Iron Mountain, Poway CA

Technically speaking, I took this yesterday morning before sunrise. I thought it was Sunday - being off work has apparently messed up my internal calendar. The forecast called for clear skies all evening with light clouds around sunrise. As I stood at the trail head to Iron Mountain about a hour before sunrise...shivering...the light clouds quickly turned to angrier skies. I took advantage of that and changed my composition accordingly, making the sky the subject.

Iron Mountain, Poway CA

Processing notes: 9 exposures, -4 EV to +4 EV, tonemapped in Photomatix. Tonemapped image blended with the -1 EV exposure in Perfect Layers to maintain the cloud drama. Slight glow added in Perfect Effects. Final sharpening, contrast and definition in Aperture.

Lastly...for the few readers I have out there...this will be my last post to this blog. At least for the foreseeable future. For 2013, I'm going to try my hand at a weekly photo project on Google+. This blog has been good for me to keep making the time for photography. Some shots were hits, some misses, but the journey has been rewarding. I hope you'll check out my 2013 work. +Scott Davenport.

Morning Coffee

I've been in a funk lately....at least for my Sunday morning outings. Maybe it's because it's winter, maybe it's slowing down toward the year's end. Probably not because it's cold...I'm in San Diego after all. But it's been a real chore to drag my bones out of bed in the morning and head out for a shoot. I stayed in again this morning. However, I'd promised myself I'd make a post today. So this post is a bit different for me.

I'll have a coffee once in the morning and once in the evening. I like my coffee potent, cold, and a bit sweet. The mix I make at home is a double shot of espresso, a generous amount of vanilla syrup (sugar free), and milk over ice. I add the milk last, mainly because I like watching the swirls and patterns made as the milk mixes with the espresso.

Today, I tried capturing it in a photo. The photo came out alright - and the coffee tastes great. It's sitting on the desk next to me, nearly gone.

Setup notes: No elaborate setup. All housing lighting. Camera on a tripod, remote trigger to fire.

Processing notes: Blended two images, just so the cup pouring the milk is separated from the edge of the glass. The swirl in the coffee is not a composite. Photos blended in Perfect Layers, minor contrast added in Perfect Effects. Finishing touches in Aperture.

Windansea...Revisited

I couldn't make it out this morning for a shoot. Hopefully next week. Did get through processing another batch of images from last Sunday's outing to Windansea Beach in La Jolla.

The Tiki Hut, Windansea, La Jolla

Windansea, La Jolla

I almost gave up during the drive to Windansea beach in La Jolla this morning. As I headed toward the ocean, the fog became incredibly thick. Roughly 100 feet of visibility on the freeways, if that. I'm glad I didn't give up and just go home.

The air was clearer at the shoreline, but the fog held thick up to - and through - sunrise. Shuffling carefully down the bluffs, I tempted high tide taking long exposures close to the water's edge. Occasionally, acting as a human shield for my camera from the ocean spray. The photo below looks calm and serene, but all of that soft, white mist came from a lot of waves crashing against the rocks.

Windansea, La Jolla

Processing notes: Apple Aperture only. Single exposure on the order of 4 1/2 minutes. Definition on the rocks, a touch of vibrancy to boost the blues and greens of the ocean, sharpening to the entire image.

Mount Soledad

I've been to Mount Soledad many times, sometimes with my camera, sometimes not. It gives a great vantage of San Diego and a popular spot for sunsets. At sunrise...it's a lot quieter. The weather reports called for partly to mostly cloudy skies - I was hoping for partly. My mind's eye could already see brilliant reds and oranges as sunbeams about the breaks in the clouds.

Partly cloudy turned to mostly cloudy in short order, the sky becoming a amorphous gray mass. The only color splashes I was getting were from antennae in the distance. With the skies not cooperating, I shifted focus to the omnipresent cross. It will - as it does for most visitors - be the foreground anchor for my photo.

The cross has been a source of controversy since the late 1980s - and based on court rulings in 2012, it  may not be there much longer. While not significant to me personally as a religious icon, it's certainly been a long-standing landmark of San Diego. And for that, I'm glad I've got one capture of it to call my own.

Mount Soledad Cross

Stars & Stripes & Stars

After an unplanned hiatus, back this morning. San Diego had rain earlier in the week, which does wonders for washing the dust out of the atmosphere. Couple that with a forecast for very clear skies, I went out very early this morning for some star trail experiments. My plan was to photograph this cairn I'd found unexpectedly a few months ago as the foreground and let the universe do the rest. A short - but steep - hike to the summit of the hills nearby my home I was dismayed to find the cairn was gone.

Regroup. Changed the subject to a flag - a little more tattered than my last visit. About 45 minutes into the shooting sequence, I stopped the camera, hence the abrupt stop to the trails. Although sunrise was still nearly an hour off, the skies were brightening too much. Realizing I'm going to need to start much earlier to a more effective star trail...and I still haven't quite gotten my camera recipe down for these shots yet.

But not a total loss...here's what I came away with:

Stars & Stripes & Stars

And as a bonus, I had a great view of the sunrise. Captured a few frames of that as well. Watchy my Google+ page for one of those.

Experiments

This is a throwaway shot. Really. Other than this blog entry, it's highly likely this photo will cease to exist in my library. In fact, this blog entry is primarily a tool for me to track my own progress as a photographer.

This morning's outing was about experimenting. I set two limits on myself. One: Shoot at 50mm. Two: Play with flash.

Before leaving the house, I set the focal length to 50mm on my 18-70mm lens and promised not to touch it. Then grabbed my flash and walked the neighborhood. I didn't take many photographs - I am still struggling with what makes an interesting subject when not shooting a landscape. I settled on a garden area.

Shooting at 50mm forced me to use my feet to zoom, and in most cases necessitated getting closer to the subject. General goodness. For the flash, I brought an orange diffuser. The idea was to use the flash to simulate the early morning orange rays of the sun. In practice, that didn't work out very well, although I still think there's a sound idea in there. The above shot is without the flash. I definitely need more time working with my flash.

Torrey Pines

After a bout of rain earlier in the week, the last two nights have been very clear in San Diego. No clouds, less dust in the air thanks to the rain - like Mother Nature blinked, cleansing her eyes. And with that we've had gorgeous star-filled skies. I've been wanting to try star trails for a while and opportunity has knocked.

I spent a good portion of yesterday evening in the yard fiddling with the interval settings on my camera in preparation for today's adventure. I headed out to Torrey Pines beach - somewhat as a hedge. If the skies got overcast, there's always interesting subjects at the ocean. A short walk from where I parked (easy at 5am :) there was a lifeguard tower that provided a good foreground subject. Setup the camera, start the intervals, and shiver for the next hour in the crisp sea breezes.

I started exposures around 5:25am and finished about 6:15am, well before sunrise. But I found I had to discard the last few minutes of exposures...by 6am the ambient light was already washing out the stars from view. In the early shots, the guard tower was essentially invisible. But serendipity drove by - literally. Periodically, a car would drive by casting flashes of light on the tower, and they blended in with the ending picture pretty well. Light painting may have been another option - something else I've never done but would enjoy experimenting with.

Star trails over a lifeguard tower, Torrey Pines, CA

Processing notes: 80 or so 30sec exposures wide open (f3.5 for my kit lens), blended with StarStax. Minor touch ups in Apple Aperture. Light painting by fortuitous traffic. :)

Full Moon, Burlingame, CA

Ok, so this isn't a shot from this morning. My schedule is a little jumbled with travel this week - and yesterday was not a smooth travel day, leaving me completely knackered, so I slept in. However, I did grab a hasty shot of last night's full moon just as the sun began to set.

I would have liked a different composition, something where the moon was more the subject and not the backdrop. But I was scrambling just to get some shot of the moon before it rose too high and lost its amber glow. But I consider myself lucky to have walked away with something.

Full Moon Rising, Burlingame, CA

Processing notes: 9 exposures, EV-4 to EV+4, tone mapped in Photomatix. Final color and contrast adjustments in Apple Aperture.

Julian

Yup...this isn't quite a Sunday morning shot, but Sunday nonetheless. Couldn't find the muse to get up this morning for a photo, no doubt in part to a sheer lack of planning this week. However, a half-day trip out to Julian for some apple picking provided ample photographic opportunities. The Jonagold apples are delicious!

Barn, Apple Star Orchard, Julian, CA

Processing notes: I bracketed the photos, but ended up using the EV-1 exposure. Light treatment in Aperture to sharpen the barn and remove a couple of distractions (mainly signage).

Motion & Stars

Let's be frank - the photos this week are basically junk. There's nothing compelling about them - to the point that I almost didn't bother with a blog post this week. However, I do like the idea that I've kept my promise to myself and made the effort to create a photograph each Sunday. Also, these particular photos are experiments for me - it could be interesting to look back on these in a few months or years and see how I've progressed (hopefully forward progression :).

So that explains why I am posting them. How did I end up with these pictures today? The plan was for sunrise shots of a stone dam. However, when I reached the site, the trail head leading to the dam is chained over - the dam is undergoing a restoration and reconstruction. And although I did venture in a short ways, it was quickly clear that I wasn't going to have a serene scene of a dam and its reflective quarry. And, unfortunately for me, construction equipment doesn't hold my interest.

As I walked back toward my car, I noticed this swooping curve in the road. I figured I may as well practice capturing light trails - something I've done little of. Of course, at 6:00am there's little traffic to be had. Ironic - I found myself wishing for traffic.

I patiently waited as the occasional car passed by and took several exposures trying to time the shot to put the light trails on different segments of the road. I would blend the shots together later in post. And that's just what I did. The end result:

Light trails, several photos blended in Perfect Layers

My first time capture of stars, big deal (for me :)

And a parting shot - actually he first one I took this morning - literally on my front step. Why am I excited about this? When I stepped out of the house, the sky was exceptionally clear. Even with the few street lights in my neighborhood, I could clearly see the stars.

This is the first time I've captured stars in camera. I only took a single shot, about a 75sec exposure at ISO 1000. Certainly more experimenting is in order. Zooming in, I can see movement in the stars.

So I'm excited. I love seeing star trails from other photographers. And now, even in my "urban" setting, I can practice this on my own. And an excuse to fiddle with the interval shooting settings on my D7000.

Blue Sky Reserve

Owl perched in Blue Sky Reserve, Poway, California

The Blue Sky Reserve in San Diego County is several hundred acres abutting Mount Woodson. There's a nice hiking trail through the valley, with forks to Lake Poway, Ramona, and the mountain itself. Although this morning, I barely went farther than the trail head.

The sun was on the rise, some of the oranges finding their way around a low hanging wall of clouds blocking the sun's direct rays. I found a gnarled tree and started setting up for the shot. It will make for a nice silhouette against the colors of the morning sky.

Suddenly, an owl swooped in and perched on the upper branches of the tree. I was no more than 10 feet from the tree, and didn't want to scare the owl away. But desperately wanted it in the frame. I frantically, yet quietly, finished setting up the camera and tripod and started taking exposures.  Thankfully, Mr. Owl didn't seem to mind me at all. The clicking of my shutter and his symphony of hoots interweaved in an otherwise silent landscape.

Mere moments after the photo above, the hoots of a second owl joined our orchestra. In a flash, another owl flew in toward the tree - Mrs. Owl, I presume. Mr. Owl launched from his perch, the pair circled each other once, then flew off toward the rising sun. I was so captivated, I didn't capture it with the camera. But when I look at this picture, I still see the two owls heading off toward the orange glow of sunrise.

Star Of India

The tall ships are in San Diego harbor this Labor Day weekend. Being at the harbor before 6am has it's advantages - ample parking, no crowds - and this morning a fantastic sky. A great expanse of clouds, with a perfect blend of moonlight and pre-sunrise glow.

I walked up and down the harbor front several times, checking out the various ships. The visitors are nice, but the Star Of India continues to impress.

Star Of India, San Diego Harbor

Processing notes: 2 manual exposures lightly blended in Perfect Layers. Stylization in Perfect Effects (color boost and tonal contrast), with finishing touches in Apple Aperture (definition and a little dodging).

Old Poway Park

The last few mornings in my area of San Diego have been cool and misty, thick cover in the skies, bordering on rain. Step outside and the moisture condenses on your skin. Expecting some of the same this morning I headed inland to focus on subjects.

Old Poway Park is the historic center of what's now a large suburb of San Diego. The park is home to a few historic buildings, several box cars, and a working steam locomotive. I recall riding it with my son year ago when he was really into trains.

I spent about an hour at the park, taking various shots of the buildings and railroad tracks. The upside of shooting before dawn is you more or less have free run of the place, which includes not fearing bodily injury when walking on the railroad tracks. The downside is the steam engine is holed up in its shed.

Below is Templars Hall. Built in 1886 it served as, among other things, the first high school for Poway.

Templars Hall, Old Poway

Paradise Point

I'm uninspired this morning. Dismissed a lot of scenes without ever taking a frame. If I took 10 exposures this morning, that's being generous. Not necessarily a bad thing I suppose. But I fear my declining to shoot this morning is less driven by an improved artistic eye and more by dispassionate apathy. I did return with one picture worth sharing.

San Diego's Mission Bay Park is home to a resort aptly named Paradise Point. The grounds and landscaping are fantastic. Couple that with San Diego's temperate weather...well...it can live up to it's name. I was there well before sunrise this morning. This scene struck me as very inviting. The chairs, reflecting in the gentle ripples of the pond, diligently waiting to host their next couple to visit....maybe I should sit down, relax, and take a break from the world.

Gazebo & Chairs, Paradise Point, San Diego

Looking back now, this scene would sing during the blue hour.

Processing notes: Two exposures, one about 30 seconds, one with a high ISO to catch more of the greens in the trees. Minor blending in Perfect Layers to avoid blown highlights. Sharpening, definition, white balance in Aperture to finish things up.

San Diego Skyline

San Diego Skyline

Not a bad photo, huh? An accident. A complete, total, happy accident. I had an entirely different shot in mind when I headed out this morning.

My plan was a more urban view of the downtown area of San Diego. I'd scoped out a spot in a hilly in the Balboa Park area with views of downtown and the freeways in the foreground. As I drove in, I noted there was enough traffic for some light trails - something I've been wanting to experiment with.

Then the problems started to stack up.

Problem 1 - Parking. Everywhere I turned parking was restricted before 6am. There weren't other cars parked, which suggested the posted signs were more than just guidelines. And in short order that was confirmed by parking patrols. I finally found a place to stash the car behind a large building in a secluded lot - also clearly marked with don't-park-here signs - but I'd be close enough to rush back if necessary.

Problem 2 - Composition. There was a fair amount of tree cover. I'd done some cyber-scouting on the location, and had overestimated what I'd be able to fit into frame. Crud.

Problem 3 - Safety. As I shuffled around, hoping to salvage a composition, I heard the movement of other people. I wasn't in a particularly bad neighborhood - at least to my knowledge. But I was in a secluded area, and it was dark - at least 90 minutes before sunrise. On the way in, I'd past a few homeless souls. Maybe I read one too many sinister news article this week, but fear set in. And not having a compelling photo to take, I bailed.

I decided to go to Coronado. The Coronado Bridge is always a good subject. As I crossed the bridge, I realized I could photograph downtown San Diego from Coronado - it's probably the most classic shot of the San Diego skyline. And I had plenty of time before sunrise. I walked along the Bayshore Bikeway and setup in boat launch directly facing downtown. Some great clouds hovered over the city, giving some great character to the sky.

I'm very lucky - and happy - that this morning wasn't a bust.

Hernandez' Hideaway

I got to catch up with a good friend a couple of weeks ago. He used to live in San Diego - someday we'll get him back. One of the places he reminisced about was Hernandez' Hideaway. I'd not heard of the place before. From what I understand, the founder lays claim to having invented the Margarita. I'm not a drinker, but from I've since read on Yelp and other review sites that their margarita is good and strong - and the main draw for the place.

This morning I headed toward then northern "tip" of Lake Hogdes - if the lake has a tip...ok, it's got lots of tips. The last few mornings, the sun raged a gorgeous orange as it burned away the morning mist and cloud cover. In my mind's eye, I could see this fiery ball hanging over the lake, veiled in a thinning mist, casting some orange reflections in the water. I'm getting more diligent on scouting locations before heading out, and last night I found a suitable spot on the lake shore, with a small dock that would provide foreground interest in the frame. But today, the morning was different than the last few. Thicker cloud cover, no glowing sun. Such is life.

To Plan B! Which is to say, looking to salvage the outing, I scrounged around for a subject to shoot. Recalling the aforementioned dinner, I drove a short distance down Lake Drive to Hernandez's Hideaway. On one side of the restaurant, there's a painted mural. I liked that more than the front of the place - and with next to no sunlight, the covered walkway in front was really dark. Compose, shoot, process.

Hernandez' Hideaway, Escondido

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.