Backseat Driving

The view from the back of a car in the junkyard behind Scotty's Castle. As you saw in the truck pictures when I first started this post, there was a collection of old rusted cars behind Scotty's Castle. I really hope that they never remove those rusted out cars. They are fun for people to enjoy who go off the beaten track. Of course there were signs every 30 feet or so telling us to stay on the road which of course we had to disobey on principle alone.

Canon 600D, ISO-100, f/5.7, 40mm, 1/100 sec

Old and Grainy

So I had some fun with my shoot down on Thousand Steps Beach. I am not a fan of high ISO and this is one of the few that I actually like. There was an older couple jogging along the beach and I'm glad that they were standing together for my picture. And this was after I did some noise reduction. I like the grainy old style look to it. Let me know what you think.

Canon 600D, ISO-3200, 34mm, 1/50 sec

My First Lighthouse

I've always like the idea of lighthouses. Maybe I romanticize them, but they seem like such unique ways to live. I went over to Point Fermin to get pictures of Sunken city, but as I said in my last post, there was a cop posted right next to the only way I know to get through the fence. Instead of drawing attention to myself, I decided to walk around the park and take some pictures. This is the lighthouse there and it's my kind of Lighthouse. A home with just a light atop it. Let me know of any other great lighthouses in california, my goal is to take pictures of all of them.

Canon 600D, ISO-100, f/5.6, 18mm, 1/125 sec.

Can you hold this while I grab a beer?

So I headed down to Sunken City on Saturday to get some pictures. I got there an hour before sunset, but there was a cop chillin in his car right next to the best place to get over the fence. I decided to walk around and there is a little local pub. Outside the pub, I met this guy who regaled me with stories of his misspent youth. Then as he saw the cop about to leave, he asked me to hold his joint while he went in and ordered a beer. A little blurry because there was no light, but I had to share it. For the record, I did not hold his joint while he ordered a pint. It's not my kind of substance.

Canon 600D, ISO 125, f3.5, 18mm, 1/40 sec.

That's one big rock!

So this picture is from a few years back. My father , Eva, and I were taking the boat down to Mexico to have the hull repainted. While we were leaving Morro Bay, I took this shot. I did a little post processing on it. Believe it or not, this giant rock was too colorful for me, so I made the rock monochrome. You can still see it's greenish yellow hue in the reflection in the water. This was back when I was editing with The Gimp. Easy software to use, but not as extensive with the filters as Photoshop.

Sony DSC-P100, ISO-100, f/5.6, 8mm, 1/250 sec.

Do I see his turn signal flashing?

OK, so this is far from my comfort zone. I haven't gotten the hang of sky photography, but I was out on my balcony trying to get the moon (which did not turn out) and there was a plane circling and I gave it my best to get a shot. I like how you can see the blinking red light on the backside during the long exposure. Almost looks like a Doppler shift. Would be better if the starboard side lights were blue. For those unfamiliar with the Doppler shift, that is the scientific principle that tells us that the universe is expanding. The light on the tree outside was very bright so I tried my best to pull it back, but the moon was very bright with a 30 sec exposure. Let me know what you think.


BTW: this is Saturday's post a little early. I'm hitting up Sunken City tomorrow for pics, then I'm off to Brandon's for Easter weekend. Pool party for Easter sounds very southern California. I will post the sunken city pics on Sunday evening.

Canon 600D, ISO-100, f/5.6, 35mm, 30 sec.

Once more into the break, dear friends

So I've never really tried taking pictures of waves. First picture of some waves. The break is too close to the beach to surf here, but it allows me to get some detail without a zoom. I really like this picture and I may mess around with it, maybe blur it a bit to compensate for the noise caused by the high ISO. I took classes to teach me about the relation of ISO and noise and the relation of f stops and depth of field, but that was at least a decade ago if not more so I've forgotten it all and am learning from scratch.

Canon 600D, ISO-640, f/4.5, 30mm, 1/40 sec.

The point of exposure

So, yes it was cloudy when I went down to thousand steps beach, but I made the best of it. Some clouds are great for pictures, but not these clouds. I had to take some long exposures in order to get even a little definition from them. Luckily waves always look great with long exposures. I'm going to go down to Thousand Steps again when the sky is a little more clear to get you some more exciting pictures. I do like this one and I hope that you do also.

Canon 600D, ISO-100, f/5, 41mm, 15 sec

Mists of Laguna

OK, so I kind of lied. It's a raw image not a bracketed shot. I had to up the exposure and color in Photoshop, so it's a bit altered but not a full HDR image. This was down at Thousand Steps. I was working on trying to get a picture with the terrible light that I was given and this was a pretty good picture IMHO. I decided that if it was going to be a long exposure that I would stop it down a few stops and make it a longer exposure.

Canon 600D, ISO-100, f/29, 29mm, 5 sec.

A view from a parking lot.

So we came out of Mosaic Canyon and were coming back to the car. This was taken from the parking lot at mosaic canyon. Even from a parking lot, the views in Death Valley are amazing. Actually I took this while the guys had a beer break, because finishing a hike means you get to celebrate with a beer. I can't see any issues with that logic.

Canon 600D, ISO-100, f/4.5, 29mm, 1/800 sec.

Sunset at the Pier

OK, I know that I have said it before, but this time I mean it. This is my last image from the Photowalk. I couldn't turn down another sunset shot though. So Today is my last picture form the Photowalk. I'm afraid I posted my images too quickly and I'm starting to run out. I guess that I need to go take more. You might notice a crazy ISO below, that is me playing around with shutter priority instead of aperture priority. Only image that turned out with shutter over aperture priority. You will also notice my new signature.

Canon 600D, ISO-160, f/4.5, 28mm, 1/200 sec

Photographic Amnesia

So I was looking at this image and I remember working on the raw file for it and processing it, however I do not remember taking it. I have complete amnesia regarding this image. I have no idea where it was in Death Valley. From the time-stamp on it, I know roughly where we were, but I don't remember taking the picture. I assume that this will happen more often the more pictures I take, but there were so many beautiful nature shots in Death Valley that I can't remember one specific point. So here is yet another Death valley shot. I am taking more pictures so I will diversify.

Canon 600D, ISO-100, f/4.5, 28mm, 1/800 sec.

220 Steps, Not Thousand Steps.

So today I learned the value of looking at the forecast before planning a Photo shoot. So I had planned all week to go out today and take some pictures of the waves and sunset at Thousand Steps beach. I checked the tides, I checked what time sunset was, but I didn't check the weather forecast and it was cloudy and no pretty colors at sunset. But I did have fun with the waves and I did take a few pictures of the point and what not.


Canon 600D, ISO-100, f/14, 18mm, 30 sec

Pacific Wheel

I know that I said that I would not post any more pictures of the pier, but this is of the Pacific Wheel on the Santa Monica Pier. I do wish that people would show some manners and not walk in front of a camera when people are taking pictures. I swear... Some people's children..

Canon 600D, ISO-100, f/7.1, 20mm, 1/30 sec

This Pier is getting tiring, why don't I post other things?

OK, so I promise this is the last picture of the Pier that I will post. I just really liked the colors in this one. I pushed the detail and saturation as high as I could go without making it look like crap. I think that this is going to be the last picture from the PhotoWalk last month. I am going to be travelling around orange county this weekend looking for pictures. I may even hit up sunken city with my nephew and chica to get some pics there. Hej, that's a great idea. I think that I will actually do that.

Canon 600D, ISO-100, f/4.5, 18mm, 1/25 sec.

Hot and Dry! Hot and Dry!

Last time I checked, deserts are supposed to be hot and dry. Our first day was rainy and it snowed not far up in elevation from us. We did move down the mountain the second night, but we also spent the evenings in the cars the second night because it was too windy to get a fire started to stay warm. It finally settled down, and that is when I snapped this picture of one of the mountains in the park. I was an amazing view but the wind was furious from the perch where I took this so I was only able to get one picture. Next time I am hoping for better weather, but the trade off is if I go when it's warmer, it will be over 100 degrees. Well, great picture none the less.

Canon 600D, ISO-100, f/4.5, 18mm, 1/800 sec.

Don't run backwards here naked at midnight

So this is at the edge of the Devil's Cornfield. I'm actually looking away from the cornfield and only getting a few of the desert wildlife that gives this area it's name. And although it's not like a regular cornfield, I wouldn't run through this one naked either. There isn't much to say about this picture, there were damn cars and tourists blocking my other shots so I had to take one looking away from the cornfield. I'm not upset though, I love how it came out. The mix of clouds, mountains, and distant desert work for me. I've also included another style of signature that I am thinking of. I stole this style from Lucky Bastard since he is moving onto a new style. I like it because it leaves my photo untouched.

Canon 600D, ISO-100, f/4.5, 30mm, 1/1600 sec.

Chemical weathering and hydrothermal alteration

So the cause of all of the colors on the rock at Artist Drive is Chemical Weathering and hydrothermal alteration. Now I know, and knowing is half the battle. I've also made a little change to this image. A friend of mine recommended that I make myself a watermark/signature. I'm playing around with a few ideas, one of which is the one in this image. It's my family crest with JDA III 2012 © underneath. I's still working on it, but feedback = awesome. I did my best to make it unassuming, and I'm not even sure that I want to compromise my picture with anything. Maybe I can do a bottom border like Lucky does. We shall see.

Canon 600D, ISO-100, f/9, 33mm, 1/250 sec.

Chip off a slab and make me a kitchen counter

So during our Death Valley trip, we visited the mosaic canyon. Without giving you a full geological history, the walls of the canyon are marble. Now the lower part of the canyon is very tight, only a foot wide foot path at some points. This is higher up in the canyon where we decided to hike. There was a sign that said that the first part of the canyon was 1.4 mile in. So we obviously went there, but the sign at the parking lot said that 2 miles up there was more to see. We hiked the two miles and it was not as awesome as the first 1/4 mile. It was awe inspiring though. I took a number of pictures there, but I will only be posting a few.

Canon 600D, ISO-100, f/5.6, 50mm, 1/320sec.

Igor, I think we should call an electrician.

So, from the nail picture, I have already explained my personal enjoyment of antique tools. So I will probably be corrected by a friend who was there since I wasn't paying much attention to this equipment, but I think that this was an old 1920's arc welder. The handle just reminded me of something that would be found in Frankenstein's lab. We were all bouncing around the workshop checking out the equipment. We were like kids in candy stores. My friends also share my like for vintage and antique technology. It usually sparks conversation and if we drink enough, they may get a rant from dear old J.D. about what life was like in the olden days when I used to walk to school barefoot in the snow uphill both ways. PS: I lived in los angeles as a kid. Not a lot of snow.

Canon 600D, ISO-800, f/5.6, 47mm, 1/60sec.