San Diego City Skyline

San Diego City Skyline at Dusk, Coronado Island, California

This was last night's sunset at Coronado Island. I had never crossed the bridge over into Coronado before yesterday. I knew that San Diego had a strong military presence, but didn't realize that almost the entire coastline is devoted to military operations. In fact, just to the north of where I took this photo was there was a huge Naval base. The military planes flying in and out of the island make for a challenging cell phone conversation experience but interesting to see.

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Kids, Ribbons and Photos

America's Kids Exhibition Prizes, LA County Fair, California

I've been like a kid in a candy store the past few days while using the actions to process my photos.

By the way, it's almost that time of year again for the L.A. County Fair. This year features a photo contest called, "Paw Prints". Maybe someday I'll get a ribbon myself.

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Sports Cars For Rent, Las Vegas Strip

Sports Cars For Rent on the Strip, Las Vegas, Nevada

I have been looking for ways to streamline the digital production aspect of my images because it has just taking up way too much of my time that would be best served doing other things. So I've been experimenting with various Photoshop actions that I found on some photography forums. I think I found a nice combination of actions now that I can use for any given image.

This photo here required no retouching on my part. I just clicked on "Dave's Image Punch!", the Orton Effect on Screen blending mode, and the medium "Kalifbanane Cross-Coloring" actions. It looks just as good if not better than what I would have done manually, and still looks realistic.

So from now on, I'll be looking to use my actions to process my files unless there's a compelling reason to do it manually. I'm excited!

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The Golden State Photos Magazine

I just got the proof back from my first magazine and I am impressed with how well the photos were reproduced on the pages. I've heard a lot of horror stories about other photographers not being happy with the print quality of their images from various book publishers and magazines so I'm happy the report that there are no such issues with the MagCloud publisher.

The Golden State Photos Magazine is now available for purchase for $5.50 and features several full and double-page spreads worth of photography. While they aren't quite as large as my 12 x 18 and larger sized archival fine art prints, the magazine provides a much better viewing experience than seeing the photos on the web in my opinion.

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Jesus Loves Laura?

Jesus Loves Laura, San Gabriel Valley, California

I have been hiking regularly for over a month now, both with and without my camera. Two days ago I encountered this in the hills near my house. The only words I could make out was the + Laura. I figured it was a guy doing something romantic for his girl. How sweet! Then I went back last night with my camera and once I looked through my viewfinder I was able to see what it said. All of the sudden, it felt sobering to realize this perhaps didn't have such a happy ending. However one question remains for me, what does it say between the names Laura and Michael? It appears to be a "1 43" but I'm not sure. I looked on the internet, and no biblical passages fit. Nor does it say, "and". How it reads to me is, "Jesus loves Laura and Michael" but I can't quite connect the dots due to the ambiguous nature of those three letters. I even looked through the local news sites and search engines, came up with nothing.

Laura and Michael?

Does anyone have any answers or theories about what this message represents?

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June Gloom at Point Vicente

June Gloom Coastline, Rancho Palos Verdes, California

Gary's equipment was giving him all sorts of issues last Tuesday so I thought this image was fitting of his day.

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Point Vicente Lighthouse

Photographer Gary Crabbe Taking Pictures of Point Vicente Lighthouse, Rancho Palos Verdes, California

Last Tuesday, I went to Point Vicente to meet up with photographer Gary Crabbe since he was in Southern California to take pictures for his 5th book, Backroads of the California Coast. If you're not familiar with Gary's work, he worked for legendary outdoor adventure / nature photographer Galen Rowell for nearly ten years prior to starting his own career ten years ago. And he's a pretty damn good photographer himself.

A few minutes after I took this photo, Allen Schaben, a staff photographer from the Los Angeles Times approached us and we all ended up shooting and chatting for the rest of the day since the light never really materialized. Allen was a pretty cool dude. The day before, he covered a shooting in Inglewood. Talk about an awesome job! The drawback to being a staff photographer though is that the newspaper owns your assignment images. If they paid enough, I'd probably be okay with that too though.

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Venice Beach Drum Circle

Young Woman Playing Tambourine in Drum Circle, Venice Beach, California

Compositionally there are things I would like to have done differently in this photo but I felt that this was the picture captured the vibe that I experienced at Venice Beach last Sunday. I actually had a few that I felt were technically better from a compositional standpoint but the girl's expression in this frame is what draws me to this one in addition to the murky lighting conditions. The photos where she is looking into the camera didn't quite work in my opinion.

I think that is the interesting part to photography. There are elements that generally make for solid compositions but there are no formulas or rules that make for an emotional connection with the scene. Photography is a lot like jazz improv in that way. You learn your craft and practice it, but when it comes down to it, sometimes you've just got to go out there and wing it. That is when all the preparation you did prior pays off.

35mm, f7.1, 1/60 sec, ISO 400, hand-held.

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Beach Party, Venice

Girl Dancing in Drum Circle, Venice Beach, California

Last Sunday I went to Venice Beach to try shooting some "youth culture" for Photoshelter's Shoot! the Day contest. I photographed the drum circle last month but had been wanting to do a re-shoot so this contest gave me another excuse to shoot more photos of this weekly event. This time was a little different because the cops made us all move near the water rather than stay next to the boardwalk. I think this loosened everyone up more and attracted a bigger crowd so there were quite a few people dancing this time. Fortunately, mostly attractive young women.

I wanted to mess around with longer exposures for a few shots so I stopped down to f16 and got nearly one-second exposures while hand-holding. This was one of the few attempts that came out with just the right parts moving and the rest sharp.

17-35mm @ 17mm, f16, 1/8 sec, ISO 100, hand-held

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Trinidad State Beach

Trinidad State Beach, California

This was taken on the last evening of the trip. I didn't really encounter any special lighting conditions during this trip, as it was mostly just harsh light, but it was a relatively productive trip nonetheless. Trinidad is definitely a place that I would like to explore some more as this area has potential for great scenic photos.

Now that I've been to the North Coast, the only other areas that I haven't visited along the California Coast are the Mendocino Coastline and the Crescent City / Smith River area which was just a few miles north of Klamath. Where I would also like to spend some more time photographing is Big Sur and the Sonoma Coast.

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The Little People, The Trees of Mystery

The Little People Redwood Sculptures at The Trees of Mystery, Klamath, California

A big part of the Trees of Mystery narrates the Paul Bunyan mythology with pre-recorded stories. I thought this was one of the more interesting attractions along the Tale of Tall Trees trail. I should have brought along a pen and paper so I could have written down the back story of this.

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Paul Bunyan & Babe the Blue Ox

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, Trees of Mystery, Klamath, California

I've always liked cheesy road side attractions. There's just something charming about them. When you walk up to the 49 ft. tall Paul Bunyan, an friendly older male voice greets and interacts with the guests. You can't see where the guy is, but I'm guessing he's either hiding inside of the visitor center or inside of Paul Bunyan.

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Klamath

Speared to Death Indian Statue at Trees of Mystery Entrance, Klamath, California

My first reaction when pulling into the Trees of Mystery parking lot was, "Wow!" Klamath is located within the Yurok Indian Reservation so I found this statue to be a powerful statement.

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Samoa Dunes Recreation Area

Bush Lupine at Sunset, Samoa Dunes Recreation Area, California

I couldn't pull myself away from motel TV while watching Game 4 of the NBA Finals until the almost too late (8 minutes to go in the game, 12 til the sunset, Lakers up by 2) to get this sunset. After the sunset, I turned the radio back on in the car to hear the final score and felt that the sun had set on the Lakers season as well after blowing a 24 point lead. The Lakers ended up winning Game 5, and well Game 6 you can look up the box score yourself...

This was the first time that I've had to choose between my life-long obsession with the Lakers and photography. Not really a fun situation to be in. If the Lakers had won the game then I guess it would have been a little more palatable. I'm glad that I managed to salvage something from this evening though.

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Richard Sweasey Theatre, Eureka

Arkley Center For The Performing Arts in Richard Sweasey Theater Building, Eureka, California

Carson Mansion is a beautiful Victorian mansion no doubt, but I think the architectural style of the Richard Sweasey Theatre is just as unique. When driving through Eureka on Highway 101, it really caught my attention. This building was built in 1919 and at one point, housed the Dalys Department store from the 1970's til the 1990's. It was sat vacantly in disrepair for a lengthy period of time afterwards until they finally restored it to house the performing arts center now. I don't know what it used to look like, but I'm glad that they restored it because it is truly a work of art.

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Carson Mansion, Eureka

The Carson Mansion, Old Town Eureka, California

Carson Mansion is arguably the most recognizable landmark on the North Coast. A Victorian-era mansion, it's a private men's club now so there are no tours offered. The nice thing about photographing Carson Mansion before dawn is that there are no other tourists out there. The lights are still on as the sun starts to rise so it's nice to able to get a good exposure with backlighting. Unfortunately on this morning, it was overcast until around 8 a.m. so I didn't get to photograph an actual sunrise at this location.

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Crab Pots, Woodley Island Marina

Crab Pots and Fishing Nets at Woodley Island Marina, Eureka, California

Though I'm a nature photographer at heart, I find one of the most zen-like photography moments to be wandering around fishing docks before dawn. There is just something really calm and soothing about them that I can't explain. This is one of the reasons why I am so drawn to photographing the coast.

I've seen other photographers make really great images of crab pots and fishing nets so I've wanted to take my own photos as well. When I first arrived in Eureka, I found several stacks of crab pots in a restaurant parking lot. I kept a mental note to return the following morning. And I did. A few days later, I found a huge stockpile of crab pots at the Woodley Island Marina. They were behind a fenced-in area for fishermen however so I didn't try to photograph them. But the urge to photograph these crab pots kept eating away at me so I went back the next morning and found the guy who patrols the marina. I asked him if I could go in to shoot pictures of the crab pots. "Sure, I don't see any reason why not."

I found the people in the North Coast to be a lot more easy going and friendlier than in San Francisco and L.A. Ask somebody for permission to shoot pictures in Southern California and you'd have a 50/50 chance of getting told to f*** off or get your gear smashed by a crowd of drunken celebrity-groupie, trust-fund kids.

What I like most about Woodley Island Marina is that the crab pots come in all sorts of colors. It is nearly impossible to take a bad picture here.

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Roosevelt Elk, Prairie Creek SP

Roosevelt Elk (Cervus canadensis) Grazing Grass, Prairie Creek State Park, California

Weighing up to 2,000 pounds, Roosevelt Elk are the largest animals in the deer family. Needless to say, it is not in your best interests and against park rules to step outside of your car when viewing the wildlife at the elk meadow.

As is, the Roosevelt Elk were grazing pretty close to my car when I shot this. The sun was setting and since I don't have an image stabilizer lens, I had to wedge my tripod inbetween my car seat and driver's side window to keep my lens steady. It was not the most comfortable of shooting conditions but I did what I could. My main issue was debating whether or not to crank up the ISO in order to freeze the giant mammals in action.

After the elk wandered away, I drove back down Highway 101 and I tried to photograph another herd of Roosevelt Elk in front of the Stone Lagoon Little Red School House near Orick. By then it was too dark to get sharp images however.

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Headwaters Forest Reserve

Photo: 2nd Growth Redwood Trees, Headwaters Forest Reserve, California

The pictures in my previous two posts were examples of old-growth redwood forests. This is an example of a 2nd growth forest that was clear-cut in the 20th century. They almost bare no resemblance to each other.

Most of the Headwaters Forest is owned by the Pacific Lumber Company. After numerous battles in court, a small portion of old-growth forests were ceded to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and is now partially open to the public. This was taken along the Elk River trailhead, just outside of Eureka.

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Rhododendrons, Lady Bird Johnson Redwood Grove

Rhododendron Blooms and Coast Redwood Trees (Sequoia sempervirens) at Lady Bird Johnson Grove, Redwood National Park, California

The rhododendron blooms at the Lady Bird Johnson grove were amazing. I photographed this near the end of the short blooming season but even then they were impressive. The whole trail wasn't lined with wildflowers but in the patches where there were, it was massive. I'd previously seen a rhododendron bloom at Kruse Rhododendron State Park, which is along the Sonoma Coast, but that paled in comparison.

I have to thank photographer, Gary Crabbe for saving me a lot of driving around, as he told me the day before that he'd been to all the other regular hotspots in the weeks prior but Lady Bird Johnson was one of few that actually had a good bloom this year.

Unfortunately there was no fog so getting good exposures was pretty tough. I think this was my best attempt. To give you an idea for how tall these plants are, my camera was pointing upwards at the rhododendrons while I was standing on top of a fallen redwood tree trunk. And from the previous blog post, you can see how big those are.

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Redwood National Park

Tourist in a Hollowed Redwood Tree at Lady Bird Johnson Grove, Redwood National Park, California

I had previously been to the redwood forests at Muir Woods National Monument and Big Basin Redwoods State Park, but the North Coast redwoods are in a league entirely of their own. The Lady Bird Johnson Grove is seriously the most awesome forest that I have ever visited in my life.

The rhododendrons were still in bloom and a lot larger than what I had expected. The blooms grow at least 15 - 20 or more feet above the ground in some cases. There was no fog during my time in Humboldt County so I had a limited window of opportunity to photograph the redwoods in decent lighting. The light was just too harsh during the daytime.

Lady Bird Johnson Grove classifies as an old-growth redwood forest, which means that it has never been logged. The trees are much more thick and dense here than second-growth forests. It is apparent from the minute that you walk onto the trail. The extreme amount of precipitation that this area receives also plays a part in their immense size. (The world's tallest trees).

I only encountered three or four groups of people here in this night and was the last person left by the time I left. This experience would be nearly unheard of in a tourist-mecca like Muir Woods. It was so eerily quiet at Redwood National Park, that I could hear elk calling from a distance.

I waited eight long years to make the trip up here. I am certainly not going to allow another eight to go by without spending more time up here. The photo opportunities are simply too abundant to do this area justice in a short amount of time.

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Logging Yard, Humboldt County

Nature Photographer, Richard Wong Standing Next to Large Stack of Logs, Eureka, California

I was driving around an industrial area of Eureka scouting for interesting subjects to shoot the next morning. Many of the businesses in this area were logging companies and this one in particular caught my eye because the stack of logs spanned nearly an entire city block. So I went back the next morning to get my pictures.

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PALCO Timber

Photo: Stacks of Timber at Pacific Lumber Company Mill (PALCO), Scotia, California

As you drive further north along U.S. Highway 101, you see an increasing amount of logging trucks carrying large loads of trees in Mendocino and Humboldt County. I have no idea how many trees these stacks of timber represent but given the demands of a growing population, it probably takes a lot of timber to meet the demand.

Now that PALCO is under new ownership by the Mendocino Redwood Company (the owners of which also own The Gap clothing chain), environmental groups are hoping for a return to ecologically-sustainable logging practices. They certainly have a tough task ahead while trying to balance business with environmental demands.

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The Pacific Lumber Company

Photo: Pacific Lumber Company With Clearcut Redwood Forests Behind the Mill, Scotia, California

The Pacific Lumber Company (PALCO) is the site of the world's largest redwood mill. The mill used to be a tourist attraction as it was open to the public but I was told that an extensive re-organization of the company took place a few years ago so the public catwalks are no longer in place. I really wanted to see what the operations were like first-hand because PALCO has been at the center of countless environmental battles over the past twenty years.

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Postcard Row, San Francisco

Picture: Downtown Scenic View From Alamo Square Postcard Row, San Francisco, California

This photo was taken from one of the most popular tourist stops in San Francisco. Despite the popularity of this place, I actually sold a picture of Postcard Row from my last trip to San Francisco so it made sense to try photographing it again. This time I decided to use a telephoto lens to compress the scene whereas last time I just used a wide angle lens.

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Twin Peaks Panoramic, San Francisco

Picture: Twin Peaks Scenic Panoramic, San Francisco, California

Despite having lived in San Francisco for three years, I had never been up to Twin Peaks before this trip. Man, I totally missed out!

This nearly 180 degree panorama of the city took 10 separate images to stitch together with AutoPano software. To show the incredible amount of detail here, I cropped out a single building from the larger panoramic: The iconic, Transamerica Pyramid. Due to fading light and the wind, I had to turn up the ISO slightly hence the grain.

Large Panoramic Photo Crop of Transamerica Pyramid, San Francisco, California

Here are more of my panoramic photos.

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Chevy Nova, Capitola

Photo: Chevy Nova on Street, Capitola, California

This whole trip was about exploring new places. Capitola is another place that I had not been to previously. The beach is probably best known for the multi-colored bungalows. On this sunny day it was too crowded over there to walk on the beach and get good photos of the bungalows however.

The downtown area is a cool place to walk around. A lot of boutique shops, restaurants, bars, and classic cars parked on the street. I think there might have been an event right before I got there because the area was cordoned off to traffic except for classic cars. What I found most unique about Capitola was that it reminded me more of Santa Barbara than a town north of Monterey. There is definitely a strong beach culture here.

I was reminded of my grandfather when I saw the Chevy Nova parked on the street because my grandpa used to drive a '62 Chevy Impala and would pick me up from pre-school with that car while my parents were at work. I can't imagine any of today's cars being preserved in this manner 40 years from now. Everything is too mass-produced on a global-scale to be of any sentimental value.

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Skyglider Aerial Tram, Santa Cruz Boardwalk

Picture: Tourists Riding Skyglider Aerial Tram at the Beach Boardwalk, Santa Cruz, California

With apologies to my future wife, I took this picture before the accident. Though a travel image, this photo is based on the landscape photography style. I think it is good to learn from all styles of photography because you never know when you might need to use it. Here, I have the tourists and the bench leading the eye toward the aerial tram at the top of the frame. This is not much different than a standard landscape composition with foreground, mid-ground and background elements. Once I found a foreground I liked, I waited until the Skyglider Tram brought along some tourists passing through at the right moment.

In another picture, I photographed some girls riding the tram looking bored out of their mind. It really said a lot to me about today's culture. Kids are so into the texting, instant free music downloads, and video games these days that they can't even enjoy classic family fun like the Santa Cruz Boardwalk anymore. I'm not sure I'd want to raise my kids in that manner. The Boardwalk is much more memorable in my opinion because it brings us back to a simpler time when there was less noise competing for our attention.

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Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

Photo: Giant Dipper Rollercoaster, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, California

I had driven past the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk twice in the past but had never walked around. The first time, I was on the way to the opening of Frans Lanting's gallery in Santa Cruz and it was raining outside. The 2nd time, I was on my way to Big Basin Redwoods State Park. Well this time, I was in Santa Cruz strictly for the Beach Boardwalk.

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is one of those places that you can't say you have done the California coast until you have been there. It is referred to as "Coney Island of the West" and for good reason. It's probably the biggest beach amusement park in the West Coast. Pacific Pier in Santa Monica is decent sized for being on a pier, but the Santa Cruz Boardwalk is a full-blown amusement park - a destination of it's own. The best part about it is that it is free to go there.

I felt sort of guilty right before shooting this picture. I was sitting on the curb cleaning my gear when a pretty girl was riding by on her bike. I made eye-contact with her. She smiled. I go back to minding my business. Then about ten seconds later I heard a loud crashing sound. Her tire got caught in-between the railroad tracks apparently. The family sitting next me got up and helped her out because she fell in front of their face. Meanwhile I was sitting there pondering, "What the hell just happened?!?"

The girl was fine and rode off eventually, but I felt like a jerk for not putting my gear down for a second and join in seeing if she was alright... Sometimes it's better to act first and think later. That is a concept that works well for photography as well. Photographers that are too methodical will miss all the important shots during key moments of action. In hindsight, it would have been awesome to have photographed her riding by and falling. :-)

The people riding on Giant Dipper were clearly having a better day.

70-300 @ 142mm, f7.1, 1/1000 sec, ISO 400

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Downtown San Francisco Skyline

Picture: Downtown San Francisco City Skyline, Treasure Island, California

Believe it or not, last week was only the 2nd time that I had photographed the San Francisco skyline. It is such a picturesque scene that I wasn't going to pass up another opportunity to photograph it. My best friend used to live on Treasure Island and I was over there frequently, but I never tried shooting this because I was too insecure back then about shooting "postcard rack" pictures. Nowadays I'm all about enjoying the moment.

My favorite image from the photo shoot was a 180 degree panoramic spanning from Treasure Island over to Alcatraz. It took 13 photos to create the panoramic. There's no way of adequately displaying it on the web without it getting ripped off unfortunately.

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God Bless America, San Francisco

Photo: Chinese Woman Approaches Caucasian Women in Front of U.S. Flag Mural in Chinatown, San Francisco, California

This scene reminded me of how far society (in California at least) has come when it comes to race relations. I won't elaborate, but it was pretty bad even when I was growing up in the 80's and 90's.

In the next frame, (not shown here) the other lady reached out to take the flier from the Chinese woman but it wasn't visible in the frame from this position unfortunately. I think that would have been a dream picture of mine to have gotten that.

17-35mm @ 17mm, f9, 1/320 sec, ISO 200, handheld

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UC Berkeley Tree-Sitters Part II

Photo: Female Tree-Sitter "Dumpster Muffin", UC Berkeley, California

In a recent blog post I discussed the UC Berkeley Tree-Sitters. Well last night, UC Berkeley moved in to remove the tree-sitters at the Memorial Oak Grove.

Here is the story from the San Francisco Chronicle: UC removes tree-sitters' gear before ruling

Here is a YouTube video of yesterday's events: UC Police Extracts First Berkeley Tree Sitter

Update 6/20/08: Food supply support lines have been cut. "Dumpster Muffin" is still in the trees however and not planning on coming down anytime soon according to the Mercury News.

70-300mm @ 70mm, f7.1, ISO 800, 1/400 sec., AP mode w/ pattern metering +1 exposure compensation, flash w/ omnibounce diffuser

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Portsmouth Square, Chinatown