Flashback(December 19, 2008): Old Town Auburn

Continuing my flashback series, partially because I have nothing new, and partially because I regret not sharing all the interesting places I've discovered over the last year....


Placer County Court House: 17-40mm F/4L @ 17mm, F/8, 1/500th, and ISO 400

Auburn is a cool little town only about 20 minutes from where I live, and I figured it would be the perfect place to test out my new camera. I had talked about meeting up with somebody from work for this little outing, but he ended up being busy so I was left to explore on my own.

Flashback (December 18, 2008): New Camera

Okay, so I was a lazy blogger over the last year or so and I have decided to flashback on a few events in no particular order.

This one was a key event for my photography. I had been using a Canon 20D camera over the last four years or so. It was a great camera, and I took some amazing shots with it, but over time I grew to know it's limitations all too well. The main problems to me were the flaky autofocus and crop sized sensor. I admired the 5D from afar for quite some time and envisioned myself going after the successor to it. Well, the successor came, and though an amazing camera, I wasn't blown away by the new features enough to sink that much cash into it. My decision therefore was to get a good condition used 5D instead.

Thoughts on The Lost Coast

I really enjoyed my journey down the Lost Coast. Like all good trips, it was much more than the footsteps that made up the 25 miles. There's something about being out in the wild, with everything you need on your back, to make you feel like you're alive. You become more aware of the air you are breathing, the sun that is on your face, and beautiful sights that your eyes are witnessing. Sounds are more clear, thoughts more focused, and everything just feels right with the world. It is a feeling I used to know well when I was younger, and I am thankful to have it rekindled in my soul.

Leaving The Lost Coast

Day 4, Racing the waves out:

The final morning started early at about 6:30. I broke down my tent and packed everything up while boiling water for our final breakfast on the coast. We ate fairly quickly and headed out around 7:30, which was a good thing because we were surprised at how high the water had come already.

Hiking The Lost Coast

Day 3, Last Camp:

I woke up early this morning, got the fire going again, and ate some instant oatmeal and warmed up tortillas. Our sheltered spots in the Beachwood Inn proved to be nice and warm out of the ocean breeze, and I had slept pretty well. We were in no rush, and I took the time to try and tape up my blisters as well as I could.

Lost Coast Trail

Day 2, my struggles begin:

I tossed and turned a bit the night before, with my knees aching and my feet feeling a bit tender. Yet, it was a beautiful morning. The winds had died down, and the weather was feeling a bit warmer. After a breakfast of instant oatmeal, I broke camp, packed up, and was ready to move on.

The Lost Coast

Being a father of two young children, I don't often get the chance to get out and be adventurous. So when the opportunity presented itself when my wife planned a trip for 12 days to visit friends and family with the kids, I jumped on it and started planning a trip as wild as I could come up with. I knew I wanted to go backpacking, but the prospect of camping in the snow wasn't as appealing as it once was when I was a crazy youth. Thus, I thought about exploring somewhere near the coast. What better coast in California than the Lost Coast. So I got a hold of my buddy Rob and talked him into joining me on a 25 mile journey down one of the only remaining stretches of pristine coast line in the country. Below is day one of our trip. I'll be adding the rest over the next few days.

Artificial light doesn't have to look artificial

Too many times I've heard the term "natural light photographer", and with it how much better it is than "artificial light". There seems to be this perception in some circles that any photog using a strobe is producing those boring staged shots where the lighting is more obviously fake than the painted backdrop. This does not have to be the case.

Light is light, and it's really as simple as that. Once you understand lighting direction and temperature you can make natural looking lighting conditions, or enhance what natural light is already there.

I was trying out my new Elinchrom El-Skyport triggers for my flash system, and decided to do a little project at the same time.

Venice Again

15mm Fisheye F/8 1/160th ISO 200 with a little fill flash.

Just wanted to post a few more shots from Venice beach. I really didn't get a chance to edit the ones I posted before very well and didn't do the trip justice. Also check out Rob's post on the trip in his blog(I'm the local reader Randy, I feel famous now :-)

Finding The Art In Photography

OK, it's no secret that I'm a technical geek when it comes to photography. I love to study all the how's and why's of the medium, and I shoot everything in manual because I like to have my hand in all the elements that make up the photo.

Lately though, I just haven't been getting the fulfillment from it that I once did. I think as I jump over more and more technical hurdles the truth of my goal with photography becomes clearer and clearer, that I want to take profound images. Something moving, something emotional, something thought provoking. Something art.