Oceanside Pier

Earlier in the week I stumbled across some older photos taken on the boardwalks along the Jersey Shore. I grew up there, and the boardwalks were always a great place to go anytime of the year. The summers were fun, energetic, bustling. Winters a totally different feel. Feeling nostalgic, I wanted to visit the boardwalk again. San Diego doesn't have boardwalks per se...but we've got a few piers. And Oceanside Pier is a great one.

I reached Oceanside a full hour before sunrise. The pier is open 24 hours, and the fisherman were out in full force. From the looks of it, many had been there for several hours. Out on the pier, looking back to the shore, everything was incredibly blue - a warm, inviting blue. I took several shots from atop the pier, then meandered down to the beach.


Now looking west, it was a very different shade of blue. Deep, rich tones. This is the shot to share this morning:

Oceanside Pier

Processing notes: Single shot about a 30s exposure at f/16. In Aperture, crafted 5 "exposures" for a +2 EV to -2 EV range, tone mapped in Photomatix. Some masking and contrast in Perfect Effects. Final touches back in Aperture. I'm split on whether or not I like the lens flare, particularly in the left side of the frame. I might experiment more with brushing that out.

University of California, San Diego

Wow....it dawned on me today I've been doing The Sunday Morning Shot for over two months now. I know...bad pun...forgive me...but moving on! I'm starting to get used to the early rise. Today I felt quite relaxed heading out this morning. Maybe it's my relaxed mood that led me to photo I selected for this morning's post.

I knew the forecast called for fog, haze and cloud cover...so no epic sunrise this Sunday. I chose UCSD as my locale today. Partly because I can find good subjects there without needing Mother Nature at her finest. And partly as a scouting trip. As I walked through a very quiet campus, I passed by an open seating area near the main book store. The metal chairs and tables caught my eye. At another time of the day, a fine place to sip a coffee, read a book, relax, or just watch the world go by.

Al Fresco Seating Area, UCSD

Watch my Google+ posts for more shots of UCSD in the next few days. I have a few more photos to process - fingers crossed for some worth sharing.

Abandoned Car

I wasn't sure I was going out this morning. I didn't feel well yesterday. And the notion of another mind-splitting rise at 4am....not very appealing to say the least. And then...serendipity.

Earlier in the week I watched another of Brian Matiash's Perfect Inspiration episodes, which featured an abandoned police car. Last night, skimming through Trey Ratcliff's awesome Stuck On Earth app, I stumbled across an image of an abandoned car in the Black Mountain area. A quick check of the satellite maps for the area suggests it's still there. And not far from home, I could sleep in a wee bit more. Decided I'd go for it.

4:30am: Wake up (still mind-splitting), gather the gear and out the door.

4:50am: Car parked, start walking toward a bridge where I should be able to see the car. It's still there! There's no trail leading into the valley, but there's a concrete water runoff channel - that'll do. As I maneuver may way down the hillside, I'm wondering...How did this thing get here? The closest road isn't all that close.

5:00am: Start setting up. A wave of paranoia sets in about animals in the car. No critters, wave passes. I get to work, start making exposures. An owl takes a keen interest in me for a few moments, makes several passes overhead.

5:45am: My time with this beauty is up. And as the light increases, I see all of the holes in the ground. Paranoia returns, but this time for rattlesnakes. Sure enough, I see on on my way out of the canyon. Thankfully, it was content just to watch me.

8:00am: Finishing this post. I've only got time to process one of the compositions this morning. Another I have that includes a bridge in the background is promising as well - tells more of a story of the car, a hint at how it may have arrived here. Watch for that on my Google+ stream.

Abandoned Car, Black Mountain Area

Processing notes: 6 long exposures (from ~30s to ~105s) on manual, tone mapped in Photomatix, remaining post-processing in Aperture.

Sunset Cliffs

I'd never truly visited Sunset Cliffs - despite having been in San Diego for the better part of 2 decades. Sure, I'd driven along the cliffs, but was always squeezing it in on my way someplace else. Today, I wanted to go to the ocean. And while Sunset Cliffs doesn't scream "Sunrise!", I'll give it a go anyway.

4:00am: Leaving the house, the light is crappy. A thick fog hangs in the air. Driving toward the shore, it's not releasing its grip on the earth.

4:30am: Park the car, walk to the vantage I'd roughly selected the prior evening. Briefly consider scaling down the cliffs to rocky shoreline, but my inner wimp quickly squashes that notion. Not a safe descent in the best of conditions, far more risky in darkness.

4:50am: The fog has lifted, the uniform cloud cover has not. Setup a foot or two from the cliff edge and compose the frame. The wind off the sea is hard and brisk. Worried about camera shake, I stand between the wind and the tripod, shielding the camera as best I can for the 2 to 3 minute exposures.

5:15am: Colors shift from artificial amber to purple hues. A hint of pink in the sky. The wind is even stronger now, my ears are actually getting cold. Forget camera shake - I'm experiencing photographer shake. :)

Sunset Cliffs, San Diego

5:20am: Hues are sliding to blue, but dull.

The main photo taken, I did spend another 30-45 minutes exploring the other areas of Sunset Cliffs, including the one safe access point to the shoreline. I'm sure I'll visit Sunset Cliffs again...maybe actually at sunset next time!

Pond Experiments

Today is not about getting a breath-taking scene. Today is about experimentation. I have out-of-town visitors this week, and am pressed for time. Can't travel too far afield. I'm heading to a nearby shopping plaza. There is some stonework, several pleasant trees, and a bridge all positioned around a reflecting pond. I should get some nice reflections at least.

4:45am - On location, circling the pond. There's a large tree at one end I'd like to have in the shot, but too many surrounding buildings with harsh street lights ruining the more serene image I have in my mind's eye. Instead I put that tree behind me and aim toward a restaurant at the opposite end of the water.

5:00am - Ambient light is still low, cloud cover isn't breaking. I flip the camera to manual mode and start playing with long exposures, 60 to 70 seconds are looking interesting. This is fun. I've not done long exposures before - until about 2 weeks ago, I didn't know how to do this on my camera - chalk one up for reading the manual. I wonder about "self-bracketing". I can't bracket in aperture priority mode yet...the light's too low and save -2EV or -3EV, the shots are maxing out at 30 seconds. Hmm...how do I do this? Vary the length of the exposure with the same EV? Or use a fixed exposure time and play with the exposure compensation? Will Photomatix whinge if there's no EV variation? I try both methods.

5:10am - Quickly review the above experimental shots. Despite there not being rays from a rising sun, the images have an overall orange cast. Not unpleasant, but artificial...no doubt from the aforementioned street lights, now off camera left. Can that be make to work for me in post?

5:20am - Some blues coming into the sky, but patchy. I decide to keep the sky out of the shot. There's enough light to bracket now, switch to aperture priority, take several exposures.

5:40am - Sunrise has passed, without a sunrise. The morning haze didn't break up.

Reflecting Pond

What have I learned today? I'm more comfortable taking longer exposures. Also, I'm in dire need of a sturdier tripod. For all shots, I was setup on a large, sturdy rock. Little to no wind today. Yet much of the foreground, even the rock I used as a focal point, is not sharp. Is mirror movement really causing that much blur? And, I need to invest in a polarizing filter - the late in the center of the pond is a detractor for this photo.

UPDATE: I did another pass on the post-processing, blending the long exposure with the orange tones with the tone mapped image above. Gives more orange and sunrise-feel to the water and rocks. I think I like the blended one a bit more.

Reflecting Pong, Alternate Post-Processing