2014, Day 20 - Entourage

As the sun rose over the mountains and hit the Pacific we stumbled across a couple local fishermen.  They were hauling in their nets and at one point they had almost twenty pelicans floating around their boat waiting for their castoffs.  They didn't stay for too long but I was able to capture this moment early on; as time passed I became distracted by the pelicans landing on the jetty right in front of me and I turned by attention that way.

Canon 1D X, Canon 70-200/f2.8L IS Mark II
200mm, f5.6, 1/400 sec @ 100 ISO

2013, Day 16 - Lonely fisher

I spent most of the day in and out of bed trying to will myself into wellness.  My daydreams took my to warm weather, blue skies, and good food so this image seemed an appropriate one to share this evening.  This was taken in the coastal town of Kep, formerly Kep-sur-mer under the French.  It is a peaceful community famous for their crab and our visit there was quite relaxing.  A little off the beaten tourist path, it was really tranquil and a shady place along the waterfront would be an ideal place to spend a day.

Canon 1D X, Canon 70-200/f2.8L Mark II
130mm, f5.6, 1/2000 sec @ 100 ISO

2013, Day 10 - Mending

After an ass-numbing morning riding the bamboo train with Brian, Nicole, Araceli, and Francene we went to Wat Ek Phnom.  It is a small temple mostly in ruins with a modern counterpart in front.  The sun was viciously hot and after exploring the ground Francene, Araceli, and I wandered out of the complex.  I had seen a boy fishing in the stream adjacent to the temple complex and thought it might be worth a picture.  Sadly he was untangling his net but I liked the look of concentration on his face and took this picture instead.

Even now I can feel the heat when I look at this image, even feel the sweat trickling down my face.  Given that it was snowing this morning it is nice to reminisce.

Canon 1D X, Canon 70-200/f2.8L IS Mark II
200mm, f4, 1/200 sec @ 100 ISO

2010, Day 68 - Venice

Another day and I have it mostly to myself. Laura is busy and Araceli started a new job today which is great, I'm glad that both are getting stuff done but it meant going solo today.

I had no idea what I should do so I looked at a couple of guidebooks and opted to drive out to Venice Beach. It seems that people have very strong reactions to the atmosphere, they either find it to be frightening or friendly,it just depends on your view of earthy hippy types. Hell, I'm from Portland so I figured it might be familiar.


The canals of Venice lined with some pretty, if relatively small, homes.
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L
43mm, f5.6, 1/800 sec @ 100 ISO


Generally I like more traditional architecture but I love the mix of materials (and the reflection).
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L
40mm, f5.6, 1/500 sec @ 100 ISO


The Venice Fishing Pier.
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L
70mm, f5.6, 1/1000 sec @ 100 ISO


Facing north on the Venice Fishing Pier.
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L
70mm, f5.6, 1/1000 sec @ 100 ISO


A brown pelican doing his morning calisthenics.
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L
63mm, f5.6, 1/500 sec @ 100 ISO


Fishing for perch.
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L
70mm, f5.6, 1/320 sec @ 100 ISO


Relaxing on the pier throwing the sign for Venice.
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L
34mm, f5.6, 1/400 sec @ 100 ISO


Sand, sun and song.
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L
43mm, f5.6, 1/320 sec @ 100 ISO


Life guard on duty.
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L
54mm, f5.6, 1/640 sec @ 100 ISO


Keeping an eye on the surfers and swimmers though the former told me that the surf was pretty poor today.
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L
43mm, f5.6, 1/320 sec @ 100 ISO

There's a skate park at the beach. When I arrived I was scoping out the talent and the most impressive skater there was a little Asian girl whose father was looking on but right as I decided I had the measure of her she started removing her pads and packing to leave. These guys were the best of those remaining.


Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f4, 1/1600 sec @ 200 ISO


Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f4, 1/1600 sec @ 200 ISO


Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f4, 1/1250 sec @ 200 ISO


The Venice Beach Boardwalk.
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f5.6, 1/2000 sec @ 200 ISO

As I was getting myself together the kind folks from Canon called to let me know my lenses were ready to be picked up so with the help of handy Mr. Garmin I drove to Irvine and collected my wayward children. By the time I battled traffic back to the hotel it was almost 4:30 so I decided to relax for a bit before getting ready for dinner with Araceli.

We met up with Betty, Cheryl and David for dinner at Stuff I Eat. It was a very good vegan place with well made food and a great atmosphere.


The crew from Stuff I Eat.
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 50/f1.4
50mm, f1.4, 1/25 sec @ 800 ISO

Stuffed with vegan goodness Araceli and I then set out for Griffith Observatory. Despite some earlier clouds the sky cleared and we hoped for an opportunity to use their eyeball extenders to check out the stars.


The front entrance to Griffith Observatory.
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 50/f1.4
50mm, f1.4, 1/125 sec @ 1250 ISO


The fresco on the ceiling of the entry into the observatory.
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 50/f1.4
50mm, f1.6, 1/640 sec @ 800 ISO


An art deco window of the observatory.
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 35/f1.4
35mm, f1.4, 1/400 sec @ 1000 ISO


There were all kinds of educational exhibits inside but the only one that I read was about a woman who was sleeping on her couch when a meteor fell from the sky, through her roof and burned part of her stomach. Nothing else was about pain so it wasn't really worth reading.
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 35/f1.4
35mm, f1.4, 1/250 sec @ 1000 ISO


The view of the city from the observatory.
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 70-200/f2.8L IS
145mm, f2.8, 1/13 sec @ 1000 ISO

The biggest disappointment of the evening was the discovery that the telescopes were not available for us so we didn't get to star gaze. What's the point of an observatory if they don't let you observe?!?

Frustrated, Araceli and I headed back to the hotel. On the way we stopped for frozen yogurt and then called it a night.


Our rooftop neighbors camping out of the upper level of the parking complex next to the hotel.
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 100-400/f4.5-5.6L IS
350mm, f5.6, 1/6 sec @ 3200 ISO

2010, Day 64 - Copying the competition

My friend Terri is largely responsible for the frequent updating of this blog as she is the one who threw down the gauntlet and issued the 365 day challenge, a new photo a day for the next year. Yesterday she posted a photo of a gentleman fishing and today here are my contributions from the dock near Sellwood City Park...

Canon 1D Mark III, 100/f2.8L IS

100mm, f4, 1/2500 sec @ 400 ISO

Canon 1D Mark III, 100/f2.8L IS

100mm, f4, 1/640 sec @ 400 ISO

And now for something completely different, from the same park.

Canon 1D Mark III, 100/f2.8L IS

100mm, f4, 1/2000 sec @ 400 ISO

Canon 1D Mark III, 100/f2.8L IS

100mm, f4, 1/1600 sec @ 400 ISO