It's That Time of Year

Reaching into the archives for an older film image that I happen to like. I'm finally surrendering to the notion that it is winter, though here in the Central Coast our idea of winter is an occasional frost. But, head a few miles east to the Sierra and... voila!

Yosemite - Bridge on the Merced River

This is another in the continuing series of film images shot at and around Yosemite National Park. This location is on the Merced River below Yosemite on the way back to the San Juaquin Valley. The old suspension bridge caught my eye.

I fiddled with this image trying to salvage it. It was shot at dusk looking into the twilight. I reduced the exposure, brought up the fill light and added a bit of vignetting. Finally, I went to 1 pixel and cleaned out a bunch of crud around the cables and towers to sharpen up the image. OK, but not great. But it is a scene I wanted to save.

Yosemite - El Capitan

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From the valley floor, the enormous cliff that is El Capitan rises hundreds of feet toward an azure blue California sky.

This cliff and the entire Yosemite Valley was carved out by glaciers thousands of years ago. The glaciers are long gone leaving this wonder of nature. Talk about global warming. I wonder what Al Gore would have to say had he been around back then. (I commented on this in a satire posted at Another Rovian Conspiracy.)

Yosemite - Half Dome from Tunnel Hill

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Now back to our regular programming...

Now that I am over, kind of, the shock of the new macro, I'll put up another film image from my Yosemite series.

Coming into the park from the northern entrance from The Valley is to be recommended. The views are just stunning. The climb up the Sierra takes you over 7000 ft and near the crest is where the park begins. Then it is a winding descent to the valley floor. The trip from top to bottom is a circus of fabulous views. A totally amazing experience.

Yosemite - Bridal Veil Falls

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Not much you have to do in this environment to produce a decent image. Nature pretty much does all the work for you. About the only variable is the weather. No wonder Ansel Adams was so fond of this place.

Yosemite - Below the Falls

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Yosemite NP - Move Over Ansel Adams :-)

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I am still going through the portfolio and finding older shots that I like. These two were shot in Yosemite National Park in the winter. When my brother and I went up there dressed for the Yukon, it was in the 60s on the valley floor. Very pleasant, but not what we had gone looking for. There was no snow until we got to 7000 ft.

The first image is from the location that Ansel Adams made famous. It was kind of neat standing literally in his footprints. What a scene that is. Too bad he had a better camera, lens, light, talent etc. :) I'll go back properly armed one of these days.

The second image is taken at the river below Bridal Falls, a lovely spot. Yes, I know the low shutter speed is considered a cliche now, but I really don't care, I like it.

These are both film images shot on my beloved Canon A-1.

In a Film Mood - California Breaker

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Alcatraz - Another Film Image from the Portfolio

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Son Will and I paid a visit to Alcatraz a few years ago on one of their evening tours. For anyone who wants to go to the infamous prison, I would suggest this sunset trip into the weird. By the time you are done you will feel up close and personal with The Birdman, Al Capone, Alvin (Creepy)Carpis and the rest of its famous inmates.

Dresss warm, I thought I was going to freeze. that July night.

Golden Gate from Ft. Point - A Film Image

Photo Credit: Will Wilson @ WJW Photography


Further futching with Lightroom. Sometimes I just like film. There is a surreal quality about it after the ultra sharp grain-free quality of of digital.

Putting to Sea from San Francisco - A Film Image

More fiddling around in Lightroom this time with a focus on contrast, saturation and vibrance.

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Lighthouse and Ice Plants in Bloom - Film Image

I have been going through the portfolio and "tweaking" in Lightroom. This shot of Pigeon Point Light with the ice plants in bloom struck me for some reason. I shot this with my trusty Minolta 700si.

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Festival of Film #5 - Monarch of the Mission

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Festival of Film #4 - Almond Blossoms

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Festival of Film #3

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Festival of Film #2

This is MUCH easier to do with digital!

My goals here were to capture the early morning colors AND the reflection of the lighthouse beam on the water which only lasts a second or two. With digital that is no big deal. you shoot and see if it's there. If not, you wait for it to come around, and shoot again. With this film stuff you shoot three or four frames and hope. Then you wait for the lab to open. Then you drop it off and wait some more. Finally you get the film and scans back and pop the disc in the computer and say, "Ain't that dandy," or, in the alternative, "Ah $hit," and if the latter, hope and wait for the next perfect dawn which happen about once every six months.

All things considered, I like the "arty" quality of film, but I'm not sure it's worth all the work and time.

As it happens, this one was of the dandy variety.

But then again would this flower look quite as good in digital? I don't think so.

Or this shot of the Yosemite Valley?

The picture above was re-worked in Adobe Lightroom. It was seriously under-exposed. The sky was a washed out milky white without a hint of color. But to restore the natural sky color in PS would have blackened the foreground. In Lightroom there is a feature for bringing up foreground light without impacting the overall exposure. So I darkened the exposure and then brought up the foreground. Very quick, simple and neat. Rather remarkable program.

Festival of Film 1 - Big Sur Waves