Rodeo beach

What: Another Friday, another reason to head out of the zip code to shoot. This Friday it's Rodeo beach

When/Where: Got off work a bit early on Friday and headed to SF. Got to Point Bonita about 5:40pm. I headed down the trail hoping the gate is open but then realized it's only open Sat, Sun and Monday from 12:30pm to 3:30pm and I believe they have guided tour. That's not cool but oh well, I was not there for the light house this round anyway. BUT the craziest thing I've seen and probably would never know how/why and don't think I'd ever ever see this again...
When we headed down the trail. We saw a black sedan down at the end of the trail by the closed tunnel to the light house. I was like "no fkin way... Somebody gotta be that stupid to drive down this walking trail..." But how though... Anyway we headed down about to pass the little section look like a bridge and the car drove up. It's a black Dodge Charger with a female driver and seem to be a female passenger. Careless we headed to the tunnel and find out it's locked. So we headed back up. Little did I know... (and I kid you not, I still get goosebumps as I type to this part), there's no way out of that trail. both left and right side of the trail are cliff. Up a little, right side is still sliff and left side is the hill with trees and no drive way. Close by the gate is a little drive way to the portable restroom. That's IT. The gate to the trail is LOCKED. And the tiretrack disappeared around the restroom area. I went in and checked that area. It's dead end. OMFG. How ? The only way they could get out is to have the keys for the gate, which I think only Ranger has them... ?!?! OK If you know any other way to get down there by car without using that gate... PLEASE let me know. Not that I want to drive down but I want to have an scientific explanation. I hate to have a mind bugging "gosh" situation like this...

So we then headed to Rodeo beach, did a little hike to this location.

How: As usual, I had with me the whole backpack but only used Nikon D700, Nikkor 16-35mm, B&W 1000x filter and Cokin ND8.

It was not the best weather I've seen so I didn't expect much out of this trip. After extended photoshop editing, I was able to get this.

Due to weather condition. I had to mix and match in photoshop with 7 layers to get this photo. So no valid EXIF data. Just 1 shot to get the rocks, few with ND8 to get the waves, and a few more to get the sky. Pick and choose from about 60 shots in this trip.



UPDATE 09/01/2010: OK so I stop by the light house again this pass Sunday and was able to talk to the park rangers (all female). They said it was them who drove down there to check things out. They went down everyday not just the scheduled tour hour. Well... that explains it... I still don't know why old female ranger would drive a nice, new, all black Avenger... oh well, I guess she could. Because it's better be her that day! :)

Berry Creek Falls

What: Berry Creek Falls in Big Basin Redwoods State Park. Yet another inspiration by Jim Patterson.

When/Where: So I did some homework prior to this trip. Sounds like the season (when water fullest) from Dec until Mar. And it's now mid Aug. Looks like I'll be running into an all dried up waterfalls. Anyway, it would not hurt to do a little hiking. After all I was busy and off exercise the whole summer. So we left San Jose 8am sharp and got to the park gate by 9:10am or so. It was a nice breezy summer day. It was high 50 or low 60 at the park. I did not bring any extra jacket thinking it'll get warm once I start to hike in ( and I was right). Down hill most of the way to the fall. BTW, the sign say 3.9mile but it's really an 4.8 mile hike to the fall. Got to the fall about 11am, had lunch and took some shoots, break until 12pm and head toward a little for another fall. It was not as attractive as Berry Creek Fall so we just went ahead and make a round trip which is 12.2 mile total. Got back to the parking area by 4pm. From 8-11mile was the hardest. It seems to take forever and ever. But once we see 0.9 mile mark, I was at it. Jogging in happiness all the way.

How: Since it's a 12mile round trip, I had to think twice what lens to bring. Obviously the macro and 50mm f/1.8 wouldn't help much. So those two stayed home. I had with me Nikon D700, Nikkor 16-35mm, 24-120mm, and 70-300mm because I had no idea how far away the fall is from where I'd be standing. The empty pocket was used for 3 water bottles (1 frozen). Also brought 3 sandwiches along to the hike. I got here when the whole waterfall were perfectly in shade with no burn. But a sandwich later the sun started to hit it spot by spot. Oh well, I'll try my best to make it glow. And this is what I had

Shutter Speet: 4sec
Aperture: f/14
Focal Length: 112mm
ISO-200

Napa, winery country

What: Napa, winery country trip

When: I was there mid July. It was not the best time of the year to be in Napa. It's definitely good enough not to see dead/dried up grape farm. I'd rather be there around end September or so for the fall color...

Where/How: We left South Bay around 8 am or so and got to our first location for... shooting rather than a wine tasting ...

In this trip, I mostly use my Nikon D700, Nikon 16-35mm, little with 70-300mm for some model shoot.

First stop was Andretti Winery. Must say I really like this design and they have so many angle at this location ...

Focal Length: 35mm
Shutter Speed: 1/200sec
Aperture: f/4
ISO 200


Focal Length: 20mm
Shutter Speed: 1/125sec
Aperture: f/4
ISO 500


Second stop was Darioush. This place has a very attractive gate. You won't miss it.

Focal Length: 16mm
Shutter Speed: 1/1600sec
Aperture: f/4
ISO 200


Focal Length: 16mm
Shutter Speed: 1/250sec
Aperture: f/4
ISO 200


Focal Length: 16mm
Shutter Speed: 1/1250sec
Aperture: f/4
ISO 200



Last stop: Castello . This place is the place you must visit while in Napa area. It's quite new but the design, the structure is amazing. We bought the tour which is also has wine tasting at the end. The whole experience was worth it.

Focal Length: 31mm
Shutter Speed: 1/800sec
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO 200


Focal Length: 35mm
Shutter Speed: 8sec
Aperture: f/4.5
ISO 400


Focal Length: 20mm
Shutter Speed: 2.5sec
Aperture: f/8
ISO 200



Focal Length: 16mm
Shutter Speed: 1/25sec
Aperture: f/4.5
ISO 4000
This last one is the ceiling of the castle. The camera was about 5in off the ground so I had to hand held it. Thus crank up ISO to 4000. Well that's what the D700's for. ISO-4000 smooth as expected.

S.S. Palo Alto

What: S.S Palo Alto, the most famous concrete ship of the West Coast. Built in 1919 By San Francisco Shipbuilding Company in Oakland, California. The concrete ship was later purchased by an Seacliff Amusement Company of Nevada and towed to Seacliff State Beach in Aptos, California. An arcade, dining room, dance hall and even a swimming pool were built on the ship. Unfortunately, the Seacliff Amusement Company went out of business two years later under the financial crunch of the Great Depression. Then, in winter, a storm cracked the ship across her midsection. The Palo Alto was stripped of all salvagable metal and fixtures and turned into a fishing pier.

When: So I've been browsing Flickr and Flickriver a lot to find my next photoshoot location. And one of the best in this region, I gotta bring Jim Patterson into the picture. He has an amazing collection on Flickr. So I was browsing through and found this concrete ship. The color, the story, the age of this ship make me want to get there and capture it right away. Been busy, so I put it off and off until late summer 2010. It's been cloudy every morning all summer in the bay area. So I kept checking weather forecast in Santa Cruz area. I also search for live webcam there for better view of the weather condition. Kinda found AHA moment one day and drove there straight after work.

Where/How: Traveled on HWY 17 toward Santa Cruz, take South HWY 1 toward Capitola for about 5 miles. Then take State Park Dr. toward Seacliff State Beach. If you want to support State park, drive straight, pay $10 parking fee, and drive down all the way to the pier. If not, just before the park entrance, make a Left onto Santa Cruz Ave, then right on Broadway and park at the corner of Broadway and Seacliff Dr. It's street parking. Walk toward the beach you would see really really long stair down to the beach. The S.S. Palo Alto is right there.

So I got there about 7:30pm when sunset at 8:30 pm . I've been in so many situation where I have 10-15 min until sunset and I don't have the right gear to do anything thing. This time, I have 1 hr extra, the whole complete backpack with Nikon D700, and all my lens but I only used Nikon 16-35mm. Kinda used 24-105mm a little bit but didn't really need to. Got to the end of the pier, set up my tripod and frame ready for sunset. Did some practice shoots and find out it looks plain at eyes level (about 5ish ft.). So I had my tripod fully extended to about 7'. Now it's aproblem. I cannot see the frame. I can't change settings. And the gate has about 3.5-4in gap between bars so I have very little room to move my lens side to side when it's between bars. So I tried many many times to get the right ones. Everytime I want to view, I have to pull camera and lens back out from the bars which totally change my frame .

Nikon D700
Nikon 16-35mm

In this shoot, I also had B&W 1000x density.

Focal Length: 16mm
Aperture: f/4
Shutter Speed: 8sec
ISO 400



This one is combined of 5 shot and HDR using photomatix. I almost always do HDR but not to an extend that it looks not real anymore. This is another try :)

Pigeon Point Lighthouse

What:Pigeon Point Lighthouse

When: Yet another random weekend trip to the coast.

How/Where: From Santa Cruz, head North on HWY 1 for about 28 miles. Make a left on Pigeon Point Road and park to the parking on the left. I brought with me on this trip was my old D90, Tokina 11-16mm, Nikon 70-300mm and tripod.

First angle, I was here. This image was merged by 3 exposures using Photomatix for HDR effect.

No Exif data from 3 exposure.


Second location, this one is kind of tricky because of the fence. I had my Tokina sticking out through a hole along this fence (surprisingly somebody must have made this hole to fit the camera through :) nice). This below image is also HDR... no EXIF :



Third stop, walked all the way to the end of the lighthouse trail. It started to become really foggy, so I think B&W is better for this shot

Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 11mm
Speed : 0.6sec
ISO 100
Exposure compensation: 0 step



Also from this third location, when the fog start to come down, I have the following setting:

Focal: 50mm
Aperture: f/2.8
Speed: 2sec
ISO 800


I had 42 shots of the same frame, the same 2 sec. The fog does not always help to create a straight, solid white beam. With all 42 shots I was able to put some light beam together in this one. The fixed 2 seconds help keep the thickness of the beam consistent.

Sunflower field Dixon, CA

What: I love Sunflower. Such a brilliant color. Summer would not be completed without sunflower... how about a whole field of sunflower...

When: Google sunflower season and some users on flickr, I notice they bloom sometime between early June until late July. It depends on the temperature of the year.

Where: I've been browsing for this field for 1 year, wait and try to find it another year. This year I decided, what the heck, I'll just gonna spend 2 hr driving there to check out the area. At least I'll get a relax road trip on the weekend. So I when to Dixon area early June... nothing there. Sadly drove another 2 hr home. So early July I checked back with some friend in the area, she volunteered to be the Guinea pig and browse the area again follow my rough direction. I headed there the following weekend (7/4/10) after knowing she found the place.

Amazed how big this area is. By the time I got there, the season looks like it's almost over. Still I was able to get some good pictures. They have bee hives along the fields... well, why not, great source for bees to collect honey. These sunflowers grow as high as 7ft and some rows at 4-5 ft.

How: I brought with me all my gear but used Nikon D700, Nikon 16-35mm, 70-300mm, a little of 105mm macro and 50mm but too much glare because of where we were.

I used 70-300mm a lot for portrait, and 16-35mm for some landscape.
DO NOT forget to bring ladder. These flowers are high. I had with me a 3 steps ladder. Helped a little but not much.


This one was merged from 5 different exposures. So I can't really say much about the exif data :)



Speed: 1/125s
Aperture: F/9
ISO 200
Focal Length: 200mm

Update to family members...Summer 2010

So I decided bring Nikon 16-35mm f/4 home. It's such a great combination with D700. They are great BUT I think I over kill it by a little. Performance wise, it's a great combination but for my needs, doing landscape, I still think Nikon D90 and Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 still the best combo. Even though the Tokina is not sharp at all at f/2.8. But who shoot landscape at 2.8 anyway.


D700 and Nikon 16-35mm is another story. It's so sharp and I love it. The only down side is ... IT"S HEAVY !!!

Another lens I collected this summer is the all time favorite for FX walk around 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6. Well... It's a walk around lens, nothing much special but slow. It's light weight and does do job well, sharp.