Work Work Work

.
Been busy in the house, so there isn't really a lot to write about.

One thing though, I found our first "real" digital camera. Now we did have one of the first Apple QuickTake Cameras (which I also found). I used it but never really got into the whole digital photography thing, it just didn't really click with me.

Then, my friend got a Sony Mavica that took pictures directly to a floppy disc. We borrowed it several times and that was my real start. By the time we had decided to take the plunge, a Sony Mavica 1000 was available, and that was what we went with. Similar to earlier Mavicas, this one took it's pictures to a small CD. For the time, it was very slick, with a full 10x optical zoom and tons of bells and whistles.

Today I found that same camera, tucked in the back of a closet. Wow, that thing is HUGE! It was still in its' case, with all the accessories and the original receipt. That puppy was $1,300 back in 2000!

But we loved it and took a ton of pictures with it. When we got married, we took the Sony along on our honeymoon (our first trip through the southwest). Of course, this meant we also had to take something to read those CDs, so we hauled our Bondi Blue iMac along with us. Click the computer link and you'll see what we were hauling in those days! But we thought it was wonderful.

Not too long ago, I looked at some of those pictures, and my God, they are really terrible. The quality is somewhat lacking, but mainly, it's the photographer. I guess I would just point and shoot at anything, clueless about composition or anything else.

At least it serves as a reminder that I've gotten a little better in the last dozen or so years.

One other totally unrelated note . . .

The other night, we again watched the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Am I the only one who thinks that if this were released today, Eli Wallach would be a shoe in for an Oscar nomination? A damned near perfect film, with an outstanding performance by a gifted actor.

That's it for today.

Los Gatos

.
Just a quick post.

I had a meeting this afternoon over in the village of Los Gatos. Russ and Donna talked about the crappy weather we had while they were visiting, so I thought I'd post a few pictures of what the area can be like.

I used to live in Los Gatos, and intend to go over there again to shoot some pictures.

As you can see, its quite picturesque.

I love this wall,
it was built in 1910
and I think it's wonderful
that it's still standing.

So much of silicone valley
has been torn down,
with new buildings replacing old.
It's hardly as I remember it
when I was a child.

It makes my appreciation
for places like Los Gatos
all the more dear.

Now I'm off to bed.

Five More

.
Lets see . . .

I'm feeling much better
(actually it turned into a one day event,
possibly allergies rather than a cold?).
Yesterday we went shooting
down at Elkhorn Slough.
Today we ran errands and gave blood.

Boring.

So here's a few more shots from the Slough

Not as clear as I'd like.

Here's a full figure shot
of the fellow from yesterday.

I love the way these guys hang around
balancing on one leg.

And this one,
I just liked.

That's it for today.

the Bridge to Nowhere

.
If you read this blog, you know I'm interested in photography. Lately, I've been playing with a lot of pictures, with various levels of success. I guess I'm trying to find my "style" whatever that may be.

I can say that a lot of what I see online, I don't care for. It seems that something called grunge is very popular in photography right now, it's not my thing. I like my pictures pretty sharp, with lots of contrast and lots of color.

And lately, I seem to be veering towards a somewhat dreamy, surreal look look (like the colorful shot I posted yesterday). Not for everyone, but I'm feeling my way here.

Today's shot is from Big Sur.
We were driving in and out of fog,
so the sky is somewhat blown out.
Here's the original
SOOC,
Straight out of the camera.

After playing around a bit,
this is what I liked the best.

Not my usual,
but somewhat warmer and more colorful.
It reminds me
of an old Kodachrome postcard.

A Day at The Festival

.

What a fine day we had.

As I mentioned yesterday,
there was a local Art and Wine Festival today.
The weather was perfect
and the price was right (free)
so off we went.

This was a typical small town affair,
not too big and not too small.

There were artisans aplenty.
I've never seen a spinning wheel
you operate with your feet.

I love this fused glass.

We spent quite a while
talking with this lovely lady.
She is the most incredible artist.
She carves fruit and vegetables
in the most intricate patterns,
turning every day food into something sublime.
I wanted to take more pictures,
but since she also sells photographs of her work,
I didn't feel it was appropriate.
She agreed to me taking this shot,
but if you'd like to see her work in detail,
I suggest you go to her website here.
In case you can't tell,
that's a watermelon in front of her
(click to enlarge).
Beautiful work!

This next artist creates
the best polymer clay work I've ever seen.
If you're not familiar with this art form,
you can read about it here.
This kind of control takes years to master.
I may have to go back and get this doggy pin
for my pin wall in Cholula Red.

Here are some of her earrings.
These I would also like!
They remind me of fuchsias,
but she calls them Fairy Wings.

If you paid any attention
to the recent Royal Wedding,
you must be aware of the newest hat craze.
They're called fascinators,
and I think they're the bees knees.
Not on me, you understand,
but look at this lovely young lady
who was nice enough to model this for me.

She was kind enough to model one more.
I think she looks adorable.

Here's another artist
whose work impressed both of us.

He recreates vintage signs.
You can see more of his work here.

He uses local vintage artwork,
transfers it to metal,
ages it,
and look at the results.
I'd love to have him do a logo
for Cholula Red.

In addition to all these fine artists,
there was also food.
The artichoke capitol of the world
is nearby in Castroville.
They're often represented at local events.
If you've never had a deep fried artichoke heart,
you really haven't lived.

The local dog population was also in attendance.
This little guy was willing to challenge
anyone in his path.
Fortunately, there weren't any takers.
This big guy seemed completely flummoxed.

Remember I said there would be circus performers?
There were only these two that I saw,
but they were pretty entertaining.
I LOVE that I got a shot of their pins in the air.
Thank You Canon.

As we left,
I liked the way these balloons
were moving in the breeze.

Just down the street
from the Festival venue
is a Skateboard Park.
I personally think these folks are crazy,

but it makes for good photography.

On the way home, out of the car window,
I took this shot of the local covered bridge.
I keep meaning to get over there for pictures,
but for now this will have to do.

That's it for today.

Too Many Pictures (Again)

.
The other day we found a flyer for the Seymour Marine Discovery Center. Having lived here for over 40 years, you'd think we'd have heard of it. I guess there's always new things to see and do.

Situated on a gorgeous campus, it's located right on the ocean at the northern edge of Sana Cruz proper.

Outside the main facility
is the complete skeleton
of a blue whale.

It beached itself just north of here
some 30 years ago.
Now that it has a new home,
other species have moved in.

Here's a whale of a tale.
Or a tale of a whale.

Inside the center,
there are lots of exhibits,
but my favorite place was the tanks.

In the tanks,
my favorite was this little octopus.

Today I learned
that I don't know how to take pictures
through glass . . .

I know that there are settings I could have used,
but not knowing what they are,
I ended up having to fix these in the computer.

Both Terry and I
spent close to an hour watching this guy,
he was really active.

They also have a huge tank of jellyfish.

And some of the most beautiful anemones
I've ever seen.

I could look at these forever.

They're like ballet dancers,

or hula dancers,
swaying in the breeze.

As always,
you can click on any image
for a larger version.

As we were leaving,
we made a quick trip
through the gift shop.
Lovely glass . . .

These glow in the dark!
If I wasn't getting rid of everything,
one of these would have come home with me.

We finished the day
with a walk along the cliffs,

then my allergies kicked in,
and we had to come home.

This is what I felt like,
with my eyes all swollen shut.

In spite of my allergies, we had a great day. The admission to the center is only $4 for seniors, a great way to spend an afternoon.