Fort Bragg, Oregon

Video Blogging

I've been watching YouTube videos produced by Thomas Heaton. He's a young Englishman who is turning into a terrific photographer. His videos are wonderful on so many levels ... technique and humor and emotional connection. He generates such amazing content and the images he produces are beyond wonderful. I recommend his YouTube channel to anyone who is interested in improving their game behind the lens.

I'm thinking about doing something similar. I spend 3-4 months a year on the road, visiting interesting places and finding the most amazing images to capture. It would be a good way for me to gain some exposure and fill the long hours I spend waiting for the right light. I already have all the equipment and software I need so there's very little expense involved. I'm a pretty good storyteller. It just seems like a good idea. And maybe I can make a little money along the way which isn't a bad thing. At least I could maybe pay for some new equipment and my travel expenses.

Trip Plans

I haven't made definite plans yet but things are starting to come together for the next trip home. It looks like I leave in late February and return to Crimea in mid-June. I want to get to Grand Canyon while there's still some snow and I want to get to the far north in Idaho, Montana and Washington which means I have to stick around until the snow melts in late May. I'm planning to revisit quite a few places I've not seen in a while and to add a long list of new venues to my already long list. Because the West is so big and there's so many places to see I'll be occupied for many years to come just filling out all the holes in my catalog. Hopefully I'll have my trip plans in place before Feb. 1 and will let you know my schedule.

Fort Bragg, Oregon

No, it's not FB, NC. No military base for miles around. Just a small, coastal town north of the California-Oregon border. I spent a few days there exploring the local beaches. Lots to see but the weather wasn't really conducive to getting around so my catalog is a bit thin. Most of the ground was saturated and unwalkable so I had to confine my shoots to blacktop areas and turnoffs. But what I did find was really nice. Like this rocky coastline. Not sure what it's called but wow, what a beautiful area. The sea was really angry and taking panoramas like this one are very difficult when the water is tossing and turning. You have to carefully match your shot times so you get waves in roughly the same place each time or it's impossible to stitch the images together without funny breaks and transitions. What I usually do is to pick a spot where the waves are hitting a known obstacle (usually a rock sticking out of the water) and that's when I start the bracketing sequence. It works pretty well as you can see.

This is a 3 image sequence, 10 sets all told, run through Photomatix. I spent a lot of time on this particular set of images because I was testing out alternative pano stitchers and wanted to see which one did the best job. I downloaded trial copies of PTgui and Auto Pano Giga and ran the images through them along with Photoshop. I wish I could say there was a clear winner but I can't. They all had issues with the image and it was frustrating to see how they each stumbled at one point or another. Stitchers look for similar features in each image which they use as reference points during the stitch. The problem is 1) waves are not static so the stitcher struggles to find matching points on the water. It generally punts and finds references on the ground and in the sky. That leads to 2) problems when the clouds are moving relatively fast so the reference points don't really match up very well. This leads to issues on the horizon with the water not being flat ... big steps giving really funny results like a staircase. So you have to get the best you can and then go into Photoshop to correct the horizon and to fix the discontinuities in the water. It gets very nasty very fast. I've got a lot of experience with this and can fix it somewhat but I need to get one of the other stitchers because Photoshop doesn't give me access to the various images being stitched. PTgui lets me output each image so I can blend them in Photoshop if I want. APG does some serious blending internally and that's OK but it's not as easy to get to the base images. I'm still debating which one to buy (and there's another option --- Hugin which is free and open source but isn't quite as advanced as the commercial offerings but, did I mention it's free)! The commercial offerings are expensive so that's a consideration as well.

Anyway, after several weeks of messing with this image I went back to Photoshop. I had to do some tonal adjustments to the various images as some were darker than others and Photoshop doesn't do a really good job fixing those problems. Then I just messed with the various settings in PS until I got something I could live with. There's a lot of work getting this image right but I think the result is pretty good. Love the rich colors and how the water is crashing on the rocks. It's lovely and I can still feel the wind in my face as I stood on the bluff taking these images. Will definitely return soon and, this time, I get the name of the beach. Promise.

Fort Bragg, Oregon! Enjoy!

Fort Bragg - 24mm,f/18,HDR,ISO 100,license CC BY-NC 4.0

San Francisco

Catalonia...

I wonder if this place, Catalonia, is the canary in the coalmine. What I mean by this is the following ... I've noticed of late that a lot of small regions are striving to get away from their bigger brethren. Scotland and Ireland for example. Or the Donbas in Ukraine. Or what happened to Yugoslavia. One can point to literally hundreds of places where the people are very unhappy with the powers that be and are agitating for their independence. I don't have a really firm opinion on this one way or the other but it certainly runs contrary to all the elite attempts to cobble together one big entity that rules them all. Suddenly trade agreements are falling apart and the EU looks a bit shaky given Greece and the Brits. Even the US is starting to see some ominous cracks. It certainly seems plausible that America could fracture into several large autonomous countries ... don't you think? The south certainly, then the West excluding the left coast, then the industrial northeast and maybe Texas on it's own. That would leave Alaska and Hawaii as odd men out with no where really to go. Maybe Alaska joins with the south or the mountain west region and Hawaii jumps in with California. I think many on both sides would agree that maybe Lincoln was wrong to force the south back into the union. Look what an unhappy lot they've been ever since. They just don't seem to fit in very well. Same with the mountain west with their libertarian tendencies and their big emphasis on state's rights. It's a very unstable time we live in. So many counteracting forces all pushing and pulling in different directions. Not the big, happy family one would expect. I don't know where this is going but it certainly looks like we're in for a big upheaval. Hold onto your hit ... it's going to get very rocky.

National Park fees...

I see where the Trump administration wants to significantly increase the entrance fees for many of the most popular national parks. I have a senior pass so I'm safe but these new fees, up to $70/car are really steep. A lot of families couldn't afford rates like that. The justification is the increased crowds that are, surely, overwhelming these parks. I can attest to this first hand but I think the solution is not the correct one. What is overwhelming the parks is all the foreign tourists and their big buses. I've been in a venue when a couple of these monsters roll in and it's a huge circus. Especially when they are Chinese. I'm not against Chinese tourists but they are the majority of these big waves that wash over the parks. I was in Yellowstone in late May and saw this issue big time. One morning I was in the midway geyser basin when 2 big buses rolled in. Suddenly there were 150 Chinese, all doing their best to get in each other's way and the noise was impossible. They have no appreciation for the amazing place they are visiting and you literally can't set up to take a picture with them around. I've had them walk in front of my camera and stand (or vamp) while I'm trying to get a shot. There is no respect for others. They all want to vamp for the camera and take a million selfies. For about 30 minutes the place is bedlam. Then they get on their buses and move on down the line. But all too soon another group arrives and the mess repeats. So, why not charge these tour groups big fees to enter the park. Let them pay $100 each for the privilege of visiting our parks. That would raise a lot of money and maybe keep the citizen's fees down to a reasonable level. And maybe cut down significantly on the numbers in the parks. I think it's worth a try.

San Francisco

I love this town. I went to graduate school down the peninsula in Palo Alto and my wife and I would ride the train up just to spend the day wandering around town. I know the overstuffed coders from Google and Facebook have overrun the place but it's still not all that bad. That said I find myself only spending a few days at a time there as the craziness gets to me and I have to chill for a while. This last trip I was only there for 3 days and then moved on. It's hard to find a place to sleep (I don't stay in hotels for a lot of reasons) so I have to drive out of town. This time I spent 2 nights in a rest area on I280 near Hillsboro which was very interesting. But there are so many wonderful places to shoot and that's what keeps me coming back.

This image was taken from the foothills in Golden Gate Recreational Area. I was in the last overlook just before turning north and couldn't pass up taking this image. You can see most of the bay area including the Bay Bridge and Treasure Island (just behind the north tower of the bridge) and just a bit of Alcatraz. It truly is an amazing place.

This is a single image, run through Lightroom. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

San Francisco - 35mm,f/16,30 sec, ISO 200,license CC BY-NC 4.0

Sonoma Coast

Charlottesville...

I'm not going to say much about the confrontation that took place yesterday in VAI've been warning family and friends for years that the "calm" we've seen in the last few decades was an illusion. The race hatred and all the other bigotries have always been there. It just took Trump and years of bad economy to bring it all back to the surface. The Republican party has been fanning these flames for a long time and now they are a raging inferno that may very well consume America. I have no great ideas about how to fix this ... it's been part of my country from the very beginning. The great melting pot was always a joke. Trump may very well be the lit match thrown onto the gasoline soaked hate that was always there. I'm actually glad this is now out in the open where all the smug elites can see/smell it first hand. Congratulations ... you've just kindled the fires that may very well consume you. Guess what ... it's the economy stupid! It always has been. Provide everyone with a good job and all this crap disappears. But you bought into the neoliberal bulls**t and now it's come back to bite you. And, in what has to be the greatest irony, it's happening all over the world. There's no safe haven for you to hide in this time. Get used to looking over your shoulders because that's the new norm. Payback's a bitch!

Sonoma Coast

I love driving the west coast. It's so beautiful and there's always somewhere that just begs for a picture. Sonoma is mostly known for it's wineries but the coast is also a magical place. This image was taken at Coleman Beach. The clouds/fog was very cooperative that evening and I was able to get a really nice sunset. This is a panorama made up of HDR images. There's a lot of work in cleaning up the blending which sometimes goes funny as the light changes from one panel to the next. There are 85 images in the mix, 17 sets of 3 bracketed shots. Each panel takes upwards of 2-3 minutes to shoot so you can easily have 30 minutes between the first panel and the last. The light changes a great deal in that time frame so I often have to work the image to repair these changes. It's part of the process and a reason why these types of shots are so hard to execute. I've spent several years perfecting the technique and still confront issues with almost every one. Stitching together panoramas isn't always foolproof and I often have to repair damage caused by the software. It's not unusual for me to spent a day with a single image. But the results are worth all the effort. You'll not find more dramatic images than these. I really hope you enjoy them.

Coleman Beach, Sonoma - 24mm,f/16.HDR,ISO 100,license CC BY-NC 4.0

Golden Gate North Tower

Crisis over...

As some of you know, Crimea lost all electricity when someone in Ukraine sabotaged the power lines feeding south from Kerson. That was in mid-November. Well, yesterday Russia turned on the second high-voltage cable feeding Crimea from Krasnodar and we now have 100% of the electricity we need. The emergency generators are being shut down and all the factories and stores that were shuttered are being reopened. The big supermarket, Ashan, where we do our major shopping, opened over the weekend and we were able to get all the pet food and supplies we have been doing without the last month. And, when we got home yesterday afternoon, we were surprised to find that our elevator was working. Oh, what overwhelming joy! No more trudging up 200+ steps carrying heavy bags or dragging my poor, old cocker spaniel behind me. My bad lungs and aching legs rejoiced at the wonder of it all. We are now officially disconnected from all utilities coming from Ukraine, ending the worst part of this mess. No longer can they blackmail Crimea with threats of shutting off utilities. Now that's progress.

Golden Gate North Tower

I've already expounded on the wonder that is the Golden Gate Bridge. It's such a marvelous construction and a magnet for photographers of all skill levels. I was there in May and, as is often the case, the city and bridge were shrouded in thick fog. It was a dark and gloomy night but great for taking pictures. I set up at the lowest overlook and spent a considerable amount of time taking shots. This image was actually a precursor for a panorama I'll present at a later date. The fog was still above the red safety light so you can see the entire bridge. The lighting is just right, projecting from the road deck upwards and the beautiful ironwork provides just the right touch. A truly amazing structure and timeless in it's beauty. 75 years old and still as magnificent as the day she was built. The city isn't too shabby either as you can see.

Golden Gate North Tower - 35mm(1.6 crop),f/11,30 sec,ISO 100,license CC BY-NC 4.0

Los Padres Sunset

DaVinci Resolve

I've been spending the last week learning about new things. Lots of reading from the internet and dipping my fingers gently into new software. All in preparation for the next cycle when I want to get more heavily into video and extend my mastery of the photographic and the moving image. I'm not sure yet what type of project that will be but it happens in and around LA. I'm narrowing my choice for the next camera (hint ... it's between the Canon 5D Mk 3 and the Sony A7 Mk 2). I'm convinced I want to stay away from the really high resolution rigs for now as they are 1) very expensive and 2) fraught with issues. With the 5D Mk 3 I can get reasonable resolution (22.1 Megapixels) plus can install Magic Lantern and get 14 bit raw video at HD resolution and up to 30 fps. Imagine ... video with higher color depth than a professional movie camera costing a large fortune. I've seen some of the video from this hack and it's almost orgasmic. And I can color grade it in DaVinci Resolve (lite for now as the full package costs almost a grand). So, for the last several days, I've been reading and playing with a very powerful and capable system to color correct and grade my footage. It's not for the faint of heart as the software is the exact same code used by the major studios to grade their movies. But mastering this package gives me the ability to really extract the maximum from that raw footage. That's if I get the Canon ... no such capability from any of the Sony cameras unfortunately. All 8 bit and that's not all that good. One would get the impression I've made up my mind ...

Los Padres Sunset

I drove the California coast from north of LA to almost Eureka and saw an amazing number of beautiful shots. I've got thousands of images to work through and that's going to take some time. But one of the best images came from an overlook in the Los Padres National Forest somewhere south of Big Sur. I was just driving along the coastal road and came upon this place. As is always my way, I parked the truck, ate some lunch and took out my tablet to read while awaiting the sun's end. One never knows what to expect as the afternoon drags on ... will it get too foggy or will all the clouds disappear or ... will everything come together and give me a special image to capture. That's what makes this business so interesting and so damn frustrating. I've read stories of photogs who hung out in one place for days awaiting that perfect set of conditions. I didn't have time for that this cycle but next time I'll be doing just that ... spending days in one place, taking the same images each time but waiting for the best conditions. I'll be covering southern California very thoroughly so expect some really interesting results.

Anyway, this is an HDR panorama of the little bay as the sun set behind some really nice clouds. It wasn't exactly stormy but could have been. I think the plants at the bottom are a form of sage which was blooming at the time. It's always nice to have living ground cover instead of ugly rocks. Would have been nicer with some waves but one can't be too choosy given I only spent one afternoon there. So, grab a beer or something more refined and sit back to enjoy the view.

Los Padres Sunset - 16mm(1.6 crop),f/18,HDR,ISO 100,license CC BY-NC 4.0

Golden Gate Bridge

Where am I?

I'm not ignoring you ... I'm just off doing other things. I have a family that needs some attention from time to time and I'm still working on that software project. Plus I'm starting to think through what I want to do on the next cycle which starts probably after the new year. I'm thinking hard about spending a long time in and around LA to work on my timelapse video and then what do I do? I don't want to be driving nearly as much as I did last time ... almost 10k miles and a lot of money. This time I want to be more localized and concentrate on southern California. I think that's possible. And since I want to do a nighttime video I can sleep during the day and avoid most of the issues around night camping and rule breaking. There's lots of issues to be resolved and plans to be made so I'll be busy for the next 4+ months. I'll still try to cull my photos so there's a constant stream of new images but I have other fish to fry too so bear with me while this gets done.

Golden Gate Bridge at Night

I spent a total of 2 days in San Francisco. I've already explained why I cut my stay short so I won't bore you repeating the obvious. I spent almost all that time around the bridge as it's the most obvious landmark in SF. Such an amazing construction and one of the few man made structures that actually enhances it's environment. The guy who designed it made a really excellent choice with the color ... international orange ... which lets the bridge stand out from it's surroundings while actually complementing the colors of the hills and city. A true work of art. And, if you've noticed, one of the few human constructions that appears in my pictures.

It wasn't easy taking this panorama. I had originally hoped to take this picture from the highest observation point in the park but fog got in the way. I was parked high above the bridge, awaiting sunset and the chance to take some really awesome pictures but, as is often the case in northern California, the afternoon fog rolled in and pushed the ceiling down until the bridge disappeared totally from this vantage point. I was forced to work my way down the observation overlooks as the ceiling fell until I was pinned at the lowest observation point. But the insults weren't finished yet. Every time I got out of my truck to set up, some clown would pull into the parking area and leave his lights on so my shots were ruined. Finally, in total frustration, I crawled into my truck and hunkered down until very late ... almost midnight ... when all the gawkers had finally gone home to bed and I had the place all to myself. Fortunately, the fog remained just above the tops of the bridge stanchions so I could see the red fog lights and traffic flowing across the span. It's a very nice picture but not perfect. The fog and mist gives all the lights a halo which is both nice and not so good. Also, some of the sections are a bit overexposed. I plead to frustration ... after all the negative pressure going back many hours I was just rushing to get any image and get back into my truck. At midnight it's really cold and raw up in those hills and standing outside for long periods trying to get the perfect picture is very uncomfortable. If I get back there this next cycle I'll do better ... I promise.

Golden Gate at Night - 16mm(1.6 crop),f/11,HDR,ISO 100,license CC BY-NC 4.0