Eclipse

Something needs to be important to drag me out of bed early, and this lunar eclipse was certainly worth it; although in the end the moon disappeared in the fog behind the Golden Gate bridge before it fully set. I was able to get this shot before "totality".

Nikon D200, Nikkor 70-300, 300mm, 3 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 1250
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3, Topaz deNoise

Dahlia

The blossoms around the Conservatory of Flowers are past their prime, and most of them badly wilted, but the Dahlia Garden still have some pretty and colorful blooms.


Nikon D200, Nikkor 24-70, 70mm, 1/80 sec @ f/3.3, ISO 200
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3

Fall morning in Camp Curry

 
The sun was playing in the trees above the cabin, where falling leaves had started to softly blanket the roof.

Nikon D200, Nikkor 24-70, 56mm, 1/250 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 320
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3

Some protein in my wine?

Hey, Caterpillar, maybe you'll become a beautiful butterfly in some time, but for now, get off of my vine :)

Nikon D200, Nikkor 24-70, 70mm, 1/200 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 200
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3

Pump

Gas station in Venezia: boats need their refills too!


Holga 120N, Arista EDU 200
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3

Belden Town Bridge

On our way back from the Oregon border for the July 4th weekend, we decided to follow the scenic byway that is Highway 70 running alongside the mighty Feather River.
The drive passes by landscapes of natural and manmade beauty, rugged canyon walls and railroad engineering marvels. And of course many many bridges.

Holga 120N, Ilford FP4 Plus 125
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3, Nik Silver Efex Pro 2

Silhouettes

iPhone 4, 3.85mm, 1/350 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 80
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3, Topaz deNoise, Adobe Photoshop CS5

Scared (me, not him!)

When I'm asked what type of photography I'm into, I say everything except portrait photography. People are way too scary, don't you think :)

Nikon D200, Nikkor 28-200, 75mm, 1/160 sec @ f/8, ISO 200
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3

Scarred

This gentleman pirate might have seen many seas, and fought many battles.
Were his scars the price to pay for his treasure hunt?

Update 7/10/11: I found out Mr. Patrick Gaul (playing Governor Woodes Rogers, so not a pirate!) was also photographed by Liz Hafalia. You can find the article @ the Chronicle.

Nikon D200, Nikkor 28-200, 200mm, 1/160 sec @ f/8, ISO 200
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3

Tower

A beautiful blue sky above the Golden Gate Bridge...

iPhone 4, 3.85mm, 1/540 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 80
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3

Looking together in the same direction...

Gotta love those graffiti artists :)

iPhone 4, 3.85mm, 1/800 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 80
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3

Lignes de Fuite

This building soaring towards Sydney's sky caught my eye.  But I like its convergence lines even more with a twist, a little saturation, grain, and a wee bit of vignetting.

Nikon D200, Nikkor 18-70, 18mm, 1/400 sec @ f/11, ISO 400
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3

Easter envy

Do you know the story of the rubber frog who wished to be as delicious as the chocolate bunny^(*)?
Ok, I made this one up. But I needed a photo for Pinhole day and I thought this was funny.
Why don't you see more of the bunny? Chocolate envy got the best of me, and my model's ears got chopped off before the shot...

^* Jean de la Fontaine's original fable: The Frog that wished to be as big as the Ox

Nikon D200, Lensbaby Composer + Pinhole Optic, 30 sec @ f/177, ISO 100
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3

Plastic & Square: one more winter image

From Yosemite again, here's another example of analog captures with my holga. I really like the square format I can get with the 6x6 mask.
These barren trees where shot in black & white, I just added the split toning in post.

Holga 120N, Ilford Delta 400 Pro
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3

A different kind of sunset

I'll be back in Yosemite in a couple of weeks and it will probably look very different; so I should hurry to post more of my winter images while it's still cold enough that they wouldn't look too out of place!
The small hightlight on the left of Leaning Tower was the last remnant of the setting sun through the fog that was slowing engulfing the scenery.

Nikon D200, Nikkor 18-70, 29mm, 2.2 sec @ f/13, ISO 200
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3

Sharpness is highly overrated!

In my joyful pursuit of experimental photography, I have ordered an Holga lens with a F-mount for my digital SLR.
I got it before a ski weekend where I was more into skiing than photographing,  so I didn't get to play a lot with.
Here's a picture of the fence around our little whimsical cabin. Nothing is sharp!  But I like this little pastoral scene so much that I post it anyway :)
I guess the Zone Focus of this plastic lens will take some time to master on my new digital Holga outfit...

Nikon D200, Holga Lens 60mm, 1/160 sec @ f/8, ISO 200
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3

Morning reflections

Of course spring is here and the weather has really started to warm us up, but I still want to remember this winter morning in Yosemite, walking on the Merced river's icy bank right after sunrise.
The water reflects the bare oaks at the bottom of El Capitan. It was so serene.
And so cold!

Nikon D200, Nikkor 70-300, 220mm, 1/250 sec @ f/11, ISO 200
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3

2 for 1

Because digital has somewhat removed the unpredictability and a lot of the surprises of photographic capture, I love to play with film from time to time, even more so with analog toys/tools with which only the unexpected can be expected!
Last winter in Yosemite I brought along my Holga. You need to advance the film manually, which I regularly forget. This is the result of an accidental double exposure. Quite an interesting portrait isn't it?

Holga 120N, Kodak Portra 400VC
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3

Please Sit Down

Pick a chair, any chair. At this hour on Pier 14, you have the choice.
Earlier I did an experiment with the chairs, that can spin pretty fast. My whirling "dervichairs" are here.

Nikon D200,Nikkor 18-70, 40mm, 32 sec at f/14, ISO 200
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3

Back to the Future

I was sad to see Louise Bourgeois' spider nest leave the entrance to Pier 14, but the new artwork is appealing too.
The rocket makes me think of Tintin's "Destination Moon". Different design but same futurist shape, and the sign is really fun. This is Earth, this is Earth, welcome Martians!

Nikon D200, Nikkor 18-70, 27mm, 1/160 sec @ f/8, ISO 200
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3
I need to go back and recompose this shot, but for now, this will do.

Cobra

I'd like to try one, one day!

Nikon D200,Nikkor 18-70, 60mm, 1/160 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 200
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3

Double Spring

As much as I like technology and shiny new toys stuff, I have a fascination for all things old or derelict, decrepit and abandoned.
My favorite groups on flickr include the Rusty and Crusty and Abandoned pools.

This gauge, although not that old, was dusty and partially covered with spider webs, on the side of what looked like a forgotten firetruck in Del Norte County.

Nikon D200, Lensbaby Composer 50mm, 1/160 sec @ f/11, ISO 400
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3

Hang on

Wasn't even a beautiful day to do the laundry!

Nikon D200, Nikkor 17-35, 30mm, 1/320 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 200
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3

Fort Barry doors

I love rust not only for the colors but also the textures it forms on metal. These doors at the fort's batteries were all different and in various stages of decay.

Nikon D200, Nikkor 28-200, misc. exposures
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3, Nik Viveza

Angel's dream

To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream [...]

Nikon D200, Nikkor 18-135, 40mm, 1/60 sec @ f/9, ISO 400
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3

Falling Snow

You wait for it, you wait for it, then you click your shutter and move out of the way as fast as you can.
Sometimes not fast enough...

Nikon D200, Nikkor 18-70, 52mm, 1/160 sec @ f/8, +1 EV, ISO 200
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3

Paddlers

Stand up paddle boarding seems to be the hottest new craze. Watching the sun set over the Golden Gate Bridge, we could hear these guys casually chatting as they were nearing the broken remnants of the Berkeley municipal pier.

Nikon D200, Nikkor 24-70, 70mm, 1/160 sec @ f/2.8, -2/3 EV, ISO 200
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3, Topaz DeNoise 5

Free wheel

When I don't have my DSLR with me, I still usually have 2 cameras in my bag, but one is funnier than the other because of all the filters I can instantly apply.
This time however, I wanted a different feel so I played on the computer.

Iphone 4
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3, Nik Silver Effex Pro

Near Westpoint Slough

Hundreds of birds at their morning bath.

Nikon D200, Nikkor 24-70, 70mm, 1/60 sec @ f/22, ISO 200
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3

Chi va piano va sano e va lontano

The newer cars are zipping left and right, but this truck is in no rush; it's been on the road for 62 years, says its owner, and plans to still be there long after your vehicule has retired :)

Nikon D200, Nikkor24-70, 66mm, 1/2500 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 100
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3, Adobe Photoshop CS5

Eat Bay Fish Daily?

The graffiti renders the Fish & Game poster unreadable. How do I know whether to eat or not to eat Bay fish daily? But looking at the murky waters below the pier, no fish at all seems like a good option...

Nikon D200,Nikkor 17-35, 30mm, 1/320 sec @ f/8, ISO 200
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3

One last gulp

 
There were still a couple of fishermen setting up their lines at the pier next to "The Ramp", but no one seemed interested in the lonely bottle on the table, unfinished, abandoned in the fading afternoon light.

Nikon D200, Nikkor 17-35,  32mm, 1/750 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 200
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3

Rocks

The tranquil waters of Lake Tahoe at sunset.

Casio Exilim EX-S600, 18.6mm eq, 1/400 sec @ f/5.2
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3, Adobe Photoshop CS5

Grafitti

A piece of "street art", except we're not in the street but at the top of the hill in Bernal Heights. This graffiti among others adorns the base of the American Tower (which is particularly ugly). Not sure what it says, but I like the mix of the spirals and curves with the straights lines, and I see plenty of elephants!

Nikon D200, Nikkor 70-300, 70mm, 1/60 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 200
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3

Washburn Point

Before these last glorious minutes of sun on Half Dome (here), the scenery was rather dull. So I focused instead on the silhouettes of the pines with their needles like pom-poms dangling from the sky.

Nikon D200, Nikkor 105 macro, 1/1000 sec @ f/4, ISO 200
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3

"Jesus Bird"

Jacanas aka Jesus Birds or Lotus Birds or Lily Trotters are long-legged marsh birds with huge feet and claws enabling them to walk on floating vegetation. This comb-crested Jacana was happily looking for food in the Yellow Waters Lagoon of Kakadu National Park.

Nikon D200, Nikkor 70-300, 250mm, 1/320 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 100
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3, Adobe Photoshop CS5

Windy Twilight at Karlu Karlu

Off season at this time of the day, we had the Devil's Marbles park just for us. But a storm was menacing and the wind made it difficult for long time exposures in the fading light.

Nikon D200, Nikkor 18-70, 31mm, 30 sec @ f/11, ISO 200
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3, Topaz Dfine

Barrow Creek

On a pit stop at Barrow Creek on our (long) way to Darwin, I still had time to snap some pictures of this truck, certainly not as old as my previous red truck post, and definitely not as well maintained!

Nikon D200, Nikkor 18-70, 31mm, 3 exposures @ f/8, ISO 200
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3, Photomatix, onOne PhotoTools

Boystown

A lesser known landmark of Yosemite's Curry Village.

Casio Exilim EX-S600, 114mm eq, 1/160 sec @ f/5.2
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3

The ghost in the bark

 
The redwood was probably struck by lightning, and was all hollow. I loved the patterns inside and the beautiful contrast between the wood and the moss. And fortunately it wasn't Halloween, for I'm sure the creepy character on the burnt trunk wall would have come back to life to steal my soul or something!

Nikon D200, Nikkor 18-70, 18mm, 2.2 sec @ f/13, ISO 200
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3

V.O.R.T. (Very old red truck)

There are quite a few car aficionados at my company, and every year they put on a show. This was one of the stars, an authentic Ford F100 from 1959!

Nikon D200, Nikkor 18-70, 27mm, 1/400 sec @ f/11, ISO 200
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3, Adobe Photoshop CS5

Smile!

Fire hydrants are one of my favorite street subjects. This little guy was really posing for me :)

Casio Exilim EX-S600, 47mm eq, 1/1250 sec @ f/4.8
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3, onOne FocalPoint