Young (at heart) Love

Older couple who renewed their vows in the hills above Monterey Bay on a gorgeous day.

Remembering the Big Sur Basin Fire

It has been a year since the Basin/Indian fires burned hundreds of square miles in the Big Sur hills. I have re-opened the page on my web site for remembrance of what it was like here last July 4th. Take a look if you get a chance and are of a mind to do so. You do not see something like this every day.

You can see the page here: http://montereyjohnphotography.com/Big-Sur-Basin-Fire.html

Portfolio

Flash show of a portfolio of my work. Click here: http://montereyjohnphotography.com/Portfolio_flash/index.html

Adobe Lightroom 2 - A Wonderful Tool for Photographers

This ia just a marvelous tool for processing digital images, and here is an example:


Wild flowers atop the dunes at Monterey Bay.

Can you see what I did here? Look at the cumulus clouds and the coastline of Santa Cruz in the far distance. These were all but washed out in the original RAW file. I darkened the cloud with the brush took and goosed the saturation in the coastline. Bringing up these details greatly increased the "depth" of the image I think.

Click on photos for larger images.

East of Eden - Shades of Steinbeck's Salinas Valley

This photo was taken a couple days ago at the beautifully restored Davis House that is situated in the Salinas Valley in the midst of an abundent lettuce crop. It was a clear day after a late spring rain. The world was alive and singing.

One can almost see James Dean climbing the porch steps.

Pfeiffer Beach - Big Sur, California - A Short Video

Come to Big Sur - you could do a whole lot worse. Here is a montage of video and stills I recently put together shot at Pfeiffer Beach, Big Sur. It is a magical place, especially at sunset.

Camelia on a Rainy Day in Monterey

Shot this today on a cloudy and rainy day at the Monterey City Hall. The light was soft and there were water droplets on the petals. What's not to like? So, I shot it. I do wish I had my macro with me, but the kit lens did OK.

Processing was not all that much: a little contrast enhancement, trifle bit of vibrancy and a dash of dark vignette.