Catching Up

My goal is to post photos every week, but I fell behind. The next three posts are my attempt to catch up. Even though they are all dated today, in real time (reverse order) , they stretch back to the Fourth of July .

World Wide Photo Walk

On July 18th, all over the world, groups of photographers walked the streets of selected cities, shooting what ever caught their eyes. This was all part of Scott Kelby's 2nd annual Worldwide Photo Walk. Morgan Hill was one of the selected cities and 18 people met at BookSmart at 9am to walk and photograph the downtown area. We all started by browsing through the Farmers' Market, and then individuals and small groups split off to explore on their own.

Below is a window reflection of a new car dealership right in downtown. The cars are very small, all-electric models. I thought the car and the reflection of the bike looked like part of the same story.

Mickey and Pluto just looked so happy,
waving to passers-by, that they deserved a place in my blog.

This is one of my favorites from the day,
a sidewalk table outside a deli.

Morgan Hill is the self-proclaimed Mushroom Capital of the world and painted mushrooms are scattered throughout the downtown area.

This is my favorite.

Stanford Shoot-out

The photography club has periodic "shoot-outs". Some are well planned and some are more spontaneous. When I heard that a couple of members were driving up to Stanford University ,I decided to go along. Four of us spent 4 afternoon hours walking around the campus, looking for photographic possibilities. There were many.

Our first encounter (with possibilities) was the Papua New Guinea Sculpture Garden. Kwoma and Iatmul artists came to Stanford in 1994 and created 40 carved and painted wood and stone sculptures. The sculptures stand among a small forest that cast many shadows, so the range of light was often too great to get a good exposure throughout the composition. I tried to solve this by not including the sky in the photo. Many of the sculptures were quite tall, so I moved in close and looked for smaller details.

In other places around the campus, the contrast of
shadow and light created beautiful opportunities.

And the beautiful blue sky was the
perfect backdrop for the Hoover Tower.

Only Paris has more sculptures by Auguste Rodin.
This one is part of the "Burghers of Calais,"
one of Rodin's most famous sculptures.

A playful person (not I) added a few flowers to the bronzes.

Boo-Qwilla Totem Pole

After four hours of walking and shooting, we headed back to the car. There is so much more to see and photograph, we all agreed that Stanford is well worth another visit.

Fourth of July

The Fourth of July in Morgan Hill is an all-community affair. Festivities include a golf tournament, a street dance, a children's patriotic sing, a 5K race/walk, a parade, an all day picnic, and a finale of fireworks. This is the first year I have watched the parade from downtown. I chose this photo because it captured the energy along the main downtown street.

I missed the first two flyovers because I just wasn't quick enough with my camera. On the third pass, I saw the planes coming, looked up, and thought, "Damn! I'm standing under a tree." Fortunately, the planes flew right over the opening and I grabbed this shot. Sometimes you're in the right place at the right time.

Part of the charm of the parade is its essence of small town. Lots of kids and dogs, and the floats are decorated, flatbed trucks. I chose these next two photographs because as I took both, I thought, "Only in Morgan Hill."

Last year the fireworks were canceled due to high winds blowing over the crowd. I almost didn't go this year, but I wanted to try out a technique to get multiple exposures that I had read about last year. I put the shutter speed on 'bulb' and just before the burst, (using a cable release) held the shutter open. After about two seconds, I covered the lens with a piece of black foam and held it there (with the shutter still open) until the next burst, removed it for 2 seconds, and then covered it again. Lots of trial and error, but the technique worked and the photos with multiple bursts were way more interesting than the single ones.

The grand finale was a spectacular cascade of gold. Quite literally, the sky was filled with glittering gold sparks. My only regret was that it was all over so quickly.

Coastal Excursion 1

My family gets together every time my uncle, who lives in Oregon, has a significant birthday (although at 90, maybe every birthday is significant). I usually head straight up I-5 to get to Grants Pass as soon as possible, but this time I decided to leave a few days early and take the coastal route so I could photograph the Mendocino coast and the redwoods. I left early on a Sunday morning under an overcast sky, but as I neared the Golden Gate Bridge, the sky cleared. I couldn't let such an opportunity pass. I pulled into a parking lot that is the staging area for walkers and bicyclists getting ready to cross the bridge.

I had an opportunity to see how closely my new wide angle lens (Sigma 12-24) would focus.

I didn't stay long, A few photos later and I was on the road again heading to Petaluma for lunch and then west to Highway 1, Mendocino and Fort Bragg. In Fort Bragg, I made a picnic dinner walked down to Glass Beach, and relaxed among the diriftwood. This had been a long, but very satisfying first day.

Wildflowers are still prominent along the coast
and I stopped many times
to look at the scenery, and take a few photographs.

Coastal Excursion 2

Twenty or so miles north of Fort Bragg is an area known as The Lost Coast. It is too rugged for normal travel, so Highway 1 turns east and reconnects with 101. The beach was no longer visible, but now I was among the redwoods. Driving through one redwood park after another, I stayed focused and kept driving until I reached the start of The Avenue of the Giants, a scenic byway that parallels 101.

This was the view through my moon roof.

The redwood trees were magnificent.
I was very glad to have that new wide angle lens.

After a few wrong turns and missed exits, it had taken me much longer to drive to the park than I had anticipated. By the time I found the area I wanted to photograph, the sky had cleared and the sun was shinning brightly. With shadows and sun, the range of light was just too great. I gave up on photography for the day, sat down on an ancient log, and ate my lunch. I listened to the silence, felt the warmth of the sun, and just savored my surroundings. I knew I would be visiting other redwood parks, so I wasn't too concerned about the lack of photos. I sent out an intent for future fog and/or overcast skies.

Next stop was Eureka and the
Humboldt Bay Wildlife Refuge.

After spending the morning along the shores of the slough, I explored Eureka. It has a 52 acre redwood grove right in the middle of town. This is not an "Old Growth" forest. The trees here are only a century old. The sky was overcast all day which gave me a chance to wander around the grove and photograph at my leisure. These were insurance shots. I was after much bigger, older trees.

I stayed two nights in Eureka, so I had time to
visit the marina on Woodly Island

Coastal Excursion 3

My Wednesday destinations were Redwood National Park and Prarie Creek State Park. I love visitor centers and park HQs. They have all the information a traveler could want: maps, pictures, books, and most of all, friendly, helpful people. The beach behind the national park HQs was a great place to photograph; lots of driftwood and flowers that grew right out of the sand.

I read that rhododendrons grew wild in parts of the forests.
I didn't expect to find any, but as you can see, I did.

It was really quite amazing to see these pink flowers among the old growth trees. Fortunately, I spied these on a scenic byway that had many places to park. Later I saw miles of them, but they were along the main highway with no place to pull off.

I was heading for Crescent City, only 80 miles north of Eureka, but there were so many beautiful beaches and overlooks along the way, that it took me all day to get there. The overcast skies that I appreciated so much in the redwoods, cleared as I approached Klamath. This is a photo of the beach where the Klamath River spills into the ocean.

I normally stayed away from the tourist attractions (drive thru trees, gift shops inside trees, and tree houses), but I eagerly anticipated a return to "Trees of Mystery" just north of Klamath. Paul Bunyon and his blue ox, Babe, have been greeting visitors since I was a child on a road trip with my family.