy schedule and shooting mostly for clients I have not gone out on a personal photography outing in awhile.

This past weekend I took the family up to the mountains for some snow tubing fun. Instead of fighting traffic on Saturday, we decided to drive up Friday and stay in a cabin for the night.....What happened next was not planned nor fun.

We woke up early Friday to pack and get ready for the drive up when all we can here was the hard rain out side. This was not a good sign. Rain here means snow in the mountains but that was not going to stop us from at least trying.

By the time we arrived to the foot of the mountains, the traffic was horrendous. As we crept up the mountain, the rain turned into sleet and eventually truned into a snow blizzard by the time we got to an elevation of 2,500 feet. As soon as the snow really started to come down everyone was pulling over to put the mandatory chains on. Since we did not carry any chains, my fault and another story, we had to fork over $100 for the chain installer crew to provide and install chains for us.

As you can see, using my phone camera, the snow was coming down hard and the traffic was bumper to bumper

When we finally arrived to our exit, we were greeted by thick snow. The mini-van we were in did a great job maneuvering in the snow. The TCS, Track Control System, worked like a charm.

Our cabin was buried under a few feet of snow but at least the owners left out a snow shovel for us to dig a path to the door.

The kids and dog ran and played while Theresa and I dug out the path and unloaded the car.

As we were settling down for the night, the power went out and never came back on. The owner's came by with a few candles for some light but we were wondering what we got ourselves into. Thank goodness the fireplace was gas so we at least had some heat.

The next morning we woke up to a glorious weather. The sun was out, the skies were blue and the snow was pristine.

The Car was covered in snow and the doors were frozen sealed. It took me about a half an hour and scrapping to get the door open. Once I got the car started and turned on the heat, it took another half an hour to get the side doors and back door to open so we could pack up and get the the tubing slopes.

The car was the last negative experience we had. The rest of the day went very well and the family and a fantastic time sliding down the hill in their tubes making the whole weekend worth the tremendous effort and frustration.

The extremely convenient escalator to the top of the tubing runs

Isabel from the top of the run

Eva

Theresa surviving her first tubing run

Declan after screaming down the hill.

Isabel going sideways

The kids after a long but great day in the snow.

Just to prove to everyone that I can have fun, here is a video of me going down one of the tubing runs.......weeeeeeeeee

Bringing in the New Year

2010-01-02T13:56:00.001-08:00

This New Year was a special one. I was able to spend it with two High School friends and their families. This was the first time we have been together since those glorious High School years. Our bodies may have changed, our hair may have thinned out but our friendship snapped right into place when we all were together. It was a wonderful and indelible memory to start off the New Year.

We first grubbed on special plates brought in by everyone. The food was fantastic and enjoyed by all. I even was able to come away with some yummy recipes from Gerald our celebrity chef.

A group shot within a very small space

High School Buds: Me, Gerald and Joey

Gerlad's Wife Cheryl was the master of balloon twisting. She made very cool animals, hats...etc. This kept the kids busy and very happy.

My Family: Isabel, Declan, Theresa and Eva

Isabel Bringing in the New Year with her noise maker

Declan making a toy out of the Snowman decoration

Gerald's Family: Cheryl, Gerald and Claire

Joey, his Wife Mimi and El Gato

Joey with his mom Trudie

Joey's sister's family: Geovanny, Laura and Jasmine

Thank you Gerald and Joey for sharing your families and the long over due reunion. Until next time, Happy New Year!!!

Congratulations, A Baby Girl

2009-12-21T01:01:00.000-08:00

Two wonderful friends, Tina & John, delivered a healthy baby girl named Serafina just a few days ago. Two weeks ago I took a few shoots of the future parents at Tina's last stage of pregnancy.

Tina & John allowed me to swing by for a quick visit even though they just got home from the hospital. While I was there of course I had to snap a few shots of the proud but very tired parents and their precious little baby Serafina.

Congratulations Tina & John, may your family be blessed with good health and happiness. Love to you both.

Two Sides of a Coin

2009-12-20T22:56:00.000-08:00

As an adult I realize making friends is not as easy as in the days of school yards and recess play time. Now-a-days silly emotions and mostly ego get in the way of creating life long friends. Fortunate for me, I have made some during my time at my present job and no other as much as Stace. Stace has become a true friend and a friend I would like to keep for a lifetime.

Many years ago when I first met Stace, she asked me to take some pictures of her and her clan of friends. I took a few but nothing super and nothing that showed the different personas of this gorgeous but feared by many complex person. She has the presence to either rip your head off with speed and grace or give you a big hug of unbelievable warmth. It just depends on what end of the spectrum you may be on. I am very thankful I usually fall on her good side.

It has taken a very long time, probably years, to finally have enough time off at the same time to go out for the day and try to capture some of this presence I have been talking about. In the wee hours of the morning, I took some shots that hopefully will show her strong and powerful side that has made her so successful in life, career and martial arts.

After the early morning session and freezing are buts off, we headed to get some coffee and warm up a little before shooting the second part of her persona. This time she was able to show not only her beauty but a side many do not see. Still a strong presence but now instead of instilling fear into others, she was turning heads with her femininity.

Not all of us are blessed with great beauty or even with a ton of smarts but at least you need to know someone that carries them and carries them well. That is my advice and I am sticking to it.

Making Collages

2009-12-18T12:23:00.000-08:00

I always feel a little nervous when asked to make collages of pictures I took of an event or individual. For some reason I almost go into a panic, at least until I start the project. Once the project starts, the ideas start flowing.

I so wish I had pictures of me playing football in High School. It was a great time in my life. Besides having a full head of hair and a svelte body, I truly enjoyed playing with a team of friends I still keep in contact with today.

This is the mind frame I put myself into when I take sport pictures and when I make these collages. Here are two poster collages I made for a proud dad of his Boy playing High School Football.

Snake Charmer

2009-12-12T17:46:00.001-08:00

A co-worker told me he had a few snakes. Knowing how much I love to take pics, he allowed me to set up a time to come over and snap a few shots. I did not know what to expect except that none of the snakes were poisonous and I have a deep phobia towards the legless creatures.

When I arrived to his house, I was surprised at the room where the snakes were housed. Not only was the entire room dedicated for the snakes but there were more than 50 of them. The room was kept at a constant sweltering temp of 85deg with 90% humidity compared to the current outside temp of 40deg with a brisk cold breeze.

The snake charmer, Mike, explained each species to me as he took them out of their habitats but unfortunately I started to loose track of the names since there were so many. I will add the proper names as soon as I communicate with Mike next week.

In the beginning of the session, Mike understanding my phobia, held the snakes until I was able to get over my snake phobia before allowing them to slither freely.

Mike w/Kahl Albino Red Tail Boa

Dumeril's Boa

Normal Ball Python

Brazilian Rainbow Boa

Brazilian Rainbow Boa

This last little guy kept lunging at me with a hideous hissing noise. Good thing these guys are non-poisonous but it still did not help my phobia in the least.

Reverse Stripped Red Tail Boa

The rest are just a variety of different shots I took of these beautiful creatures. This time, Mike allowed the snakes to roam freely.

Hypo Red Tail Boa

Sharp Albino Red Tail Boa

Brazilian Rainbow Boa

Jungle Carpet Python

Bumble Bee Ball Python

Pastel Ball & Spider Ball Pythons

Diamond Python

Ghost sonoran Gopher snake

Pin Stripped Ball Python

Albino Ball Python

Bumble Bee Ball Python

Kahl Albino Red Tail Boa

Sharp Albino Red Tail Boa

By the end of our session, I had my fill of snakes and my phobia seemed to calm down a bit but I am still uncomfortable holding them. Maybe next time.....or not.

Shooting H.S. Football

2009-11-17T08:44:00.001-08:00

The last few weeks I had a ton of fun shooting H.S. Football. It is not my usual photography job but maybe it should be. I am a real sucker for action shoots. It reminds me of fishing or hunting in the sense that you sit patiently for a shot that you know is there but have to wait until the right moment. Sometimes you miss but sometimes you catch that right moment in time that makes a very powerful shot. I would be very happy to capture one great shot per game but hope for many more.

Here are a few of the shots I was able to capture,

If I like the shoot enough, I will convert them into B&W just to give it more drama as in the examples below.

Night Light Reaches 25,000 views

2009-11-02T22:08:00.000-08:00

This picture in particular has captured the attention of many people in good ways and some in bad ways. I have received comments that range from best picture ever seen to people calling me a fraud for using multiple exposures to make this shot.

In the beginning I took the criticisms very harsh but through fellow photographers, family and friends support, I realized the shot is a representative of what I saw that awesome night and how I wanted my viewers to see it.

The shot was taken by my IR camera with four exposures. One exposure for the moon, one for the stars, one for the clouds and one for the cityscape. There is a lot of hype about how pictures should be represented. SOC or straight out of camera seems to be the worst perception of how a picture should be produced.

No matter if a shot was made by digital or film, there is no such thing as SOC that has not been tweaked by either in-camera software settings(shooting in JPEG) or post processing from a RAW file. I will not get into the particulars right now since it would take pages to explain. Just know when someone is hyping up their picture by stating it was SOC so somehow they are a great photographer, you will now know that they are full of it or just full of themselves.

Enjoy a few quotes from one man that changed photography forever.

"When I'm ready to make a photograph, I think I quite obviously see in my minds eye something that is not literally there in the true meaning of the word. I'm interested in something which is built up from within, rather than just extracted from without."

"You don't take a photograph, you make it."

"No man has the right to dictate what other men should perceive, create or produce, but all should be encouraged to reveal themselves, their perceptions and emotions, and to build confidence in the creative spirit."

Ansel Adams

Capital Reef National Park, Utah ~ Day 5 & Last Day 6

2009-10-14T09:18:00.000-07:00

Whewww!!!! It has been a great trip so far but what to come was even more awesome. Today we slept in until 7am.....yipeeee. It was good to catch up on our rest since it will be my last good rest until we head home on day 7.

The Hondoo Guides, Pat and this time Rodger, took us to their sanctuary in the Red Canyon at the San Rafael Swell. We were going to camp under the stars tonight. The Drive going to the swell was very underwhelming compared to the scenery that I had become accustomed to in Capital Reef National Park. It was baron and colourless.

The only bit of colour we saw was a patch of Aspen trees just off the road. As photographers would have it, we stopped to snap a shot.

Aspens with a star

After an hour or so of driving, we entered Red Canyon and the scenery changed dramatically. The rock formations were very interesting and the colours were outstanding. This area's history is that of Uranium Ore mining. With the bright coloured green rocks I have no doubt that we all will have a little glow to us when we head back home.

We stopped along the dirt road next to a very old stable to eat lunch. Since our breakfast was so huge and I was feeling very guilty about the amounts of food I have consumed on this trip, I decided to walk around a bit to shoot some shots instead. Sarah was kind enough to walk with me so I would not get lost.

I have a horrible sense of direction and our conversations always started with me asking, "didn't we come from this way?" with Sarah politely and probably fully irritated with my lack of awareness, saying "I do not believe so, I am sure we came from this direction." Of course she was always right. Thanks Sarah for keeping an eye on me, My family surely appreciates it.

The colors were beautiful but the light sucked to be able to capture them. This was a great excuse to break out the IR camera and shoot some scenery of this very cool landscape that had great rock formations and IR's best friend, cloudy skies.

Once we arrived at the camp site we split up who will sleep in which tent. Andy smartly volunteered to share a tent with me. I am sure it was to keep me away from the other paying guests so the chances of having them as returning photo workshop participants increase ten fold.

Before going on with this story, I really have to tell you how great the Hondoo Guides set up the campsite; The tents were of very high quality. We each had a low profile sleeping cot with an air pad. A very warm fleeced line sleeping bag and as many blankets as one needed for that little extra warmth. A convenient potty(very important) close to camp. The food was very good and the breakfast was especially yummy with peach pancakes, yogurt, granola, oatmeal, bacon, coffee and tea for me.

While at camp I took a few shots but I was more interested in hanging around the camp fire and shooting the sh*t with our group members. We all expressed what we liked about this trip as well as share how we all ended up becoming photographers from Novices to Pros. It was a great bonding experience and a great way to end our week long trip.

Before Dinner, Dave Porter told us that he found a lizard in his bedding. Since I am an animal freak and love to capture at least one wildlife shot on this trip, I took full advantage of this seemingly rare situation during this part of the season.

My one pic of wildlife on this trip, a Young 3" Northern Plateau Lizard...wahoooo

A shot I took while I was putzing around at the camp site.

Hondoo Arch through a separation in a butte near camp

Camp Fire with some yummy coffee

While we were chatting around the camp fire I turned around and saw this tree lit up by the fire.

When my eyes finally settled down from the brightness of the fire, I saw an even better shot that was lit up by the camp fire. It ended up becoming my fav shot of the trip because of so many emotional factors. The trip was in its end, the scene shows our camp view and the beauty of this part of the world, and most importantly to me, I was able to capture it with the skills learned from Marc Muench, Dave Porter and the ever boisterous but with a heart of gold Andy Williams.

Muddy Water Camp Site in Red Canyon at San Rafael Swell.

Thank you for following along with me on this wonderful trip. If you ever had any doubts about going to a Marc Muench Workshop, I hope this little adventure story will push you over that threshold. You will enjoy a week filled with learning and capturing awesome shots while meeting very helpful pros and a few photo hobbyists like myself.

~CHEERS

Capital Reef National Park, Utah ~ Day 4

2009-10-13T17:07:00.000-07:00

Today I woke up at 4am and feeling pretty excited about my photography. Even though I have not yet gone through my CF cards I just felt more confident and more anxious to get out and shoot.

The original plan was to go back to the Hickman Bridge Trail head to shoot the stars over Capital Dome but the Twin Rocks caught Marc's eye so we stopped. We spent the next few hours walking around and taking pictures of Twin Rocks and its surroundings.

Twin Rocks lit up by the moon.

This is another view of twins rocks from a different vantage point. It was lit by the moon and highlighted certain areas with a little help of a powerful flashlight that Andy so nicely "painted" onto the rocks.

I do not remember why but I do not have a sunrise pic. Maybe the cloud cover was too dense but I did grab a shot of the valley behind us after sunrise.

Some random shot

After a short morning, we headed back to Torrey to meet up with our guides for the day, Pat and Kathy from Hondoo Rivers and Trails. Pat and Kathy led us to see some pictographs as well as some petroglyphs along Pleasant Creek Drainage Basin area. We parked at Sleepy Rainbow Ranch snapped a few shots and then headed down towards Pleasant Creek.

Sleepy Rainbow Ranch Fence Lines

During the trip to Pleasant Creek, somehow random pieces of junk or artifacts miraculously appeared on Marc's driver's seat while we fiddle farted at different spots to look at the scenery. No one really knows how this phenomenon happened but I heard it started sometime on a past workshop and has continued onto this one. Hmmmm.....Very Scary indeed

Some Old Rusted Steel Can

A tree branch appeared when there were no trees in sight

Old Car Door????? I have no idea how an extra car door appeared...This was the biggest mystery of them all. Marc seemed to be amused. He obviously has a great sense of humor.

During our walk through Pleasant Creek Drainage, we were delighted by the scenery as well as the pictographs and petroglyphs.

Pleasant Creek

Human Figure Pictographs

Snake Figure Pictograph

Pertroglyphs

As the day was winding down and we were in our vehicles heading back to Torrey, we all gasped at this incredible wall with its contrasty water stains against the orange/red rock. So, as photographers we all jumped out of the vehicle to try and capture this beauty.

What a great way to end the day of photo shooting. Tomorrow we are off to San Rafael Swell to go camping at Muddy Creek in Red Canyon.

Day 5.....cont.

Capital Reef National Park, Utah ~ Day 3

2009-10-13T11:27:00.000-07:00

By day three, I was feeling way more confident with myself, my equipment and my surroundings. I felt that it was time to produce some decent shots and stop trying to go back to my comfort zone with my photography.

My personal comfort zone is within city limits with tons of subject matter at every turn. Out in the open with vast views and limited subject matter, I tend to freeze up and my motivation to shoot goes way down. This is main reason why I go to Marc's Work Shops. They force me out of my comfort zone and make me shoot with equipment I am not use to, techniques I am unfamiliar with and landscapes that baffle me.

As expected on this photo journey, we started at the usual 5am. We were off to capture Hickman Bridge. When we arrived at the trail head, we were blessed with a stunning moonlit view of Capital Bluff. We all grabbed our gear to take a shot before heading off to Hickman.

Orion,The Hunter, over Capital Bluff

From the parking lot, Hickman Bridge is approx 1 1/2 mile walk but felt more like 10 in this altitude, approx 7000 feet, and I am sure that my horrible conditioning did not help matters. I should of brought an extra pair of lungs for this trek since the trail was fairly steep for the first mile but fortunately did let up for the last 1/2 mile. What we were presented with at the end of the trail made it all worth while.

Hickman Bridge has a 130 foot span and has a height of 125 feet.

I had to borrow Marc's fish eye to capture the Bridge from end to end. After this shot, I realized that a fisheye will be in my bag someday very soon. Oh!!! and in case you are wondering, yes he is using a Nikon fish eye on his Canon. I know, it is such sacrilege to even think it but you do what you have to do inorder to get the shot ;-)

After the sun came up and the light looked bleak for shots, we all started to head back to our rooms at the Chuck Wagon Motel in Torrey to crash for a few hours. On our way back to Torrey we stopped off to take a few shots of a dried out creek which equals a great time to break out the IR camera and pop off a few shots.

Sunstar

Dry Creek

Once we all rested up, filled our guts with food, we headed to Panorama Point to capture the sunset and take some night shots.

View from Panorama Point in IR

Another view from Panorama Point in colour

Non-photographers watching the sunset

Once the sun was down, the sky was still awesome

Another wonderful day at Capital reef flew by. It was time to head back to Torrey to get a few hours of sleep before heading off to Twin Rocks in the morning.

Day 4.......cont

Capital Reef National Park, Utah ~ Days 1 & 2

2009-10-12T14:31:00.000-07:00

The last time I was in this part of the world I was on a quest to cover as much sightseeing as possible with my travel companion that is now my wife. I unfortunately only took a few pictures on our journey and I was shooting film those days. I really did not have the skills to produce any pictures that was able to capture the vastness of the landscape nor the incredible beauty.

This trip was to hopefully settle my score with my past regrets of not having the ability to show you what I see in this incredible part of the world. What better way to do that than to go with a Marc Muench Workshop. This was the third trip that I have enjoyed working with Marc. I have been known to be very critical and disappointed of photo workshops but with Marc and his entourage I have nothing but overwhelming praise.

One the way to Grand Junction to meet up with the gang of photographers my connection flight in Denver was delayed an hour with my already a 3 hour layover. This seems to be a common theme for me when I go through Denver. Instead of sulking, I decided to walk around the terminal. I heard some music being played a few gates over so I decided to sit and listen to the entertainment. After listening to these guys for awhile I was able to muster up the nerve to go talk to them and ask if I may take a photo of them while playing. They introduced themselves as the Blue Canyon Boys and agreed to allow me to take a shot. I must personally thank the Blue Canyon Boys for their terrific entertainment in what could of been a very long, tedious and boring time waiting for my connection flight. Instead, I was thoroughly entertained with many others by the great bluegrass music that was filling the terminals.

By the time I arrived in Grand Junction I was ready to go out and shoot. The only problem is that I had to wait until the next morning before I start my adventure into and around Capital Reef National Park.

The group started off early (5am) to try and capture views from Colorado National Monument before sunrise. I failed miserably with this task. My composition missed by a mile. It was a little dark to compose, focus and guess what the correct long exposure will be. First day shooting was more of a lesson than getting a great shot. Thanks to Marc for the quick tip on how to focus in dark situations using a wide angle lens. He suggested focusing in the dark by aiming at something bright, adjust the focus to achieve sharp edges and then realign to compose the shot I originally wanted. The technique worked, but the photographer failed. Oh well, lots more practice in the coming days.

Mis-composed and under exposed shot of Independence rock and the city view of Grand Junction from the Colorado National Monument.

After my first disappointment, I started to get a hang of composing in the dark, correct exposure and to achieve what I was envisioning.

Here are a few sunset shots from Grand View in Colorado National Monument.

One of the great highlights of day 2 besides the great scenery was where we had dinner. One would not think such a restaurant like Cafe Diablo would exist in a such a small town like Torrey, Utah population of only 120 but you would be very wrong. The food and presentation was superb and a great surprise for a self proclaimed foody like myself.

I ordered a couple of appetizers rather than an entrée just so I could try as much variety as possible. Everything I tasted was excellent and every dish I saw was a piece of art on a plate. I even had my G10 to be able to capture some of the food art on our plates.

I only was able to catch some of our plates but you get the idea.

Firecrackers ~ Ladyfingers, Cherry Bomb and M80 , VERY HOT!!!! yummy

Cobb Salad

Rattle Snake Cakes

Beef Flank Steak Carbon

Pecan Chicken

After Day 2 was over, I started to feel a little more confident but not near where I wanted to be with my photo taking of such awe inspiring scenery. As the days progressed, I not only felt more comfortable but started to actually feel as if my shots were progressing to a state of respect that Capital Reef National Park demands.

Day 3......cont.

Self Portrait

2009-09-20T21:21:00.000-07:00

Nothing like a good self portrait to boost clients trust in ones capabilities to retouch up a photo. Do you think I went a little too far???

When the Weather Would Not Cooperate

2009-09-14T09:38:00.000-07:00

I woke up super early to pick up a few friends and shoot a sunrise over the city today. When looking up the sunrise time on the net, I miss read the sunrise time and arrived at the place I wanted to shoot an hour and a half earlier than needed. Oh well, better early than late. Sorry Steph and Travis :-<

Since the weather was not cooperating....grumble....grumble, we decided to get some breakfast and more importantly fill our bodies with coffee. Once our tummy's were full and we were buzzing off our caffeine, we continued onto our photo quest to Grace Cathedral. Since the weather was not giving us good lighting conditions, what better than to shoot some B&W shots inside one of the more unique churches of San Francisco.

This was the first time I used my tilt/shift lens. I must say, I love this lens and can not wait to use it more. As you can see, this church is unique in that it has a fairly large Labyrinth inside the church. While we were there, I watched people using the labyrinth. A direct quote from Wiki, "Walking among the turnings, one loses track of direction and of the outside world, and thus quiets the mind."

We found the organist practicing for the upcoming Choral Eucharist.

On the second floor sits The Chapel St.Francis/Colubarium. This place looks like a portal to another world. Beam me up Scotty!!!

On the front door are some ornate panels filled with scenes from the bible. I am always a sucker for well made art work.

Two fun pictures. First one is of Steph/Schmoo piercing me with a death stare for fibbing to her about the sunrise time.

This was Travis's payback for waking him up too early this morning and standing out in the cold for a sunrise that just never arrived.

Thank you Travis and Steph for getting up way too early, failing to get the planed shot but hanging out with me anyway. ;-) It was great shooting with you while catching up. Next time, you guys pick the place and time. :-D

Southern France and my G10 pt.5 and finale

2009-08-23T15:33:00.000-07:00

I love to cook as much as photography and there is no better place for awesome ingredients than France. I went to Farmer's market at least twice week to buy food for the family. Unlike our mass food chains, the food does not last as long before one must use it or through it away. But, and this is a very big BUT, the produce is so much tastier since they are picked ripe and not picked weeks before they hit the market.

The meat is all grass feed and not stuffed with corn so the fat content is much lower and the flavours are much bolder. Beef tastes like beef, pork is freaking awesome, lamb, Veal, chicken and so on are just sooo good.

Enough talking about the food since I am starting to drool on my Mac and it is not pretty and onto some pics I took at some of the Markets.

Seafood is very big in these parts as one would expect since we are so close to the Mediterranean. At first I was a little weary about buying seafood from the market but that faded away as soon as I started to see how fresh the seafood really was.

The French version of crawdads. I loved these little guys. Nothing like admitting to eating and loving water insects. My kids would not touch them unless the meat was out of the shells.

The Markets not only sold fresh items but dry goods as well. Anyone want some rose pedals for their salads or to make rose pedal infused oil and sauces. The perfume wafting from these dried roses was incredible.
I made some humus with ingredients I bought from the market for a BBQ potluck we were going to at my parents. I used the normal amount of garlic I would usually use but that was a mistake. This garlic compared to the garlic from Gilroy is much much stronger. Still, everyone seemed to gobble it up but the smell the next day was brutal. Good thing we were all family and friends.
I so loved these small villages were the smaller farmer's markets were located. One really got a great feeling of age and time from the more modern homes that are a few hundred years old to the older abbeys and churches that date back to the 13th century or older.

Besides the joy of going to the markets, I also became a big fan of Le Cosy in Carcassone. This little bistro owned by Joseph Di Domenico not only has great food and atmosphere, it also has live jazz playing on special nights. One of those special nights that Theresa and I never missed while we were there was Saturdays. On this day, my dad, his drummer and sometimes bassist plays from 8pm to 11pm. I do not think there was a more proud son than I when I truly enjoyed listeneing to my dad play.

As you might notice on my home page of my web site is a picture of my dads hands floating across the piano. Even though my dad played mostly acoustic guitar when I was a kid, he held a passion for his first love of musical instruments, the piano. I would have of never believed that my dad would become a jazz performer after he retired and especially of all places in southern France. You go dad!!!

Theresa and I enjoying great food and awesome Jazz

My Dad

On the second Saturday that we went to Le Cosy, we ran into a couple that got lost going from Toulouse to Beziers. They ended up at Le Cosy by chance, hungry, tired and probably frustrated since Beziers was another 90 km away.

As life goes, this was a blessing for me and all the guests at the bistro that night. The couple consisted of Adam Berry, American professional photojournalist working in Berlin, and his travel companion classically trained violinist from Hungry. For the life of me I can not remember her name :-(.

As we chatted with Adam, we convinced his travel companion to take out her violin and play some sets with my dad. It was amazing. She improvised beautifully even with extremely different music styles between the technically perfect style of classical music to the very rebelliousness style of Jazz.

It just shows you how a bad day for a frustrated traveling lost couple can turn into an evening of awesome music, great food and wonderful memories.

The owner of Le Cosy stood in awe over the music he was hearing. What a magical and memorable night

I hope everyone following along with me on this journey entry was able to have an understanding of how great of a time my family and I had here in southern France. The few times that I have gone to this part of the world, I am reminded why my parents ran away from home and planted themselves in a little part of heaven called southern France.

Love to my parents - Miss you already

Southern France and My G10 pt.4

2009-08-21T02:39:00.000-07:00

My kids were extremely excited when we told them that we were going to a real Castle called Cité de Carcassonne that is still occupied by private citizens. To tell you the truth, no matter how many times I have been here I still get a little excited. I can do without the touristy gift shop junk but I love the wall city itself. Where else can one walk across a moat into a wall city built in medieval times?

Le Cite - The city was gorgeous at night. This is where I wish a had a tripod with me.

Entrance to the center area of Le Cite. The walled city had three separate walls and two moats that protected this area from outside invaders.

This Gothic church was covered with Gargoyles.

I have always been fascinated by Gargoyles. The people that know me personally can contest to this by the large tattoo affixed to my right calf. I always thought of Gargoyles as the protectors from bad spirits.

still to come...part 5 and probably my last installment of this great family trip.

Southern France and my G10 pt.3

2009-08-19T10:05:00.000-07:00

During our stay at Berges, my mom offered to watch the kids so Theresa and I can drive off for a day trip. You got to love Moms. Theresa and I decided to head towards the Mediterranean Sea to the city of Sete and Meze. Both cities are huge fishing towns as by the design of the Canal du Midi that starts from Sete runs through Toulouse and then all the way to the Atlantic ocean some 150 miles in total length.

Before big semi-trucks and airplanes, the Canal du Midi was the main blood line for goods through the southern part of France. This path was much faster path than sailing clear around Spain as well as being much safer by avoiding the pirates of the time. Canal du Midi was built between 1666 and 1681. Hard to believe that this man made canal was dug up with shovels and picks.

Canal du Midi

Canal Lock - In order for the canal to run in mostly a straight line it must deal with elevation changes. It handles this by the use of a series of Locks. This is just one of the 91 locks that were built for the canal.

Since Theresa and I are not much into beaches, we stayed away from the extremely over crowded sand traps and stuck with Sete's and Meze's water ways. Meze is famous for their farming of Mussels and Oysters. This was very evident by the amount of farming platforms we saw there.

Sete is a fishing village. There were huge fishing boats crowding the water ways throughout Sete. In these pictures you will also see some rowers practicing for a sport that really intrigued me. Jousting with row boats.

In this part of the world, they have a sport called Joutes Nautiques. Even though we did not get to see an actual Joust competition, we did see the boats and the crews practicing speed rowing. The jousts are performed in these large row boats manned by one Jouster that stands atop of the raised platform and 10 oarsman that provide the motor power. I really wish we were there on a day of an event. Maybe next time.

Jousting Boats

more to come......

Southern France and my G10 pt.2

2009-08-18T10:13:00.000-07:00

One of many great memories I have come away with from Les Berges is the unbelievable diversity and amount of little wildlife. There might not be majestic big cats, elegant plains animals or cute furry little animals running around but there is no shortage of wildlife here in this part of Southern France. You just have to look down, listen and focus on the smaller world of Insects, bugs and reptiles.

First let me introduce you to the critters that gave me the willies. Since I do not know their names in English, having only a bug identification book in French, I will use their French names.

Le Scorpian Noir - We found one of these guys almost every other day hanging on the walls in our apartment. It seemed there was a slight scorpion infestation this year at Berges or they just loved me so much, they decided to greet me on a daily basis.

Le scorpion noir w-Le Psammodrone das sables - The lizard was already dead when this scorpion decided to carry it around.

La Scutigere - This little creature is super fast. Even though they do not bite, they still gave me the willies. This one was found in our shower basin and was unable to climb up the sides to escape. She was probable 2 inches long

The translated French name for this seven legged beast is Big Hairy and Scary. This spider was at least 6 inches long but I never saw it move. It was smacked by a very big shoe before it had a chance. She was sitting a foot away from my head by our bed.

Le Minioptere - Twice at our stay in Berges we had visitors fly through the windows at night chasing moths attracted by our lights. I do not mind visitors as long as they leave when I ask. These bats just did not seem to care about manners. A broom seemed to do the trick.

Couleuvre a Collier - The creeks in this area are filled with these little water snakes that were no longer than a couple of feet in length. I was amazed how long they were able to stay under water before coming up for air. These particular snakes have almost exact markings of a viper that live in the same area. The major differences are that these snakes have round eyes instead of oval eyes.

Now for the more tame creatures that did not give me a fright but more of a warm fuzzy feeling.

L'Hemidactyle verruqueux - This Gecko fascinated me. She stood in front of these lights and as the moths flew towards her, she would eat them. Very cool

L'Escargot Elegant - On the way back from Mirapoix's farmers market, we found these beautiful snails.

I do not know about this gal. She kept given me the eye ;-)

Bumble Bee

Le Xylocope violace ou Abeille charpentiere - These carpenter bees are huge. They were probably an inch to one and one half of an inch in length. They have beautiful deep purple wings with black bodies.

Le Moro-Sphinx - This 1 inch moth took me a good two weeks to capture a somewhat clear shot. At first I thought she was a hummingbird but the locals told me otherwise. They move, look and are as shy as hummingbirds but to my surprise, they are not by the evidence of this shot. I never did see how one looked when they landed

Le Criquet - Lets just say they were everywhere. At night time, their calls were deafening and calming at the same time.

Le Criquet rhodanien - Another huge bug. This one was probably 4 inches in length. When she finally jumped to get away from me, she went at least 20 feet. I was amazed how far they could jump without the use of wings.

Le Cotoine Doree - I loved the colors on this scarab. They seemed to really love the roses.

Le Calopteryx vierge meridional - probably the most gorgeous damsel fly I have seen. She was dark blue with extremely bright alternating light blue stripes.

That is all I have for small creatures but that was just the tip compared to the varieties I saw. I could spend months just taking pics of these little critters but I had my family to enjoy as well during my stay here in southern France.

more to come in part 3

Southern France and my G10

2009-08-17T07:43:00.000-07:00

First let me say sorry that I have been gone for so long. I took a little break from public life to just relax and spend sometime with the family. I spent the last several weeks in the southern part of France visiting my parents and recouping from a recent illness.

I decided to bring and test out the limits of my Canon G10 Point & Shoot. It is not nearly as cooperative, flexible nor as sharp as my Nikon D3 but it also does not weigh a ton and is convenient enough to stuff in my pockets. The only real disappointment I had was with the high noise in the shadows and its inability to shot quality shots in dark situations. I found that many of my shots were just not that sharp unless the lighting conditions were ideal. Maybe I am just terribly spoiled by the abilities of my D3 paired with the lens collection I own. I just need to remind myself that this was not a photo vacation but a time to spend with my family and to recoup.

Instead of overcrowding my parents place in Caune-Minervois with all five of us, we ended up staying a few kilometers away at a wonderful place called Les Berges that is run by longtime family friends Lois and Terry Link. They rent out four apartments in their vast home that they fixed up to a very comfortable place to stay. If any of you are thinking of visiting the Southern part of France in or around Caunes-Minervois, give them a call to see if they have room for you and your family. You will not regret it, especially if you have children.

Berges is the absolute perfect place for children of all ages. Their land is filled with a ton of activities that kids just eat up. My kids spent most of their time either playing in the creek hunting for minnows and harmless water snakes to swimming in the pool. They also have a nice kids play area with a swing, tree fort and open grass area.

Les Berges

Walking towards Adventure

Friends Climbing onto the in-progress tree house

All three enjoying a little swinging relaxation.

On the hunt for minnows

Isabel spotting fish for her sister

Eva loved this swing

Using the Olympus 1030sw for some underwater shots

I kept thinking that this camera is just too cool while Eva and Isabel show off their skills

Theresa and Declan cooling off from the heat

Declan's perfect size pool

That is it for now. I just wanted to give you a little taste of what I have been up to. I will keep posting about my trip over the next few days.

Stay tuned.........

Trip to Monterey Aquirium

2009-06-09T12:44:00.000-07:00

On Sunday I brought my friend April down to Monterey for a very quick visit to the aquarium. Our sole task was to vote for my picture that was picked as one of the finalists for the "World Ocean Day Photo Contest".

Since we were there, we also took a few shots in the Seahorse exhibit. Our last visit we were not very impressed with our efforts in trying to capture these little majestic creatures of the sea. The low light, curved glass, continues moving shadows made it very difficult to capture a clear picture.

This time I used my new 50mm f/1.4 lens to try to gain enough speed to freeze and hopefully capture clearly these little guys. I even boosted my ISO speeds up to 3200 praying the noise levels didn't ruin the pictures.

Here is what i captured in the 30 or so minutes we spent shooting.

Leafy Sea Dragon

Potbelly's

Weedy Sea Dragon

Shrimp

Ribbon Pipe Horse

I even got April gazing at these wonderful creatures.

Fingers are still crossed hoping that my picture will make the top three but this little tromp down to the Aquarium with April was worth it no matter where I place in the photo contest. Thank you April for the wonderful day and I hope your pictures came out as you visualized they would.

Finalist in the World Ocean Day photo contest

2009-05-31T23:59:00.000-07:00

On June 6th and June 7th visitors to the Monterey Aquarium have the opportunity to vote for the winner of this years World Ocean Day Photo. The finalists that were chosen by the Aquarium's Judges will be on display for the visitors of the aquarium to choose from. I am pleased to announce that the picture below, "Surfing the Sunrise" a picture I took in Santa Barbara, will be one of those that made it to the finals. Yipeeeee!!!

If any of you happen to visit the aquarium on June 6th or June 7th, please stop by the photo contest and vote for your favorite.

My HS Alma Mater wins City Championship

2009-05-14T04:59:00.000-07:00

I realize the phrase "Alma Mater" is usually reserved for colleges but since I have a lot of pride in the High school I attended and not so much to the colleges I went to, I am using the phrase "Alma Mater" proudly for my Washington Eagles in this post.

Today I was invited by my former classmate Robert to take pictures of George Washington HS Baseball team during the City Championship at AT&T Park. Rob played for Washington during his 4 year tenure and has Coached there for the past 15 years. The Washington Eagles were playing against Galileo Lions.

The game was planned immediately after the Giants vs Nationals game. We were corralled into the right field port walkway to wait for the Giants game to end. It was neat to be able to watch the game fro this vantage point. We also met some local characters that come to watch the games and to socialize.
Once we were let onto the field, I started to feel pretty excited to take pictures of these kids on a professional field. I just got back my D3 camera body from Nikon and was happy to have it back. This camera is a perfect sports camera. It shoots 9 FPS continuously with no delay. I love this camera.

I took some pics before the game to dial in the white balance and exposure settings.

Once the game started I noticed my exposures were all over the place. I was getting very frustrated and finally decided to put the D3 away and go with my back up body the D700. Not nearly as good of a camera but at least I was starting to get some shots.

Even though the Eagles were down by three after the first inning, they screamed back for a 6-4 win to win the City Championship.

Congrats to the City Champs, Washington Eagles, for a great game and giving me the chance to capture it on film.

I will have to post later about what was wrong with my D3. I have to send it back to Nikon with an irate letter requesting a fast fix. I hate when i get back an item from repair not working. It tells me that whoever originally fixed it, never tested it thoroughly and that just chaps my hide.

My pic on Monterey Bay Aquarium's Blog

2009-05-01T12:14:00.000-07:00

My good friend April passed along a link of Monterey Bay Aquarium's blog that showed a picture I took during my last visit.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Blog

Thank you MBA for using my picture ;-)

The Ghost Town of Drawbridge California pt. 2

2009-04-13T18:36:00.001-07:00

Finally, I made the almost three mile walk on train tracks to Draw Bridge California. The first time I ventured to this sinking ghost town I underestimated the length of walk considerably and ended up arriving just before sundown. This time I went with two new photo geeks as myself, Zweiblumen & Schmoo, and the ever lovely April which seems able to put up with my antics long enough for a photo outing without hitting me over the head with a rock.

I had really hoped the clouds would prevail as they did all week but by the time we arrived to Draw Bridge, the clouds all but burned off. I only brought my IR camera since we were going to hit the town mid day which is the best time for IR and the worst time for color.

Here are a few shots of the journey out to the famous sinking ghost town that happens to be right smack in the middle of one of the most populous areas of our country.

The great schmoo taking the low angle train shot.

Since it was easter, the train only ran every half hour or so.

One of the wild creatures we ran onto during our journey. I did not take any pictures of them but there were many dead birds as well as tons plastic balls of different shape all through out our walk. Sort of a weird mixture, wouldn't you say?

The fine example of chivalry by Zweiblumen helping all of us cross one of the many narrow ravines that cut through the sloughs in this area.

After the long walk to Draw Bridge, Schmoo and April take a little sit down and water break. The temp became quite warm as the day progressed.

When we arrived to drawbridge we were greeted with buildings that have sunk many feet and tiled with tons of graffiti.

It's poetic that these homes that are full of memories are slowly being swallowed by the earth that provided the materials to build these structures.

Inside the dilapidated buildings were the marks of past visitors of this forgotten town that once was a bustling getaway for the people that weren't the most ethical type if you understand my drift.

Thank you for joining me to my little journey to Drawbridge. Maybe this will inspire some of you to go out and explore your area for those little hidden spots that are forgotten by so many but need to be revisited to bring their memories back to the present.

Please comment if you have any comments or you just want to say hi.

Seahorse Exhibit @Monterey Bay Aquarium

2009-04-07T10:16:00.000-07:00

Any time I have an excuse to go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, there is no question I will be there. I am always in awe at their incredible displays of underwater and some out of water creatures. This particular trip to the Aquarium was very special for me since it was the grand opening to the Seahorse exhibit for members only.

Somehow my photo bud April was convinced to allow me to attend the event with her after she mentioned she was going. I am not sure but I think my dramatic display of begging, whining and puling convinced her. The plan was fairly bold considering this was all going to happen after my 12 hour night shift. Everyone knows how cheery I am after working all night and then try to stay up all day. Thank you April for taking that risk and I hope I was not too irritating. You are a great sport and a good friend.

Since we arrived a few hours before the actually opening of the event, we decided to walk around the aquarium at some of the other displays. My Nikon D3 camera is in the shop so I brought my backup body Nikon's D300. I wanted to shot some of the darker displays to see how this camera faired compared what I am use to with the D3. Sadly, I was very disappointed. So much so I decided to sell my D300 and buy the full frame D700 that is the poor mans version of the D3.

Even so, I still went through the day trying to capture some pictures that can be keepers. I was very disappointed by the noise levels and the lack of tack sharp images but I still like some of the shots I took.

These shots came from the Outer Bay Exhibit. This is where I spent the most of my two hours plating with my settings trying to come up with a good balance of exposure, noise and sharpness. If one of these three are not in balance, the whole picture will not come out.

I love how the shark just scatters the school of sardines while everyone watching soys Oohs or ahhs. It was quite funny to watch from a far.

The next three are my attempts to pan in order to at least get a somewhat in-focus picture. As you can see with the first shot, the fish in the background are in total blur. The EXIF info for these shots were ISO~1600(really pushing the D300 abilities) f2.8 @0.1s, focal length was 105mm

After messing around with different settings under these harsh low light conditions, with funky shadows moving through the water, through dirty curved glass and hundreds of people pushing you while trying to hold steady, the following were my results from the Seahorse exhibit.

This was my first attempt to capture a close up of a Pacific Seahorse. These guys are the largest of the seahorse family growing up to 14". This guy was probably 4" in length. They did not have any of the larger one's on display.

After failing to capture any shot as clear as I wanted, I just sort of gave up and just tried my best at the rest of the exhibit. Here are a few more of the pacific seahorse.

The next few are called Potbelly Seahorses. These guys fill their stomachs with water to make their tummies as large as possible to attract mates. Hahaha, I would win over many if this was true for us humans ;-)

These next few seahorses are called Weedy Sea Dragons for their leaf-like appendages.

The cousins of the weedy sea Dragons above are the Leafy Sea dragons below. These seahorses held the attention of everyone at the event. It took me awhile to wiggle to the front to capture some pics of these ornate creatures.

My favorite of all was this Sea Slug below. It just seemed she really wanted me to take her picture. She kept stretchy towards me as if asking, "me me, look at see me, take my pic". So I did :-D

Well there you have it. A few pictures of an event that requires much better camera equipment then I had that day. I must say that I still thoroughly enjoyed the new Seahorse exhibit by sharing it with my good photo bud April and witnessing another exquisite exhibition by the Monterey Aquarium. I know for the next visit, I will have my D3 back and a few prime lenses in my bag to try to give these beautiful underwater creatures the justice they deserve.

Added Pictures From Catalina.

2009-03-22T22:06:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more shots from Catalina. I wanted to share as many as I can to convince anyone contemplating on going to Catalina will now know how beaytiful this place really is.

Here is a glimpse of Lion's Head. It is a rare green view of a place that is the color of brown most of the year. The rains we have had these past few months has really brought out the greens.

A shot of Isthmus Harbor. This harbor is really cute once you start to explore the little town of 75 or so that live here.

This shot is only one part of a huge Panoramic I did, 24"x72". The little objects in the water at the bottom are the oil derricks of of long beach coastline. I wish everyone could see how this looks in full pano because this little portion of it just does not do it justice.

Of course I could not end the post without one of the beautiful sunsets we saw during this trip.

Catalina Island

2009-03-16T10:57:00.001-07:00

I realize it has been awhile since I wrote on my blog but with the broken ankle and a month of sick kids, I haven't taken many pictures of late. That changed since my highly anticipated trip to Catalina.

I had the great pleasure to join a fantastic group of photographers in a Marc Muench Workshop that traveled in areas of Catalina that most of the public never sees. Jack Baldelli of the Catalina Conservancy was our guide that was hands down just the coolest person to meet. His knowledge of the areas to photograph, the animals, plants, wild flowers and his best feature, his enthusiasm and passion for the Island was exciting and invigorating.

Even though I felt like I was losing a lung from coughing so much, yes I was a little sick on the trip, I wouldn't have missed a minute of this adventure. We got up at 4:30 am most mornings and got to sleep by 10pm. We rode in a open air jeep over extreme steep terrain I wouldn't even walk on. Four Wheel roads have a whole new meaning to me now. I even screamed like a little kid at one point when going down a steep section of the path our jeep started to slide and Jack gunned the throttle to regain traction. Now I know what it feels like to wet my pants.

Enough of story telling and more of what this blog entry is all about. Pictures of the picturesque Island of Catalina. Here are a few of the landscape.

Besides the outstanding views we had, we also ran into some wildlife. The Island was able to rid itself of the goats and pigs that were destroying the natural foliage but they did leave the Bison. The Catalina Bison are one of the few Bison herds that do not have a mix of the domestic cow DNA. These guys even though are huge to me are much smaller than the Bison on the main land. They have to stay small and nimble in order to trek the Island's Steep terrain.

The Bald Eagles were almost extinct from the Island until the Conservancy made a huge push to protect these majestic birds. There are only a few birds on the Island but we were able to capture one decent shot. We only had a few moments before the Eagle took off in flight across the water to its nest high up in the trees.

Here are a few other birds that inhabit the Island.

California Quail

House Finches

Horned Lark

Northern Flicker

While resting for lunch, this little Side Blotched Lizard seemed a little curious to why we were disturbing his bask in the sun.

This time of the year the wild flowers are in bloom showing off all their glory. The Island was so green, one would think the Island was more near Ireland rather than Southern California.

Bee on a Daisy

Blue Dick

Cactus Bloom

Elegant Lupin

Shooting Star

Island Poppy

Last but not least, here is a dedication to the man that made this workshop as memorable as any photo trip I have been on.

The Famous Muench Star

Motocross

2009-01-05T00:36:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine from work invited me to a motocross race on a course close to where I live. I told him he doesn't need any further persuasion since I rarely need an excuse to take pictures of friends. Especially when they are doing something they love as much as I love photography.

I have never taken pictures of a motocross but I have shot pics of car races when I experienced the Lemans for the first time with my brother-in-law and my father last summer. As I was driving to the race track, I saw some hawks on the side of the road and had to pull over. I have not taken many pics of these birds of prey since they are usually so far away.

Here are a couple of my attempts to capture these majestic birds.

Even with the time spent on the hawks, I still made it to the track before the start of the race. I found the way they started the race very interesting. All the riders start with their front wheel of their bike between their legs facing their bikes. It was later explained to me that they have to start this way to prevent a huge jam up on the first curve of the track. With over 50 riders at the start line, it made sense.

Once they started the race, it took me awhile to figure out the track. Since I was taking pics of only one rider, my friend, it was more tuff then I would of thought. They whizzed by so quickly by the time I read his bike number, brought the camera to my eye, and feverishly tried to focused he was already passing me by. I knew I had at least ten tries to capture him since the race would only last that long. Once I got the hang of spotting him, pictures started to come out fairly decent. Here are a few I managed to grab of him.

Finally, here is a picture of Ray and his friend Julian who also was in the same race.

I enjoyed myself throughly during this race. I can see why these guys enjoy racing as much as they do. It is fast, muddy, physical and a total adrenaline rush. Even so, I think I will stay on this side of the glass. It just seems a bit safer ;-)

Finally back on my feet, Literally.

2009-01-02T02:28:00.000-08:00

It has been a full two months since I have gone out shooting for pleasure. I truly missed my time away from all my personal responsibilities and the feeling of meditation I receive when I go out and take pictures for fun.

A friend, Caren, that is attending her PhD program in Minneapolis, came home for the holidays. She requested that we meet up to catch up as well as squeeze in a photo walk. Her timing couldn't have been any better. My foot was finally not in need of the boot it called home for the past few months and I was in desperate need for my picture taking fix. Our mutual friend April also joined us in our quest for catching up as well as finding a place to go shooting. I really wanted to go back to Drawbridge but the daylight was running out and April, rightfully so, deterred my reckless ambitions to prevent myself from re-injuring my ankle by walking such long distances. What a good friend she is ;-). We decided to walk to Drawbridge on another visit when my ankle was stronger, Caren's boyfriend Cal could join us and of course when we can start earlier in the day.

After our lovely lunch at a Mexican taqueria, we started our picture taking adventure at a semi-abandoned town called Alviso. We didn't know what to expect since the weather was not cooperating. It was very foggy and cold.

As we drove into town, this was the first building we really noticed. All of our picture radars came on and the picture taking took off with a great subject. Nothing is more exciting to photographers then a dilapidated building with character.

As we walked around the building we ended up on the tracks of Amtrak.

We even had the chance to snap a few of the train as it passed us by

During our little adventure along the tracks, we ended up finding great subjects to shoot. Even with the fog and cold, it seemed to add to my B&W pictures.

As we were walking back to the car, i saw this board across one of the small canals in the marsh. I had the bright idea of doing a mock shot of a famous picture from Henri Cartier-Bresson. Thanks to April's fearlessness from getting wet, my mock shot became a reality.

What fun I had on this day; finally getting out of the house, taking pictures, hanging out with two great friends and of course being able to share it all with you.

Down and out with a bum ankle.

2008-12-20T11:44:00.000-08:00

The woes of not being able to shot. I have lived with this boot now for a month now and it doesn't seem to get any easier. I unfortunately hurt my right ankle which severely limits my ability to drive. My motivation to go out shooting has diminished to almost nil. Hopefully when my ankle gets better I will be a little more inspired to get out and do what I love, take pictures. Until then, please be patient with me and my photo blog.

2008-11-23T22:36:00.000-08:00

When in Santa Barbara, I went out early to catch the sunrise. I realize that a sunrise and ocean view on California's west coast may sound crazy but it happens. Santa Barbara can actually see a sunrise and a sunset on its beaches during this time of year. The sun rises far enough south that even on a California coastal beach, one may witness the beauty of a sunrise over the ocean's horizon.

Here are a few examples of that and what I call the California dream.

While shooting the surfers, I noticed this photographer focusing on the sea birds rather then the ocean's fury behind him. I hope his camera is semi water proof.

These two teens were lobster hunting in the rocks. They did not catch anything but they provided good subjects for me.

Times like this I realize that living in California has its benefits.

2008-11-22T23:55:00.000-08:00

While I was in Santa Barbara of course I had to visit the local Zoo. Here are a few pics I was able to capture.

I enjoyed watching these tortoises push each other around. It was the most activity I have ever seen between two of these huge reptiles.

This Victoria Crowned Pigeon gave me a whole new way of looking at the flying rats I am used to seeing within the city limits. I think my views of pigeons would change greatly if they looked as beautiful as this one.

A curious lizard

This little croc held still long enough to get a decent capture. Since he was held in a fairly dark tank, this exposure was 2 seconds long.

Every once in awhile I get lucky enough to capture a funny moment. This family had no idea they had an admirer right behind them. Only if the baby was able to talk.

I spent a good hour waiting for this snowy leopard to turn around so i may get a decent capture. Patience is something I am starting to really appreciate.

A lioness enjoying her bask in the sun. It was a beautiful fall day in Santa Barbara with temps reaching 85 deg F.

This silver back was obviously not pleased about getting his picture taken but who is???

I think I startled the little guy.

I visited another zoo and I had another fabulous day just admiring the animals of the world.

2008-11-21T23:33:00.000-08:00

Last week I was in Santa Barbara for Marc's Muench Print II. If you have never been or participated in a class with Marc, I suggest you try to work it into your schedule. Marc hands down is one of the better instructors I have ever met. Ok, enough of the sells pitch for Marc and back to the story.

While Marc took us on a sunrise photowalk at UCSB, we walked by a slough lagoon that was full of birds. At that moment I promised myself I would return next morning to try and capture some of diverse birds hanging out in this gorgeous lagoon in the middle of the UC Santa Barbara Campus.

First a few Egret shots

A few Pelican shots

A couple of Bufflehead Ducks shots

Misc shots

I hoped you enjoyed my pics. Any comments would be greatly appreciated

Lemans @ Laguna Seca

2008-11-11T08:19:00.000-08:00

This was my first experience going to a Lamans race. My brother in law and father took me as a way for the men to bond in a day of a testosterone rush. Nothing like feeling the vibration of lean mean machines racing by you topping 100 MPH. The noise is so loud, one must wear ear plugs or endure the awful ringing in your ears for the next week.

I have to admit, I haven't really ever understood the whole waste of money it takes to support a race car. The popularity was obvious when they allowed all of us to enter the pits to see the cars up close. I could barely walk around without being shoved in one direction or the other.

It was clear that these race car drivers are heavily admired since the lines to get an autograph was at least 50 people deep with some of the drivers. Even Helio from dancing with the stars had a huge following.

As we walked around the areas where the cars are displayed and worked on, I found the perfect vehicle that suited my speed.

I started to really admire the engines that these vehicles displayed. What I wouldn't give to just try out what the torque feels like in one of these engine packed vehicles. I was starting to get the whole gist of why this sport is so popular.

I thought this was soooo European. I guy smoking while working on some modifications to a hood spoiler.

Here are just some random pics of the cars actually racing.

Well there it is. My day at the races with some pics of day I ended up truly enjoying. I must thank my brother in law for taking me to the races to understand why these drivers and machines are so popular and such a huge part of our countries past time.

The day of the Zeppelin

2008-10-31T10:22:00.000-07:00

April had mentioned that the Zeppelin was going to fly over the Golden Gate Bridge for the first time since 1947. Well this just sparked my imagination into overdrive. How awesome would it be to take pictures of an airship flying over the Golden Gate Bridge? I thought of shooting the scene in B&W with a little sepia to add age to the picture.

We knew what day and approximately what time the airship was going to fly over. I knew where I wanted to take this monumental picture due to the sun's angle and the view I wanted to capture the shot. That morning I dragged a very tired and way the over worked April out to the spot loaded down with lounge chairs, bottled water, sun hats and all the photo equipment I thought we needed.

As we sat and enjoyed the view, beautiful weather and small talk, I was reminded once again what a great city I had grown up in and how lucky I am to still live so close to this picturesque city. As promised and right on time we saw the Zeppelin turning the corner at Lands End to head right towards the Golden Gate.

First a DC-3 flew over head with a few Bi-planes, then a SFFD fire boat was shooting off a full spray of water beneath the Golden Gate and finally the Zeppelin flew over the Golden Gate. This all sounded great but there were a few problems with the actual scene. First, the Zeppelin looked and was built just like a typical modern blimp. I expected a more old fashion look or something that resembled an airship form the early 1900's. Second, the Zeppelin crossed the Golden Gate at a very high attitude which did not fair well with the shot composition I had in mind. I was hoping the Zeppelin would fly over the bridge much lower then it actually had.

Oh well, we can't have it the way we want it all the time. Just hanging out with April and enjoying the views of the Bridge and Marin headlands was more than worth the effort.

Here is the fire boat showing its full spray:

The Zeppelin flying solo:

The Zeppelin flying with a DC-3:

The Zeppelin flying over the Golden Gate:

Here is a representation of how I envisioned the shot that should of been:

One cool thing we did see was this wave. It appeared in the middle of what seemed to be nowhere. There was no shore or rocks that the wave was going towards. It only appeared a few of times before fizzling out not to be seen again. I would love to know if this is a common wave during a certain time of the legendary torrential currents that go in and out of the gate. I do not think the sail boat you see in the picture expected it since the wave was taller than the boat.

Well, there it is. I did not get the shot I wanted but I did enjoy my day out with a good friend in one of the most peaceful and beautiful places I know and love.

Happy Birthday Drew and Katie

2008-10-29T10:23:00.000-07:00

My niece and nephew just had their birthday party the other weekend. My sister as usual threw a great themed party for their number 2 birthday. Her kids were dressed up as a little cowboy and cowgirl. There were even farm animals to boot for the kids to pet. A bunch of 2-6 year olds plus farm animals equals a lot of fun.

Drew chasing down the duck

Isabel wishing she had a bunny for a pet.

Drew and Declan playing with transformers they got from their Papa Thorp

Cake time!!!

Helena going deaf as the kids all scream for cake.

Papa and Oma Thorp looking smashing

All the Thorp and Maus kids acting way to cute

The birthday boy and birthday girl

We even were able to sneak in a Maus/Thorp family photo.

What a great day we all had, Happy Birthday my fav niece and nephew.

2008-10-21T21:41:00.000-07:00

Last week I finally met Skippy (Maxine). Most of you know her as the moderator of Holy Macro & Other Cool Shots on DGrin. April asked if I was free to take Skippy to the SF zoo and other areas of the city for some photo-shooting since she herself had to work :-(.

First off, let me tell you what a privilege it was to meet Skippy. Not only is she a great photographer in her own right, she is damn fun to hang out with. If she ever comes back, hopefully I will get to shot with her again.

Quick peek at Skippy in her photo taking mode. Funny thing was I never really saw her face. It was always behind the camera:

Here are a few of the shots I managed to get in at the zoo.
First the bigger mammals:

Here are some of the smaller mammals we saw:

We were also able to capture some bird shots as well. These birds were hurt in the wild and brought here to recoup.

So there you have it. Some shots taken at the SF Zoo with one of the nicest photo walk partners one could have. Thanks Skippy for a great day and hopefully when you come back, we can head down the coast to capture the real thing in their own elements

Carnegie Hall Portraits

2008-10-14T07:39:00.000-07:00

With my honor, I get to announce that my fav mother-in-law is going to play at the world renowned Carnegie Hall. I am unsure of the exact dates but I will post them as soon as I know. I am also honored that I was able to shoot some portfolio shots for their Carnegie Hall Poster and some for their own portfolios.

I had a lot of fun with this shoot. We were able to use a piano in one of the show rooms at Sherman Clay in Walnut Creek. These guys had great personalities which helped me with not only posing them but feel comfortable enough to understand some of their personality traits to hopefully highlight them in the shots.

I took color shots but converted them to B&W. I just tend to like B&W portraits unless there is a real need to have color to highlight the scene or emphasize a curtain mood. B&W on these shots helped me set the mood not only for the scene but for the overall feel of the subjects artistic look.

First, the group shoot

Individual shots of Bruce

Individual shots of John

Individual Shots of the Teacher, Janet

Good luck to everyone at Carnegie Hall. I wish I was there to cheer you on and capture this monumental moment for you all.

Getting Lost @ DrawBridge

2008-10-02T22:03:00.001-07:00

Somehow I thought it would be a good idea to go out and shoot some pictures in the Ghost Town of Drawbridge.

Here is the lowdown of the mostly forgotten town of Drawbridge from my new favorite resource information site Wikipedia:

Drawbridge is an abandoned railroad station located at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay on Station Island, in an unincorporated portion of Alameda County, California, United States. Formerly used as a hunting village, it has been a ghost town since 1979 and is slowly sinking into the marshlands.

Drawbridge was created by the narrow-gauge South Pacific Coast Railroad on Station Island in 1876 and consisted of one small cabin for the operator of the railroad's two drawbridges crossing Mud Creek Slough and Coyote Creek Slough to connect Newark with Alviso and San Jose. At one time 10 passenger trains stopped there per day, five going north and five going south. The drawbridges were removed long ago. The only path leading into Drawbridge is the Southern Pacific Railroad track.

For years after the turn bridge drawbridges were removed and most of the residents had left, the San Jose Mercury News had incorrectly reported that the town was a ghost town and that the residents left valuables behind. As a result, the people still living there had their homes vandalized. The town's last resident is said to have left in 1979. Drawbridge is now part of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge and is no longer open to the public due to restoration efforts.

Below in the red circle is the location of Drawbridge. The blue colored shapes are the salt flats full of bay water slowly evaporating until eventually leaving just the salt for harvesting.

A closer view of some of the structures still standing at Drawbridge

I tried to arrange a time where the schedules of one of my photo buddies Jon Sheffield and myself would line up for a photo adventure that ended taking us to places I would of have never expected.

From the info I read online and from some small talk with April, I had an approximate idea where it was located and how to get there. Since there are no roads to the town and it is positioned in the middle of the bay salt flats, the only way was to walk along the Amtrak rail line which runs right through the town.

What I did not know was exactly how long the walk was going to be and I really did not expect the train tracks to fork half way to the town. When we got to the fork in the tracks, we made our best educational guess and went with it. After a half an hour or so, we were starting to get a little worried we were unable to see any signs of the buildings in the town.

The Train tracks are still very active.

Out of no where, an older woman dressed in worn out dirty but warm looking garb riding an old beat-up bike along the tracks came toward us. Jon and I looked at each other wondering where in the heck did she come from. Before she passed us, we yelled at her if she knew where Drawbridge was. She didn't stop but she did yell back at us that we had another 1 to 2 miles to go. It was one of those out of the world weird moments that just does not sit well in your stomach. Jon and I teased each other about how she was a ghost from Drawbridge guiding us to our demise. Guys are cruel sometimes. I felt like a 10 year old trying to scare my buddy with ghost stories. Whoever gave the most outrages, horrifying, graphic story wins but in the end we end up both scared.

The time went by quickly and it was getting late. Our light was becoming low which is a problem since we both did not bring a tripod. By the time we finally saw some of the dilapidated structures, the light was almost too low to shot hand held. I managed to take only a couple of shots but nothing that I had previously envisioned. But what the heck, I finally at least know how to get here and how long it takes.

Here are some of the few pictures I did take.

Jon and I started to make our way back when we realized after staring at the sun set to take a few shots that there is no light out where we were. I mean NO light. It was a moonless night and the city lights did not reach where we were. The walk back was all done by feel after a mile or so since we could barely see our feet.

My only color picture of the day. I could never pass up a beautiful sunset. Of course we were going to pay for this picture very soon.

At one point the trail separated into multiple directions and we were unable to tell which way we came from. Since we did not want to chance walking the tracks with trains still running every 15 minutes or so, we decided to walk on the shores of the salt flats. BIG MISTAKE. Not having any reference points close to us, we could not tell which path to take during all the switch backs of the salt flats. We only had the lights of the city to at least keep us knowing which direction to go. Finding a shore line on the salt flats that went in that direction was a whole other issue.

Salt Flat shoreline

After a few hours, we finally managed to stumble upon a shore line that brought us back to the parking lot where our car was located. We laughed about our exploits and kidded ourselves about being lost right in the middle of the overly crowded metropolitan bay area. This was until we found out there was a gate to the parking lot that gets locked at sundown. Un-freaking-believable, what else could go wrong.

We both noticed a camper parked across the parking lot with some lights on. Jon decided it was my turn to be daring and go see if someone in the camper could help us. After rapping on the camper door a couple of times, I heard some scurrying, groaning and eventually a loud call out saying,"Whaaatt???". I explained we got lost in the salt flats and now we are unable to get our car out of the parking lot. A grumpy old guy slammed the door open of the camper and explained in a little less than nice manner that the only reason why he didn't tow the freaking car was because he saw the three baby car seats and thought that maybe parents with young children might be out in the salt flats somewhere. I just replied by stating how sorry I was to bother him and if he could please open the gate for us. He begrudgingly nodded his head and rode an old beat-up rusted moped to the gate to unlock it for us.

When Jon and I got passed the gates we just sat in quit and didn't say a word until we almost got home. The first words out of my mouth were, "wow, that was interesting. So when do you want to go back and get those pictures we didn't get?". Jon just laughed and said,"Next week looks good to me".

The moral of this story; all photographers no matter what have to get those darn shots that just sit in the back of their heads eating away at you until they are finally captured.

Festival Day

2008-10-01T21:56:00.000-07:00

Last week I took the kids to Festival Day at their school. The Festival is to help raise funds for the different organizations within the school. Each class had their own booth with a carnival style game to play or selling homemade food from cookies and treats to steak sandwiches.

Even though the temperatures were high, well at least for me, we managed to stay in the shade, eat, play fun games and even attempt to climb the great rock wall.

Here are a few pics of the kids:

The Kids are showing off their tickets to get into the Festival and supposedly a prize bag.

One of the booths that the kids did not want to leave was the "spinning art" painting booth. I think they made at least three each with Declan trying to not dump the whole bottle of paint on the paper.

Another favorite booth for the girls was the face painting booth. I do not think Declan liked getting his face painted. It wasn't until after he saw himself with a painted spider on his face that he got excited.

We were able to sneak into the food line before it grew out of control. I even managed to grab about four bottles of water. Did I already mention how freaking hot it was that day.

The last adventure the kids tried was the rock climbing wall. Declan got as far as getting his harness on before he decided that climbing the wall was not for him. The girls did a little better. They made it half way up before they decided that height is a little scary.

My lasting impression of the festival and my favorite was the following picture. When I was watching the girls climbing the great wall, Delcan decided to try and steal a pumpkin so we would have one for home when Halloween came around. He just could not understand why he could not have the one he picked out. He was so proud and excited about his pumpkin, I hated to tell him he couldn't have it. The disappointed look on his face was timeless and something I will not forget anytime soon. I wish I had captured that look on the camera but I was too busy trying to comfort him.

A Good Cry

2008-09-15T09:47:00.000-07:00

Theresa surprised me with an early birthday gift, tickets to the San Francisco Symphony. These tickets were to witness Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony play the most influential and important music score of all time, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Opus 125, Choral.

When I first saw the tickets I was in a little shock since I have waited years for the full 9th with Choral to arrive in San Francisco. It is the only piece of music that can change any mood I may be in to a mood of feeling powerful, hopeful and mostly inspired. I have only heard this piece from recordings and hearing it live has been a dream of mine for quite some time.

I think seeing my reaction to the tickets really surprised Theresa. I do not think she fully understand what those tickets represented for me. What shocked me about my reaction was how nervous I felt to actually witness what my head had manifested as an unobtainable fantasy. My hopes and expectations were so high, I suddenly felt a tremendous amount of anxiety that the reality of the performance wouldn't come close to my fantasy.

That evening, Theresa first took me to the Market Grill for dinner which is only a few blocks from Davies Hall. We had a nice meal and a great ongoing conversation which calmed my nerves a little. Seems funny that I would feel so much anxiety over a symphony performance since for me I am usually less than enthused to attend such an event.

We arrived to the hall early to listen to the pre-performance music talk by Associate Conductor James Gaffigan. James talk broke down the 9th to explain it in layman's terms what it all meant. He was very animated as he was very informative about the history of Beethoven's life, his state of mind while writing this score, the responses from the critics and general population of the time and finally how influential this particular score was for almost every composer that followed.

Theresa and I thoroughly enjoyed James's talk but it did have a negative affect on my anxiety level. I was now more anxious then ever after listening to James's very motivating talk about this iconic score. When the performance finally started, all my anxiety shed away as I experienced my long awaited dream come into full fruition.

By the time the fourth movement, Ode to Joy, was performed, I was so completely saturated with emotional uplifting that I could not hold back my tears. The experience of listening to this live far exceeded my expectations or fantasies. Normally when I am bawling in a public place, I would feel extremely paranoid and self conscious but looking around the theater I was not the minority of emotional breakdown but more part of the majority. When the performance ended in the dramatic way that the 9th does, the patrons of this unbelievable witnessing of this iconic music score stood up and cheered, clapped and whistled for 15 minutes straight. My arms were burning from clapping for such a long time. I just could not stop since the energy in the room felt like a high I knew I probably would never feel again.

Once we filed our way out of the hall, Theresa kept asking how much did I enjoy the performance and if it met my expectations. The odd thing was I could not answer her. I was in some sort of shock. I guess this is where the term speechless came from. An emotion I have never felt before and will not forget anytime soon.

In short, Theresa did pretty dang good with this years B-Day gift and you probably could decipher by this blog entry, I enjoyed myself thoroughly and will never forget what I witnessed and what I felt on this very special night.

An hour of meditation.

2008-09-09T22:52:00.000-07:00

Photography is my meditation. If I have problems or my mind is full of clutter, photography does a great job clearing all that. Even though I only had an hour and the temps were hanging around 100 deg, I had to clear my mind and photography is the best way.

The zoo for me is an almost guarantee place to relax and get some photos. But today was a little different. The temperatures were a little high for me and the animals were doing there best to stay cool which usually means out of sight.

To avoid the heat, I decided to sit in the shade in front of the giraffes and just observe. During my observing, I witnessed some funny sights. Here are just a few:

Practicing the art of Kissing.

Even the vulture needed to find shade no matter how dangerous it seemed.

The art of picking one's nose when you do not have hands.

Here are a few pictures I took while I was walking out of the zoo. Must be nice just to hang out all day ;-). Ok, that was a little bad humor on my part.