B/W Castlerock, Monterey County - California

Canon A-1
Tokina 100-300mm w/ polarizer
Kodak HD
Grayscaled
A little "curves" action

Click on photo, other than videos, for full sized image.

Holy Smokes, So That Is What 108 Degrees Feels Like! - In the San Juaquin Valley

Summer in the San Juaquin, which is only an hour east of here, is an eye opening experience. On the coast, where I live, we consider 80 degrees to be quite hot, though on rare occasions we get into the 90s. Crossing over the coastal hills is like going from one planet to another.

In the distance signs of grass fires, the bane of summertime in California, can be seen. The waterway is the California Aquaduct which brings life to this the most fertile place on earth.

Photo:
Canon A-1
Canon 35-105mm
Kodak HD

Click on photo, other than videos, for full sized image.

Video Archive

I created a second blog, MontereyJohn II (how's that for original?) and put up several of my videos so that they are in one place. This really is for the high speed connection folks. Even with them, allow the buffering to run out a ways before playing so that they will not be starting and stopping.

A Placid Sea

Click on photo, other than videos, for full sized image.

An Angry Sea

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Big Sur Fog

A foggy day at the shore can be magical. Watching the wisps of cloud crest the hills and pour over and down the slopes only to form a hazy ceiling a few hundred feet over your over your head is a strange experience. Looking out to sea to watch a miniscule sunset gives a sense of remoteness.

Photos
Fuji S5000 digital w/ polarizer
ASA 200

Click on photo, other than videos, for full sized image.

A Sunny Day in the Hills of Monterey County

Toodling through the nearby hills to get a look at the aptly named "Castle Rock." Really does look like a castle, doesn't it? Some of mother nature's finest handywork.

Unfortunately this gem is buried back in a private development. We had a friend who knew somebody who know somebody, and well, we got in. Turns out the somebody was a retired Superior Court judge. Very nice guy he was. Fortunately Anita did not repeat any of the things I have been known to say about judges.

We went back up in there to see the old ranch house below. Anita is doing research for a friend who is writing a book about one of the pioneer families. This was their house back in the late 1800s.

Fuji S5000 digital
W/ Polarizer
ASA 200




Click on photo, other than videos, for full sized image.

Dreary Day at the Coast

Took my beloved Canon A-1 and the Tokina lens in hopes of getting something nice with late afternoon light. Well, that did not happen. Now I realize that good things can be done on a cloudy day, and I'll wait to see what comes back after the film is processed.

Why do I like the Tokina lens so much? It is a 100-300mm lens and is very fast for something that large, f 3.5 constant. It also has very little distortion usually associated with such a lens. It achieves this with a whopping 77mm front glass. As an old timer, I am also partial to it being made of steel. It is rugged in the extreme. With all of that comes a lot of weight.

Anway, when I got there, the coastal fog was out in its full glory. I shot a few film frames and several digitals (ugh!) which you see here. I'll post the film later next week.

Photos
Fuji S5000 digital w/ polarizer





Click on photo, other than videos, for full sized image.

Off to Shoot Today

Well, enough messing with the blog sidebar :-)

Time to go shoot. I now have my new polarizer and neutral density filters, so I think I will take the Canon with the huge lens down somewhere on the coast and wait for some good light.

Have a good weekend all.



Click on photo, other than videos, for full sized image.

Coastal Flowers - Lucia, Big Sur - California

Click on picture for full size image.

Minolta 700si
Minolta 35-105mm
Kodak HD

MJ Learns A Little Something About Code...

Welllll.... I really wanted to put a link in the sidebar to a slide show, so I messed around in the template code until I got it. How satisfying is that?! I know program savvy folks will say "so what?" But hey, for me, it is my first baby step into this world.

Frankly, I was nervous that I'd ruin the whole blog.


It's up and running, and I am content.

Just Another Day in Paradise - San Francisco Video

This one is for the broadband folks only! It's big.

For everyone else, let the buffering indicator run out a ways before letting the video play to avoid it stopping and starting.

Moonscape with Stone Sculpture - Gorda, Big Sur - California

Playing with the capability of the Tokina 100-300mm lens. Here I
opened it up a bit to reduce the DOF. Wish I had my polarizer to put some pop in the sky. Next time. I have acquired a neutral density filter to open up the F stop a bit more and look forward to trying it out.

Stoney Beach - Gorda, Big Sur - California

Not sure why, but this shot appeals to me. I think perhaps it is the clarity this lens delivers. It again makes use of the Tokina 100-300mm mounted on the Canon A-1 with Kodak HD film.

Amazing Grace or Something Very Much Like it - A Pacific Sunset Video - For Hick

I have been experimenting with embedding Google Video. It is not as snappy as YouTube, it takes a bit longer to download which is not the best news for dialup connections. However, Google has a buffering progress bar, you can see how far the video has progressed in down loading.

Tip for Dialup Types: When the video starts to play, hit the pause button when it becomes available. Before playing let the bar get about 1/2 way or more to completion. When it has gotten that far, hit the play arrow.

Now, why is this for Hick? She is having a tough time just now. She is a wonderful blogger with a great sense of humor. Pay her a visit if you can at Bemused in the Country.

Late Afternoon at Gorda, Big Sur - California

By golly, I love good glass on a good film camera. This is taken with the Canon A-1 and Tokina 100-300mm lense. My polarizer was broken, so what you see is what you get,

Big Sur Slideshow

I had such a good time yesterday I thought I would fire up Pinnacle and make a slideshow and put some music to it.

Sunset Today - Lucia, Big Sur

What can I say?

On this note, I do believe I'll go to bed.

Good night sweet world.

Girl Atop a Cliff - Mal Paso, Big Sur

Ah, the film is back, my favored medium. But, alas, I made a mistake. The old Canon A-1 requires that you manually change the film speed (ISO). This picture is OK, but several others came out pretty grainy when Photoshopped to a proper look for exposure.

I was shooting out to sea over the cliffs when I looked over my shoulder and saw this girl on the cliff behind me. I turned and just pointed and shot. Lord only knows what she thought. But for me it was worth it to capture that moment.

Canon A-1
Canon 70-210mm
Kodak HD

And some advice from my brother: "Not a bad shot. Adding unidentified people finding solace or connection to the specific environment is excellent. Might want to keep a model release in the camera bag at all times. You'll never know when you might need it; or, like Sam Colt once said, 'when you need a gun, you need a gun.'"

A Quickie Movie Review - "World Trade Center"

I went to see World Trade Center today. Like many, I was not sure what to expect from Oliver Stone, the dictionary picture boy found at "paranoid." I was quite surprised.

My surprise is summed up in the character of Dave Karnes played convincingly by Michael Shannon. Karnes is the Marine veteran who left his cushy job in Wilton, Connecticut when he saw what had happened at the World Trade Center on 09/11. He donned his fatigues that same day and headed for lower Manhattan. He is the man who with another Marine found the heroes of the story buried under the rubble.

Stone treats this man with respect, and therein lies my surprise. In the closing credits he references the fact that Karnes then returned to the Marine Corp and served two tours of duty in Iraq. For Stone to have done this, given his history, is remarkable.

Karnes is certainly an interesting character. One of the fire fighters at the scene asks him his name. Karnes replies, "Staff Sergeant David Karnes." The firefighter jokingly says, "I think I'll need something shorter." Karnes replies stone faced, "Staff Sergeant." Yep, pure Jar Head.

It is a movie well worth seeing. While Stone misses the overall horror we as a nation felt, he does successfully take the events of 09/11 to a very personal level. He puts us in the heads and hearts of the characters.

An excellent movie.

Route 1 - Big Sur

This is one of the most spectacular drives in the world and also one of the most dangerous. The road runs often at 400 to 500 feet above the ocean. As you can see, it clings to the cliff faces. It can be quite thrilling.

Tuesday afternoon was a particularly lovely day. Wisps of fog clung to the hills under a bright sun. Waiting for late afternoon for the golden colors and pleasing shadows is a wonderful way to spend time.

Fuji 3000 digital.

My Granddaughter Ava!

Is she not just the most beautiful thing?

Big Sur - Afternoon Fog in the Distance

This is the view looking to the northwest from the location I was at yesterday. The previous shots were to the south. The incoming fog can be seen in the distance.

I was going to take the Tokina 70-210mm out today to the same location... but I broke the polarizer! Argh! I headed down to the camera shop to get another one, but they were out. So I went on E-Bay when I got back home and found one for $40 which is a really good price for a glass and steel filter of 77mm.

Tomorrow is spoken for, so I'll try to get down there Friday with the Bogen tri-pod and my six pounds of glass. Perhaps I'll get lucky and get a sunset. Then again...

Fuji 3000 Digital
Clone tooled out some refraction dazzling with Photoshop

Big Sur - A Wild Flower in Late Afternoon Light

I will be taking the film in this morning. In the meantime, I'm playing with the digitals I took. They really are not all that bad. The wind co-operated for this macro.

It was a warm and glorious afternoon. I spent most of my time on an overlook about 10 miles south of the booming metropolis of Big Sur. The place was crawling with German, Japanese and French tourists.

I did not think about it at the time, but I was wearing my "Keep Them Flying" B-17 baseball cap.... hopefully the Germans did not notice. I doubt they have much interest in keeping them flying.

I took lots of photos for folks. "Would you mind..." Well, I'm sure you know the drill.

By five o'clock, I found myself alone on this beautiful clifftop. The fog was beginning to build out to sea. I knew there would be no sunset shots. But there there was the late afternoon sun with its shadows and colors. Hopefully the film picked it up and the phtographer did not mess them up.

We shall see.

A Big Sur Mental Health Break

So, off I went, south on Route 1... I shot two rolls of film, a few frames of which will no doubt end up here. I also brought along the digital as I have this delayed gratification problem/thing. So here are some shots from this afternoon.

YouTube is Down / Heading Out to Shoot in a Bit

Videos should be available a bit later... I think.

Taking the Canon out to the high cliffs of Big Sur. Being un-employed ain't all bad.

An Overcast Day at Big Sur

Continuing the film series I shot last week. I took this picture on the cliff above the beach. The damp weather had brought out the wild flowers and it was quite lovely.

On the point of land in the distance, there is a house atop the rocks which can vaguely be seen. What a view they have! However, not sure I would want to be out there in a bad winter storms.

Photo:
Canon A-1
Canon 35-105mm
Kodak HD

Dusk in the Hills

Last night I went in search of a sunset at the shore. When I left home about 6:00 things were looking good. But when I got down to Monterey and Carmel the fog began to rear its ugly head. I headed south on Rte 1. The sun was still shining on the hills down by Bixby Bridge and Point Sur, so off I raced. By the time I got there, the Gods of Fog had closed in on me. So, I turned around and zipped back into the hills beyond the fog and was just barely able to catch the end of the day.

Wild Flowers at the Beach

This shot is a continuation of the film images I took with the Canon A-1.

It was a foggy and the landscape was awash in wild flowers. The August sun of California completely shuts down the flora, so the fog was a blessing for them. It was absolutely beautiful

Photo:
Canon A-1
Canon 35-105mm
Kodak HD 400

US Air Force Thunderbirds - "Freedom's Thunder"

I went to see this amazing display of flying last September. The video has had over 4000 hits on Google Video since I posted it last December and several hundred downloads. Now that I am on YouTube, I thought I would crosspost it here.

Welcome Victor Zhang and "One Frame at a Time" to Ye Olde Blogroll

This is simply one of the nicest photoblogs I have seen and not just because it is in my backyard.

Pay Victor a visit and see for yourself.

Big Sur Video - Learn Something New Everyday, I Can Embed It Here

A Little Site Scouting in Rural Monterey County

Well, there's one thing about being out of work...

My partner in crime, Anita, put me onto a rural road that wandered over a ridge line above a small valley. Not trusting anyone's estimation of a potential site other than my own, I took the Fuji dijital (NOT my favorite medium) out there to see if there was some remote chance she has scoped out a good location. Much as it pains me to admit it, it really is quite a nice spot.

YouTube v Google Video for Videos - Will Be Using YouTube from this Point On

I have tried both, and on balance YouTube is better.

YouTube has some disadvantages, most notably is the 100mb 10 minute limit. However, the uplaod is much smooother. The video is immediately available online. And perhaps most importantly, the play back is MUCH better and in higher resolution.

My latest video is at YouTube here.

Thanks to San Francisco Daily Photo for the tip.

Let's See, What Shall We Do Today?

Not sure, but I'll probably think of something :)

New Video is Up YouTube or Google Video - Sunrise Sunset Big Sur

Another of my labors of love is up and running at at YouTube here or Google Video here.

The video is about nine munutes long. My brother and I shot sunrise at Pt. Sur, the day scenes at Mal Paso and sunset at Pacific Grove. I used Pinnacle 9 to do the film editing. It is a fun thing to do.

Well Camouflaged Beach Critter - Mal Paso, Big Sur

Can not believe this little guy stood still long enough to get a shot up on the cliffs above the beach. But he did and I did.

Canon A1
Canon 35-105mm f 3.5-4.5
Kodak HD ISO 400

Girl on a Rock - Mal Paso, Big Sur

I was up on the cliff above the beach. There were several young folks playing below. This one girl struck a winsome pose in a fabulous setting, and I just pressed the shutter.

Canon A-1
Canon 70-210mm
Kodak HD ISO 400

Mr. Macro Goes to the Beach - Bee at Big Sur

I had a great time last Thursday at the beach. I never cease to be pleased with the results I get with my old Canon A-1, in this case with an inexpensive Vivitar 50mm macro. It was warm but foggy that day, no doubt keeping the critters placid.

Canon A-1
Vivitar 50mm macro
Kodak HD ISO 200

Continuing with the Big Sur Riff...

This is another shot from my archives while I wait on picking up my film today.

I shot this using Tri-X which is grainy but which has a nice effect.

I have put up a new video on Google which should be available for viewing later today. It is about nine minutes of a day at Big Sur from sunrise to sunset. I am reasonably pleased with it. I am learning a thing or two about editing.

Photo:
Minolta 700si
Quantaray 70-300mm
Kodak Tri-X 400ISO

Dawn at Mal Paso

An oldie but a goodie while I wait on my film to be processed.

Down to Mal Paso This Afternoon

Shot some film there this afternoon. It is one of my favorite spots. I'll take this film in for scanning tomorrow.

Photo:
Fuji S3000 digital

Blogger is Having One of Its Periodic Hissy Fits - Today's Plan

Have tried multiple times to get a pic up this morning, but no luck. Nothing new there. Guess I can not complain too much as Blogger usually does work and it's FREE.

Today I am off to see the skin doc for final viewing of what is left of my hide. Then I'll cross my fingers and hope the phone rings or my e-mail box fills up with job prospects. I have my fingers crossed and put it in the Lord's hands. I'm taking a day off from searching. I'll see if anything appears from the search I have done.

Then I am going to haul my Canon A-1 film camera and the eighty pounds or so of lenses off to a nice cliff over the ocean. No, I'm not going to throw it into the sea or jump. I'm going to try to shoot some nice pix. I'll haul along some Tri-X B&W and Max color. Depending on the fog situation, I'll choose which to use.

Well, have a nice day all.

Wild Flowers on a Cliff Face in Big Sur

Minolta 700si
Quantaray 70-300mm
Kodak HD