Camera Dust X-Ray Vision

For all of the great benefits that being a photographer in the digital-era provides, there are a few soul-draining aspects to digital that most photographers dread. One of which is dust. Dust always seems to creep up long after you thought you had cleaned your camera sensor and cloned each of them out of the file.

For me, I have a hard time seeing dust against a sky. There are two techniques that I use to see dust on my files. The first technique involves moving the image around the screen at 100% magnification. This technique makes an illustion of any dark spots will be moving while the sky stays stationary for the most part. I then clone each speck of dust as I notice them moving around the screen.

Another technique I use in conjunction with the above technique is to slide the Levels layer mid-tone slider way over to the right resulting in a gross underexposure. What this will do is create enough contrast on a solid color area such as the sky, to a point where the black dust spots will show up against the sky. See the two examples below if my 1:30 a.m. writing is too incoherent to comprehend.

Picture: Digital Camera Sensor Dust

Photo: Darken mid-tones to see digital camera dust easier

Dust doesn't show up on areas that have a lot of texture but landscape photography is the biggest offender when it comes to showing dust in the files. The best solution would probably be to do a thorough sensor cleaning job before the shoot and not to change lenses until you can clean the sensor again. Now if only Canon would offer weather-sealing on all of their cameras!

The Pacific Coast Highway

I got up before dawn again on Tuesday morning to leave Redwood City because I wanted to photograph early morning light on the Carmel Mission chapel and get to Morro Bay in the morning so I could kayak before driving home. It was foggy in the Salinas Valley area as I drove in but cleared up along the coast. Carmel Mission doesn’t open until 9, but you can get photos of the chapel through the wooden fence. The walls are low over by the side street so you can also shoot over the top and get photos of the garden.

Photo: Bixby Bridge Overlook, Big Sur, California

After getting a few photos of Carmel Mission, I headed for the long drive through Big Sur. I stopped at the classic Bixby Bridge overlook to take photos. It was extremely windy there so I didn’t stay very long however. Not too long afterwards, I had to pull over and take a nap. Upon waking up, I ran into several construction delays that gave me a good chance to get out and stretch my legs. By late-morning I arrived at Point Piedras Blancas. I was hoping that the elephant seals would be close to the bluffs but they were near the water. A little out of optimal range for my 70-300mm lens. They were active however so it was entertaining nevertheless. I would have stayed longer but since I was still 250 miles away from home I drove to Morro Bay in time for lunch. It took longer than anticipated to get to Morro Bay so I had to skip kayaking on this trip unfortunately. The weather was about as good as it gets for scenic photography so I walked over to the best kayak store in Morro Bay to get some photos.

Picture: Kayaks, Morro Bay, California

After lunch I walked over to the pier on the far end of Embarcadero and took a few more photos before heading home. I contemplated stopping at Mission San Luis Obispo to photograph my 16th California Mission but knowing how bad traffic is in Southern California, I decided to save it for next time.

The trip exceeded my expectations despite a few bad weather days in San Francisco. I got about 80% of the pictures that I had wanted over the past several years and then some. I’ll probably be taking a break from coastal photography until the winter time but I will definitely continue seeking out the California historical subjects. I think the next subject that I want to focus on is the Hwy 49 Gold Rush mining towns and Yosemite Valley.

Goodbye San Francisco

Monday morning rolled around and the weather in the San Francisco Bay was essentially the same as it had been since Friday afternoon. What I found strange about my moodiness on Sunday was that I loved the weather when I lived up there. But now that I was up there specifically for a photography trip, the weather was getting on my nerves. I guess the best way to relate to what I went through would be having a deadline at your job and nothing seemingly is going right.

I still was vacillating between where to shoot next but knew that I wanted to photograph San Francisco. I decided that the San Francisco Zoo would be the best bet for overcast conditions. The reason why I wanted to go there was to see the new Grizzly Gulch exhibit. Most zoos still can’t quite seem to get away from using obvious fences, but this exhibit was nice nevertheless. There was a waterfall and several ponds for the two grizzly bears. I wanted to get a bear portrait but it proved to be very difficult because the glass is angled in such a way that you cannot press the lens straight against the glass hence making it difficult to avoid reflections. The glass was extremely thick too so getting a sharp photo was a hit or miss endeavor. Feeling that getting a portrait was probably a futile effort, I tried to motion blur the grizzlies. It didn’t quite work out because they walked too slow. When I first got there though one of them was running around. Unfortunately I hadn’t thought of motion blurring the bear while it was running. Though I think I have some good bird photos, I’m a mediocre wildlife mammal photographer. That is a genre of nature photography that I’ll have to improve on in the future.

Upon not seeing much potential for improving upon my grizzly pictures, I looked at a few other exhibits then left the zoo to get lunch downtown. I contemplated whether or not I wanted to photograph the Yerba Buena Gardens since I was on New Montgomery Street getting lunch, but after seeing the prices at the SFMOMA parking garage, I decided to go to Alamo Square instead. Since it was the weekday I had a feeling that I wouldn’t have to parallel-park this time. I was right.

Free parking and no parallel parking is my idea of a pleasant destination. I ate lunch at Alamo Square, facing the “Postcard Row” Victorian homes. I’d seen a lot of postcards from that view but couldn’t quite figure out how to shoot it effectively. All I know is that what I managed to shoot at Postcard Row was not quite what I had envisioned before going there. I think what happened was that I was using my wide angle lens from a closer perspective than the postcards. I think most people use a medium zoom lens and go further up the hill so they can compress the distance of the Victorians to the downtown San Francisco skyline.


Picture: San Francisco Sightseeing Tour Bus at Postcard Row / Alamo Square, San Francisco, California

Regardless of the photography, the view is incredible at Alamo Square. It wasn’t quite as amazing as standing face to face with the Golden Gate Bridge, but it is definitely a classic view that is worth visiting at least once.

Right behind me was the cloud layer. It was already early afternoon so I decided that I was going to try getting some photos of the Conservatory of Flowers at Golden Gate Park. The clouds never really cleared up so I tried to get photos when there was just a bit of blue breaks in the sky. If the sun was out, I would have photographed the Japanese Garden as well in addition to the windmill. I ended up just walking around the windmill and sitting on the bench listening to some live music there before walking to the Cliff House. I was curious as to what they did to the Cliff House since I last lived up north. It was under re-construction when I last saw it. The new version doesn’t seem tourist friendly because all it is now is a façade for a fancy restaurant and a little postcard gift shop.

I decided that I wasn’t going to squander my last day in the Bay Area so I went back to the hotel for a break then went to the Palo Alto Baylands Preserve for sunset. It is almost always sunny in Silicon Valley so I knew I would for surely get a sunset there. It turned out to be a good idea because you could clearly see the thick San Francisco fog from the Baylands.


Picture: Canadian Geese, Palo Alto Baylands Preserve, California

After experiencing fog during four out of five days in San Francisco, that was enough for me. Originally I wanted to go further up north to the Redwood Coast but decided that was just too ambitious for one trip since I’d have to drive over 700 miles to get back home. Paul Bunyon and Babe the Blue Ox will have to wait until next year I guess.

The next blog post will feature me doing a classic drive down the Pacific Coast Highway.

Foggy San Mateo Coast or Clouded Mind?

The night before I got the shots that I’d always wanted so I really didn’t have any plans for Sunday. I contemplated going over to Mount Diablo State Park, San Jose Mission, and the Pleasanton Ridge. Last time I hiked the Pleasanton Ridge with my friend Marc, we got lost off-trail and had to do a seven mile hike up and down numerous ridges before finding our way out. Allergies did me in about halfway through the hike because I’m allergic to grassy and dusty places that have weather above 75 degrees. I saw some great scenic photo opportunities on that hike though so it definitely weighed on my mind.

I sat in the parking lot trying to pick up a wi-fi signal on my laptop and did the whole morning email routine before deciding to drive over the coastal mountains on Highway 92 to the James Fitzgerald Marine Reserve in Moss Beach. Since I’ve almost exclusively photographed coastal subjects this year, I figured I might as well stick to the plan on this trip and thus ended up on the San Mateo Coast. That direction looked clear from Redwood City so I figured that I’d go to the reserve then perhaps head down to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk afterwards.


Picture: Foggy Monterey Cypress Trees at James Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, Moss Beach, California

I should have known better because as soon as I arrived in Half Moon Bay it was overcast. It was somewhat foggy but cloudy more than anything else. The ranger had told me on the phone the night before that it would be overcast and that in summer the fog often doesn’t lift for two or three months straight. I hadn't taken him seriously so my mood instantly dropped. I held my hopes up initially because I’d photographed bush lupine there in July of 2004 under clear weather. What I did find interesting at the reserve however was a colony of sea lions on the beach. I’d been to the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve several times and had only seen sea lions frolicking in the water off-shore. Plus, I’d only gone to the reserve during minus tides previously. Given that this is the California Coast, the beach was roped off way too far out of reach for my lens.

I got bored of the reserve pretty quick after taking some photos from the bluffs so I took a leisurely drive up to Pacifica. When I lived there, I used to either go to Rockaway Beach or the other parts of the coastline in town at least once or twice a week. Sometimes I brought my camera while others times I didn’t. Usually the weather was pretty bad but I have a high tolerance for cold weather given that I’m dressed accordingly. The reason why I prefer cold weather and moist coastal areas is because I generally do not have allergies in that type of environment. I have severe nasal and eye allergies in most other types of conditions.

Naturally it was overcast in Pacifica as well. The main beach was crowded with weekend warriors and surfers. It took about five minutes to find parking at the Taco Bell lot. Not seeing anything photogenic, I went over to Rockaway Beach to take a short walk thru the wetlands. I was surprised to see how the place has evolved since two years ago. Previously the tall grasses were short and you could see all sorts of birds in the creek. Now the tall grass is tall and it’s difficult to spot wildlife in there though you can hear the birds. I took the trail up to a higher bluff and got a good view of the foggy wetlands. I left the camera in the car for some reason so I didn’t get any photos from that perspective. I took a few shots from the parking lot then sort of just drove around San Francisco aimlessly for a while.

What I did next is kind of hazy to me now because I was bored, but I recall heading over to Alamo Square in the late afternoon to try photographing “Postcard Row” in warm light. There were no open parking spots on the streets so I drove in circles probably four or five times around the neighborhood. I found a spot on a steep downward hill that required parallel parking. Well I tried my best. :-) Some old curmudgeonly guy across the street was cussing at me for being incompetent while simulaneously I was cussing at the concept of having to parallel park. After five or six attempts, I gave up and skipped Postcard Row on Sunday afternoon in warm light.

Feeling so dejected from the parallel parking incident and gloomy weather, I vacillated between thinking I was a hack photographer or a competent one merely having a bad day. Then I started questioning if the trip was a waste of money. Finally, I started to mentally calculate the Economic Law of Diminishing Returns as it related to my California Coast photography trip. That was a sign that it was time to call it quits for the day.

For some reason I felt compelled to go to Rodeo Beach despite the bad weather. So I went and waited to see if there would be a sunset. It was quite foggy up in Marin when I got there but it burned off by the time the sun set. The problem though was that it was extremely windy and water vapor was flying everywhere on the beach. I coudln't get good photos of the sea stacks because my lenses and filters all fogged up and were soaked by vapor. I saw the sunset and couldn't do anything about it. That was my real sign to call it quits for the day.

San Francisco Summer Fog

On Saturday morning I met up with photographer Jim Goldstein in San Francisco. It was foggy everywhere so we went to the Fort Point area and the Presidio for a few hours to try shooting some "mood" type of shots. I wanted to get a lone fisherman silhouetted against the foggy Golden Gate Bridge but the fog layer was a little too high to capture that effect.

Our other stop was at the pet cemetery. There were some very nice, colorful flowers blooming. I think I got a shot or two that I am happy with.


Photo: Presidio Pet Cemetery, San Francisco, California

After lunch, I decided to go up to Mission San Rafael because Jim and his wife suggested it would be the only place on my to-do list that wasn't foggy. They were right. It was about 85 degrees there. The Bay Area is very unusual in that you can drive a mile or two and have a thirty degree change in weather.

Mission San Rafael Arcangel is a 20th century replica of the original at the approximate location. Probably because the chapel is only about 60-70 years old, it didn't have the ambience that most of the other missions have. Though it was a replica, it looked like a newer church. A baptism was about to start in the chapel when I got there. I had never seen one before so I guess that was enlightening. The new mission church next door was having a wedding so I took a few pictures there before leaving for nearby China Camp State Park.

In the 1870's, the San Francisco Bay had a large group of Chinese shrimp fishermen that were very efficient at what they did. Discrimination and the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 eventually killed off the Chinese fishing industry in the bay. All of their fishing camps disappeared with the exception of the China Camp village.


Picture: China Camp State Park Shrimp Fishing Village, San Rafael, California

The village was dilapitated but it had some interesting displays in the visitor center. The buildings there were very worn but looked very authentic still. I didn't talk to anyone there but awhile back I read that a chinese family descended from the original group run the cafe and oversee the village. I found that to be interesting because those original chinese fishermen came from the same Guangdong province in China that my ancestors did. Not many people in America nowadays speak my family dialect but almost all of the older generation of Chinese-Americans did. I'll likely return to China Camp in the future to photograph during better lighting conditions. I'll be sure to do my research beforehand so I could ask some questions of the people there. The last thing I want to do is be under-informed and sound stupid while asking questions. Plus I'm not exactly the most articulate person in the world.

The fog was still hanging around the SF Peninsula so I decided to give the Marin Headlands one last try at sunset. I'd been up there four previous times during the trip at sunset but it was either clear or the fog was too thick to see anything. Getting a photo of the Golden Gate Bridge shrouded in fog is something that I'd wanted to photograph for the past five years. I'd gone up to the Headlands several times when I was living up north but was fogged out each time. The one time it did look nice was during the middle of the day when the bridge is not very golden.


Photo: Golden Gate Bridge Summer Fog, Marin Headlands, California

These 15 hour days of summer are brutal. To wake up at 4:30 a.m. in order to drive somewhere to get a sunrise shot, shoot five or six locations during the day, then have dinner at 10 or 11 p.m. is very exhausting. Those who think that travel photography is easy aren't trying hard enough.

The Most Obvious Kind of Tourist

Since I was staying in Redwood City, I had to get up really early last Friday to catch sunrise at Fort Point. I wanted another classic Golden Gate Bridge shot but from sea level this time. Besides getting up at such an early hour, sunrises are always much more difficult to shoot than sunsets because you cannot really plan to be at a certain place and expect to get the results you want. You check the weather report the night before to make sure there will be a sunrise then you just show up and hope to get good light. For sunsets you can clearly see where and when the light will be somewhere but for sunrises that is not an option.

First light turned to out to be rather flat when it hit the Golden Gate. The East Bay was partially obscured by clouds so I got more diffused light than anything else. It made for a nice Alcatraz shot however.


Picture: Alcatraz Island, San Francisco, California

After Fort Point, I wanted to get some warm lighting on the Palace of Fine Arts which was just down the street in the Marina District. I managed about ten shots in warm light before the light started to wash out. Since this was during the weekday, I wanted to get over to Pier 39 to take advantage of the “Early Bird” parking rate at this garage that I used to park at when I worked at the aquarium. I paid something like $7 for the day pass. The other lot that I used to use frequently had the shocking price of $25 at 7:30 a.m. Apparently they don’t cut you any slack these days. Traveling is a little easier especially when you know San Francisco like the back of your palm. It can be a stressful place to get around if you don’t know it well.

Even at the early hour, I could tell that this was going to be a hot day. The temperature wasn’t that high, but San Francisco has a higher humidity than Southern California so it doesn’t take much to feel uncomfortable. I walked over Pier 45 hoping to catch some fisherman unloading the day’s fresh catch but didn’t see anything going on. I took some photos of the Fisherman’s Wharf sign then walked up to Lombard Street. Well more like climbed. I had only been to Lombard Street by car so I didn’t know how to get there from the wharf. I did know that Lombard ran from east to west and that Columbus would pass by it at some point. What I didn’t expect was having to walk up two blocks at a 40 degree angle to get there though! When I used to hike in the Bay Area it probably wouldn’t have been as bad, but I’ve been a flatlander for two years now.

I was pretty much burned out physically after Lombard Street so I half-heartedly made it to Chinatown and took a few snapshots. Nothing was open yet at that hour and I was already tired by 9 a.m. so I went over to Lori’s Diner on Powell and Sutter for breakfast. My roommate and I used to there for breakfast when we lived in Nob Hill so that was kinda cool to go back there. There’s a few others in Union Square too but I think the diner on Powell and Sutter tastes the best.

After breakfast I did my usual routine of checking out the magazine rack at Borders. Life has a nice picture book this month of America’s “must-see” places. The only thing I’d change about the issue is to replace some of those images with my own. :-)

A photographer’s will to get great photos is sort of like your sex drive. It goes up and down depending on your mood. I had all these plans to get great shots downtown and of cable cars but after Lombard Street and the several mile uphill walk to Union Square, I really didn’t care about quality photography anymore. I had already sweated it out by 9 a.m. so I got a some shots of the cable car turnaround at Market Street then took a Muni F line ride back Pier 39. It was lunchtime by then for the tourists so I wanted to get some crab shack vendor photos. It was quite crowded there and not a whole lot of action going on but I was reasonably pleased with the photos that I did get.


Photo: Crab Vendor at Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, California

Musee Mechanique wasn’t as photogenic as I hoped it would be. The problem is that the lighting in the Pier 45 hangar causes a lot reflections on the glass. Perhaps if I had my tripod, I could have eliminated some of the reflection with a polarizer but tripods are not practical for San Francisco tourist traps during the summer time. I’ll have to consider a monopod for next time.

The sea lions weren’t at Pier 39 either. They have this sign up now saying that sea lions go further south during the summer season. I found that interesting because when I worked up there for an entire year, not one day went by when the sea lions were not there. Very disappointing. I secretly have a reason why I was disappointed and for wanting to shoot the most popular tourist locations but I will not reveal that here.

I can’t recall what I did after Pier 39, but the fog started rolling in at the point and it never cleared up again. In the evening hours I went over to Lands End and wanted to walk my favorite trails. I used wander off-trail there all the time but I was disappointed to find all of the thick vegetation missing and the areas beyond the trail cordoned off. I went off-trail anyway but didn’t get far because there was nothing to explore! The official excuse is that they want to re-grow the place and do something with the trails. I don’t buy that because it looked perfectly fine two years ago. Plus it seems like half of the wind-gnarled trees are gone too.


My mood on this particular evening.

The fog was low and thick so I wanted to get some moody tree shots but I had a difficult time finding enough trees clustered together to get good shots. I took about three images then called it a day. A few years ago, getting this type of shot would have been no problem. It was kind of disappointing to pre-visualize these shots over the past two years and not be able to capture them now that I was actually there. Things change (especially when man touches it) and not always the way you hope. Just have to roll with the punches I suppose.

San Francisco

The first stop I had planned for last Thursday was Mission San Juan Bautista. The mission was only about fifteen miles north of where I was staying so I was able to get some much needed sleep and still get there early. I had never been to San Juan Bautista before and was quite surprised by how interesting the town looked. It is a small town but looks just like it probably did in the 1800’s.

The mission was just as nice. It is surrounded by other historic buildings as part of the San Juan Bautista State Historic Park. The chapel was the most beautiful California Mission chapel that I have been to. Some of the other mission chapels have generic church-looking interiors but Mission SJB is decorated in a very southwestern type of theme. It must truly be a pleasure to attend Mass at the church if you are so inclined. In fact, Mission San Juan Bautista has never ceased being an active parish since its inception in 1797.


Photo: Mission San Juan Bautista Chapel, California

I spent awhile photographing the mission then made my way over to the other part of the state historic park. Some cool looking cowboy stuff in the barn. I didn’t find anything I wanted to photograph in the old home but it is definitely worthwhile to visit as a tourist. Afterward I had a very filling lunch at Dona Esther Mexican Restaurant then proceeded onto Santa Clara Mission.

Santa Clara Mission is located on the campus of Santa Clara University. Nothing exists of the original mission except for an adobe wall across the lawn from the mission church. To be honest, I didn’t find chapel to be very interesting. In my opinion, Santa Clara Mission is the 2nd least interesting of all the 15 or 16 California Missions that I have photographed to date. I took a few shots then walked around campus for a few minutes before leaving for the hotel in Redwood City. I still look reasonably young so I didn’t feel out of place walking through campus. Plus I had my Sierra Club backpack on so I looked like a student at least.

I made a stop at the Palo Alto Baylands Preserve to scout before going to Redwood City. It didn’t look nearly as appealing as my previous visits three years ago but I found some nesting egrets in the palm trees. After making a mental note, I checked into my hotel room then made my way up to Muir Woods National Monument. I hadn’t planned on going to Marin on this particular day but sometimes you’ve got to improvise. I decided on doing a sunset of the Golden Gate Bridge from the Marin Headlands and needed to burn a couple hours so that’s how I ended up at Muir Woods.

The only weather conditions I enjoy Muir Woods in is in the winter and during a storm. Everything is so lush during the winter time in Marin but drab looking during the rest of the year. Plus the smell is so much fresher in winter. Regardless, I made an effort to get some photos. Sometimes you shoot pictures with artistic intentions while other times the goal is to merely make publishable photos. Sounds good to me.

I have a confession to make though. I absolutely hate driving on Mount Tam. The roads are really narrow, a lot of hair-pin turns, steep drop-offs, often completely fogged in, and drivers either go very fast or don’t know how to drive mountain roads (inexperienced mountain drivers rarely use the pull-outs, much to my chagrin.) I have been up that road many times…

The sun was dropping lower to the horizon so I went over to the Marin Headlands to get the classic postcards that I never managed to photograph when I lived in San Francisco. I have tried for the past five years to get a Golden Gate Bridge shot at sunset while half obscured by fog but have never been successful until this trip. (More on that in a few days.) The air quality was great and a few whispy clouds were lingering above the Golden Gate. Some pretty powerful alpenglow was going on this night.


Picture: Golden Gate Bridge, Marin Headlands, California

When I was living in San Francisco, I wasn’t yet secure enough in my photography skills to be able to photograph the postcards. I feared being known as a postcard photographer so I generally avoided the general tourist photos unless the light had potential to be spectacular. Now that I am more experienced and have a decent-sized photo collection, I can feel comfortable attacking the classic scenes and make them my own. It can be profitable as well to have these sorts of images in your archive. For example, last month I sold a popular tourist picture twice through my stock agency. 30 million people per year visit that place and probably almost as many have pictures of it. Yet a picture that I took while waiting for dinner at a restaurant, has netted me a few hundred bucks.

Postcard or not, I enjoyed this shoot as much as any other scenic photography I’ve done. The view from the Headlands is stunning regardless if you are alone or are surrounded by 100 tourists. Now that I no longer live in San Francisco, I actually felt embarrassed to not have some of those classic tourist pictures. It’s about time.

Free Fallin'

Last Wednesday I slept in. I’d gotten maybe six hours of sleep combined over the previous two nights. I don’t think I missed much because it was to be overcast again for the 2nd morning in a row. When I did arrive into Monterey by mid-morning there was some sunshine however.

Since it looked good outside, I went to Cannery Row to re-shoot some tourist scenes. It’s almost always overcast when I go to Monterey so I wanted to get those shots while the sun was out. I was pretty amped up when I arrived because of the Tom Petty song, “Free Fallin” was playing on the radio as I pulled into the parking lot. I was screaming along with the lyrics until the song ended. The weather was great, I was in Monterey, and the song was awesome. It was just one of those moments where you feel like throwing your fist in the air and screaming F*** Yeah!


Picture: Monterey Canning Company, California

After the madness that was Cannery Row, I went over to the Coast Guard Pier because the previous morning I’d heard sea lions from over that direction when I was at Municipal Wharf. It was too dark to see where they were so I looked on the map to see what pier that noise was coming from. I only have a 300mm lens so it wasn’t long enough to capture the sea lions from the end of Coast Guard Pier, but in front of me were a lot of Brandt’s Cormorants. Some of them were nursing babies so I got a few shots of them. The exposure was very difficult however because the birds are black and the rocks they were on were white. Not to mention the high contrast light of late-morning. I left my flash at home and that might have helped but I didn’t want to be burdened by camera equipment on this trip. I only put in an hour on the parking meter so I left for an email break before heading over to 17 Mile Drive in Pacific Grove.


Photo: Sea Lion Stranded on Coast Guard Pier, Monterey, California

I spent the rest of the day at 17 Mile Drive. I had never seen ocean water look that good. It was a clear aqua-marine color. While contrasted with the white sand beaches, the coast looked every bit as appealing as a tropical island paradise. The water was so clear that you could see marine life at the bottom of the ocean from the parking lot. There was nowhere else on the planet I would rather have been at that moment. The scenery was world-class and the weather was just perfect.


Picture: 17 Mile Drive White Sand Beach, Pacific Grove, California

By the time I made it over to famous Pebble Beach Golf Course, it was around 4:30 so I had a quick lunch / dinner before snapping a few photos. I waited at the Lone Cypress Tree for the following three hours to see what type of sunset light might happen there. It never quite materialized because the sun was obscured by the coastline so I went to a nearby beach to photograph the rapidly setting sun. (Refer to yesterday’s post for the picture.)

A great sunset at 17 Mile Drive was quite a way to wrap up my stay in Monterey. San Francisco here we come!

Steinbeck Country

(Written on Tuesday, July 10th.)

This morning I woke up at the ungodly hour of 4:30 a.m. because I wanted to see if I could photograph fishermen unloading the day's catch at the fish wholesale markets. It was still dark and drizzling when I got there. There were no fishermen in sight nor any active fishing boats but I think I found some interesting subject matter nevertheless. My camera still wasn't working properly so hopefully I was able to focus the pictures properly. When the viewfinder malfunctions, it makes it very difficult to manually focus.


Picture: Monterey Fishing Crates, California

I walked over to Fisherman's Wharf afterwards and a sea otter caught my attention. He was playing around initially then went to sleep. Sea otters are the cutest marine animals in my opinion. They are so playful that it's impossible to be captivated by them.

I'd been to Monterey a number of times in my life but had never been to the Old Fisherman's Wharf. The wharf dates back to 1845 and the buildings have been re-created to look as it did then. The buildings look interesting. Nothing was open yet at that hour so the buildings took on their true character in spite of the tourist traps located inside of them. If Monterey were to strip the signage off of the buildings, Fisherman's Wharf wouldn't be identifiable as a tourist attraction. The buildings have character.

After breakfast I went to Cannery Row. The Monterey Bay Aquarium tends to get busier and busier as the day goes on so I wanted to be there when it opened. I was disappointed to see half of Cannery Row being re-built as new development. A "multi-use" building is being built right next to the aquarium. At this rate, there will probably be a day in my lifetime where Cannery Row no longer has any of the original sardine cannery buildings left.


Photo: Monterey Bay Aquarium Naturalist, Monterey, California

The aquarium was great as usual. My camera had started working again while at the wharf, so the aquarium photography went as smooth as possible for a crowded place with dim lighting conditions.

After taking an email and phone interview break for an hour at the Monterey library, I drove up to Elkhorn Slough. Near the slough, I slowed down for this vulture that was eating another bird in the middle of the road. It flew away as I drew closer. I had to keep driving because the park ranger was driving behind me.

Now if only I knew that the reserve is closed on Monday and Tuesday! I ran into the ranger while I was at the entrance and I had to bite my tongue. He knew I wasn't happy but was still nice to me. He gave me a suggestion to go to Kirby Park, which is on the upper portion of the slough, and he also recommended checking out the old boat yard on PCH. That was the southern entry for the slough and the put-in site for kayaks. There weren't any birds out on the water, otherwise I would have been tempted to kayak the slough. I did see about six sea otters out there at the same time though. It would have been nice to get up close to them in a kayak to photograph. Being overcast though, the water wouldn't look good in the photos.

I had an early dinner then went to the Old Monterey Farmers Market. Often times when people travel, they do most of the tourist attractions but skip on the local flavor. That is unfortunate because the Salinas Valley crops for sale looked great. I had never seen heirloom tomatoes before today outside of a Seed Savers Heritage Farm catalog. I tried a few strawberries and they were as good as it gets. If I had a cooler in my car I would have bought some. I also tried a piece of honeydew but I'm not really a fan of honeydew. It was good though.

The farmers market had a kaleidoscope of colors to focus my camera on. When subjects are that colorful it can be overwhelming. Deciding what not to shoot was more difficult than deciding what to shoot.


Picture: Salinas Valley Heirloom Tomatoes, Old Monterey Farmers Market, California

After the farmers market I spent the last three hours of the day at the Pacific Grove Shoreline Marine Refuge. Point Pinos Lighthouse wasn't open so I had to use my telephoto to shoot it from the beach. And that's it for another long day of photography. These 16 hour days of summer photography are brutal!

The San Andreas

Last Monday I left home around 5:30 a.m. in order to avoid most of the L.A. Monday morning traffic. My first stop was at Mission San Miguel. I immediately recognized this California Mission as the one that was damaged by the big Paso Robles earthquake two years ago. Mission San Miguel wasn't open due to the damage but I walked around the front courtyard and took some photos of the damage. From the appearances of the complex, it seems like it was once a very beautiful place. Though I was aware of the damage, I was still taken aback by how different this mission looked compared to the others I have visited. I have visited every mission in Southern California and they have all been restored or re-built, so it was a different experience to see one in such dire condition.


Mission San Miguel Seismic Damage, California

My next stop was at the Soledad Mission. This mission was almost non-existent. There were some ruins in the back and a restored chapel building. Soledad Mission is located in the middle of agricultural fields and is quite small. One unique aspect to the chapel is that the 12 original Stations of the Cross paintings are hanging inside.


Soledad Mission, California

Earthquakes have played a significant role in the history of the California Missions. About half of them are located near the San Andreas Fault. As a result of earthquakes and other reasons, the structures you see today might actually be the third or fourth incarnation. Like many other California State Parks, the less visited missions are severely under-funded and are in danger of collapsing. Some of the missions date back to the 1760's, so it's unfortunate to see California's history being lost before our eyes.


San Miguel Mission Restoration Fund, California. $1.2 million raised out of $15 million.

I took some photos of the Soledad Mission then proceeded to the National Steinbeck Center which is located in the Old Town district of Salinas. I had never spent any time in Salinas before so it was cool to see Old Town Salinas. Inside of the museum, there were mural-sized historic photos of Old Town. Whenever I see photos from the turn-of-the-century, I go into daydream mode and imagine what it was like back in those days. Today's version of Old Town Salinas looks similar to the old photos. If there's one complaint I have about modern architecture is that it has zero character. Mass development has made everything cookie-cutter. Nowadays it's all about feeding the Machine and praying to the almighty Uncle Sam.

The Steinbeck Center was nicely designed and ties together the history of region in Steinbeck's work. My only gripe is that the museum isn't that big.


Fox Theatre, Old Town Salinas, California (John Steinbeck's first commercially successful film, Of Mice and Men, premiered here in 1939.)

After lunch and checking in my room, I went over to the Carmel Mission. Upon walking into the courtyard, I was disappointed to find the bell tower in complete shadow. This was around 3:00 p.m. I had arrived around the same time during my previous visit but I think that was in the fall season so the bell tower was lit by direct sunlight. Almost every professional photographer who has photographed the Carmel Mission has a shot of the staircase and bell tower so I wanted one for myself. Another postcard shot I couldn't get involved the water fountain and mission church. The shots that were available were difficult to come by as well due to the strong winds.

I went for a walk on Carmel Beach afterwards. The white sand beach is the place where my dad lost his wedding ring 15 years ago. The sand is so fine on the dunes that the ring probably sank as soon as it slipped off of his finger. My experience yesterday wasn't much more enjoyable because it was so windy that the fine sand was blowing everywhere. I didn't take any photos there this time but I'd like to photograph the beach again in better weather conditions.

My last stop was Point Lobos State Reserve. The park is open til after sunset now so I was excited about going there. Point Lobos is perhaps the most beautiful coastal park in California. The park isn't that big but scenery is as good as it gets. The Monterey Cypress Trees are an interesting attraction. Monterey Cypress Trees have more gnarled limbs than a severe case of rheumatoid arthritis. If the wind can do that much damage to a tree, imagine how comfortable it is to do nature photography at Point Lobos.

I got a fair number of shots, but my water-damaged camera started acting up again around sunset. My viewfinder started flickering and I lost most of my controls. It was frustrating but not that big of a deal since the light wasn't that interesting. I had enough photography for one day as is!

17 Mile Drive

17 Mile Drive Seascape Waterfall, Pacific Grove, California

I was going to post an entry about the first day of my trip last Monday but realized it is on my laptop so I'll have to get that online tomorrow hopefully. For now, here is a photo I took from 17 Mile Drive last Wednesday night. I was standing about on top of this rock formation about twenty feet above the surf. However the waves were so powerful they were actually flying higher than I was! I was only a few feet away from it so I made sure to keep a close eye on the wave action while shooting. I never got wet but when the waves are that powerful you must be cautious. Some of my photos of the same composition have such a big wave explosion that water is all you see. This was definetely a thrilling night for photography.

To get this picture, I was standing elsewhere where there was less wave action going on. I stopped shooting to observe other areas where there was more happening. I noticed a pattern going on with the waves where they would build up higher and higher until it flowed over this rock depicted in the above photo. The waterfall only came every few minutes and only lasted about five to ten seconds at most. I only managed to capture it twice before it got too dark.

Monterey

I am in Monterey right now. I got here yesterday morning. I've photographed three missions, the Steinbeck Center, Fisherman's Wharf, Point Lobos SR, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium since I've been here. My wireless router isn't working on my laptop so I'm in the library right now while waiting for a phone call. I just came from the aquarium and will be going to Elkhorn Slough after this, then either the Farmers Market or Point Pinos Lighthouse tonight. On Thursday I will be going to San Francisco. I'll be sure to write some good entries when I get home.

Independence Day

Words cannot do justice for how great it feels to be an American. Tomorrow is our country's birthdate so I thought this would be a nice photo to post.


Picture: American Flag in Barn, Oklahoma


Here are more of my Midwest pictures.

Living the California Dream

A week from now I will be driving up to Monterey. The campgrounds at Morro Bay State Park and Samuel Taylor State Park are filled up for the summer (unless you are disabled) so I have to skip Morro Bay for this season since their motel rates are quite pricey during travel season. Morro Bay is a little over 200 miles from where I live so I could easily do that on any weekend trip later in the year.

In Monterey, I plan to photograph all of the places that I've been to in my life but haven't really spent time photographing in-depth. 17 Mile Drive, Cannery Row, Carmel Mission, and Point Lobos among other locations.

Photo: Evening Summer Fog on Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California (I made this image five years ago during my moving trip.)

Afterwards I will be heading up to San Francisco from the 12th to the 17th. It has been two years since I moved and will be nice to actually photograph the city as a tourist this time. I was primarily a scenic and nature photographer when I lived up there but now I'm planning to do the general tourist photography. It should be fun. I hope to put my own twist on classic shots while I am up there. It might be a little sad at first to see some of the places again since my friends from school and my grand-uncle (passed away since then) no longer live there either. We do have family friends up there still but they're the only people left that I know.

Depending on what happens between now and the 17th, I'll either regretfully start heading back home on the 17th, re-do photos (summer = hit or miss lighting conditions), or go up to the Redwood Coast. My camera still isn't back to 100% but it doesn't matter. I'm going to do whatever it takes to get my photos.