Right now, I am enjoying a ‘mild conceit moment’ also known as an ‘MCS’. I learned about MCS from Nona. This year, I participated in the Yodeler’s 2004 Photo Contest and had two entries accepted. The image above is first place in the landscape category and was taken in the Sunol Regional park while walking my dogs one morning. I remember being slightly disappointed because it was not foggy at the park that morning. It just goes to show that nature knows best. Nona inspired me to enter this image because she saw it and now owns her own copy. Thanks, Nona.
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Henry Coe 03-12-2005
Chip was home painting on Saturday. I needed to clear out for the entire day because the paint fumes make me sick. So, I decided to head to Henry Coe State Park. When I was close the visitor center, I was shooed into the optional parking lot that is 1/2 mile from the trail heads/visitor center. Turns out everyone had the same idea. The wildflowers are starting to pop at Henry Coe. There were California poppies, delphiniums, lupine, buttercups, Douglas irises, and others I do not know. I decided to take the longer 6.7 mile trail because I had all day and could take my time. Hmmm, not my best plan.
Sunol 03-09-2005
Periodically, I visit www.photo.net for inspiration. One of the photos made me long for color shots again. After a long stint with infrared, I went out to Sunol looking for a color shot. I also wanted to clear my head after a long day of trying to generate creative solutions for work.
Decided to post one more shot….
Point Reyes 02-26-2005
Drove by myself up to Point Reyes. Wanted to climb Mount Wittenberg again. I was expecting a lot of wildlfowers but there were hardly any yet. Without a hiking companion, my resolve failed about 1/3 the way up the mountain.
I took my regular camera expecting to mainly use it. Instead, ended up only liking a few infrared shots. It was a gray overcast day and the light was very uninspiring along the trail for regular shots.
Sunol 02-25-2005
Went with Chip and the two dogs for a short walk to Sunol just before closing time. I had been out there solo a few days before and seen beds of Shooting Star wildflowers. Here is the one keeper shot from the outing.
I have been hearing about what a great wildflower season is beginning. I want to go out and explore this weekend and find more wildflowers.
Sunol 02-23-2005
Decided to go out for a shot adventure to Sunol. I did not get to out for the long holiday weekend so I was getting anxious to check out the wildflowers. I have heard that it is the best wildflowers in 50 years. Along the freeways, I have seen beds of lupine and California poppies. Sunol is not close to peak but there were a few beds of shooting stars. Turns out that I forgot my regular camera and just had the infrared body. So, here is a shot of Miner’s Lettuce.
Pebble Beach 02-06-2005
I finally got around to posting my ‘unaltered’ shots from Pebble Beach. Four of us went down to Pebble Beach to shoot. This is different than Pebble Beach with the golf course. This beach is in San Mateo county about 20 miles south on Highway 1. From home, the day started off overcast and the weather became even more gloomy along the coast. There were also periods of spitting rain.
Berekely Botanical 02-06-2005
Went Sunday to Berkeley Botanical Gardens. I was thinking that the magnolia and rhododendrons would be in full bloom. However, it is still a little too early. Instead, I practiced some more infrared shots. This shot was manual focus and I realized that I cannot focus as well as my camera. Maybe, I will have to get my eyes checked.
Berkeley Botanical 01-29-2005
Went with Aphra to Berkeley Botanical Gardens. Since I am still in my ‘infrared’ phase, I took most of my shots with my newly converted D30. At the time, I was very excited by the lily pad shots. When I got home and processed the images, I am very pleased with the California poppies instead.
For these shots, I popped the contrast by doing a second blurred layer. The blurred layer was applied in ‘Overlay’ mode. That mode brightened the poppies and darkened the distracting background.
Sunol 01-29-2004
Took the girls for a walk with Chip to Sunol. It was high noon and all the vegetation is coming in a lush green. Sunol was beautiful today.
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