The hidden shrine
There's a benefit to wandering in new places. I was in the Carmel Mission, in Carmel, CA and only had a short little while to check it out (and capture some shots). I made it through the front courtyard, and the interior (I need to process that one!) and finally made my way into the "backyard" area of the complex. It was pretty wide open, but there was a little area sort of tucked into a corner - which I could not clearly see from where I was - so of course I meandered over there and discovered this little shrine. Looking at the photo now, it makes me think of something from an Indy Jones movie!
A passage at Carmel Mission
I was cruising around Carmel Mission and turned a corner, right into this empty hallway. I had it all to myself, which is the way I prefer to shoot HDR’s! (That is, unless I am on a photowalk with fellow photogs.) Not a lot to say today - except that I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! I really appreciate all the visits and comments this week!
The Carmel Mission
As I mentioned in a previous post about Carmel, I have a bazillion photos from my trip out West to process and post, so I will continue to scatter them in here and there. Ok, so the real number is just north of 1,000 but it feels like a bazillion! This is from my brief but photographically productive trip to the Carmel Mission, in Carmel, CA. I had a little spare time, and didn’t have a map handy, but knew the Mission was somewhere just south of town. So, I found the aptly named Mission Street, went south, and bam! Works every time. This is just after you enter, as you approach the chapel. As you can see it was a slightly overcast day, which is ok by me (especially for HDR shots) and was not crowded at all (also ok by me!). I cruised around, snapped a bunch of shots, and enjoyed the heck out of it. I always enjoy photographing churches and missions anyway, and this one is particularly fetching, as some would say.
Rocky Point coastline
I got this close to Big Sur - and got denied...what a shame. BTW, I sure hope you like this type of shot, because I have a ton of them. I took so many shots along the California coast that it's almost unbelievable. Almost.
Rocky Point sits along a stretch of coastline just a few miles south of Carmel, CA and it’s beautiful. I just love it there, though we ended up there by accident. We were driving south, hoping to get past the Bixby Bridge along Highway 1 and down into Big Sur, when we came to a police car that was sitting across the middle of the road. It turns out that just past the policeman there was a stretch of road that slid off into the ocean, thereby closing Highway 1 and taking our plans of getting to Big Sur along with it. The only other way to get south from there was to head back over to the highway and make all sorts of detours, resulting in an extra 2+ hours to get just a few miles. Nope, not gonna do it - so we turned around. Thankfully, Rocky Point was right there, so we parked and hiked for a while and I worked on filling up my memory card. This view is looking south, towards Bixby Bridge and the rest of the Big Sur coastline. As you can tell, the lighting conditions were not optimal and there was an interesting haze evident in the distance - but it’s still great being out there!
The Carmel Coffee House
How do you start your morning? Are you a coffee or a tea person? It seems that folks are either one or the other. I am a tea person. English Breakfast, straight up with no sweetener, just pure warm black liquid caffeine. I love the smell of coffee (and coffee houses) but I do not like the taste, for some reason.
So even on a vacation, when I get up I am ready to grab that cup and get rolling. When we were out in Carmel, I found myself each morning heading over to The Carmel Coffee House, which in addition to offering a great cup of tea has the added benefit of being tucked into this beautiful and interesting little alley. Each morning, I would walk down this alley to get my morning fuel, and think “I really need a shot of this place”. Finally, one morning I got up early enough to arrive there without anyone else around, and despite not having had my cup of tea yet, I had the foresight to bring the Nikon and the tripod. Ah, what a great way to start the day - hot tea and photography!
Incoming!
Taken at Point Lobos State Reserve, outside of Carmel, CA
We were hiking around Point Lobos and I was busy snapping shots left and right. At some point, we came upon a bunch of rocks, so naturally I started climbing them to see what lay on the other side. That’s the right thing to do, yes? Hehe...well, I got up and over them, and then climbed down the other side, hoping to position myself in a good spot to snap these waves as they came crashing over the rocks...which I did. What I did not think about though was that the water level was going to rise on me...which it did. So, I was balanced on the tip of a rock, crouched down and taking shots, when this wave came crashing in. I got the shot, then watched as the water got higher and higher. I immediately scrambled for higher ground, not concerned about myself but worrying about my Nikon. It worked out alright of course, just a near miss in the end. I ended up doing this little dance several times, as I got shot after shot. I have quite a few more to share from Point Lobos - it’s a fabulous place for photography.
Here's one more shot from that same spot...lots of water rushing in on me! (this one is SOOC basically)
Enter the Fae
Fairies are real, just ask any young girl. They are hard to see, because they are so quick, but believe me - they are out there. I asked, and that is what I was told. So, who am I to argue with that? We were in Carmel, CA recently (as you have heard me say with a lot of my recent shots) and walking around in the various shops, which tend to run into alleys and disappear around corners. It's an interesting place. You can literally wander for hours, if shopping is your thing. It ain't mine, though I was happy to snap a few shots as I meandered. In this case, we were down some random alley that seemed to go nowhere, when we happened upon this door. I love doors and entryways (another thing you may have heard me say here on the blog) and when I saw this one, with that interesting tree just past it, I knew my camera was about to come to life.
After I got it home and looked at it on my large screen, I did my somewhat normal processing, which includes short stints in Nik Software's HDR Efex Pro and Color Efex Pro. When I was done, I felt like I was staring at a secret entrance to some Fairy Kingdom. I just read a remarkable book which involves a young man who enters the Fae, and I guess it was top of mind. For the record, I am not referring to a children's book. It is part two of a three part series entitled The Kingkiller Chronicle. Book 1 was The Name of the Wind, and book 2 is Wise Man's Fear. They are by Patrick Rothfuss. If you have not heard of them, I suggest you drop whatever you are doing (after reading the rest of this of course!) and get yourself to reading them. If you are a fan of Lord of the Rings, you will enjoy these stories immensely. I can honestly say that they are two of the best books I have ever read, and I cannot wait for the final book in the series!
Somewhere along the 17 Mile Drive
When we were in Carmel recently, we made sure and left ourselves some time to make our way along the 17 Mile Drive. It's the famous drive that meanders along the coast, next to Pebble Beach, the Lone Cypress, and the Inn at Spanish Bay (among other things). There is a fairly long stretch that runs right next to the ocean, and at every turn there is one amazing view after another! It's really beautiful out there, and the beaches are just the style I like best - rocky and interesting. We would drive along, stop so I could jump out and shoot, drive another little bit, shoot some more - we did this for a while. It's tough sometimes being the photographer when the rest of the family is ready to move on. "But wait, there is so much more for me to shoot!" Anyways, this is from one of those many stops. I was walking along the beach, trying to frame cool shots and avoid getting my shoes full of salt water - I mostly succeeded, at least with that first part!
Point Lobos landscape
Well, it turns out I could not go a whole week without posting another shot from my recent trip out to Carmel, CA. I just love the area so much, and I have so many shots to share that I couldn’t resist. So, here’s another shot from our visit out to Point Lobos State Reserve, which is just a few miles south of Carmel and is a “must see” attraction when nearby. This area was amazing and I could have spent a week there, exploring every nook and cranny, and of course taking a lot of photos! It is a large Reserve which hugs the beautiful, rocky coastline and gives you lots of opportunity to say “wow, that is beautiful”. I know I did, plus I caught myself openly gasping several times. It really is amazing. I think on the next visit to Carmel I need to plan for at least a whole day here. We were there mid-day and the sun was high overhead, which is fairly obvious from the photo. I would like to catch a sunset here some day. Can you imagine how impossibly beautiful that would be?? Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate it!
Impressions of China Cove
Ok, one more photo of Carmel and then I will give you a break! In this case, it’s more like an artistic rendering of a photo. I tried to turn it into a painting. I snapped this photo (the one at the very bottom) while at China Cove in Point Lobos State Reserve, just outside of Carmel, CA. That version you see is straight out of the camera. It’s not bad but wasn’t exactly exciting to me. Certainly I could do some things to improve it, but instead I thought it would be fun to get a little creative and mix it up a bit. I have seen a lot of photos turned into these Impressionistic images, and figured I would try it myself. So, here you go! I had never done this before, and frankly I am not much of a Photoshop guy. I do most of my work in Aperture and the Nik Software suite. However, I do have Photoshop Elements for things like this. So I just did a little Google search along with some trial and error, and here’s how it turned out! Kinda fun right?
If you are curious, here’s how you do this:
- Open the image in Photoshop and select Layer > Duplicate Layer
- Select the top/duplicate layer and set the blending mode to Overlay
- On the top layer, select Filter > Artistic > Sponge
- Here I just moved the sliders until I liked the look of it
- Then, hit OK
- Select the bottom layer and select Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur
- I used a radius around 4 pixels
- Then, hit OK
You are done! Afterwards, I messed with it a little in Color Efex Pro, using the Glamour Glow filter to soften it up a little more and give it that little something extra. All told, about 5 minutes work. Pretty fun! Thanks for visiting!
Here's the original, straight-out-of-camera shot, for comparison purposes:
The entry to the Carmel Mission
I just love photos of doorways and entrances. They are so inviting to me. I have been taking shots of them for years, and have quite a few from my time in Carmel recently. In other words, I hope you like them too since I have a lot to share! They often don’t have the dramatic impact of a sweeping landscape, but to me they leave much to the imagination and can be quite interesting, especially when there is some history associated with the structure.
I caught this one at the Carmel Mission, which is a great place to visit. I enjoy photographing churches and missions, and this one has been on my list for a long time.
It is a working church and school, and has the added benefit of having been around since the 1700’s. It is beautiful. We were on our last day in Carmel, and I was just itching to shoot here, so my wife let me slip away for about an hour. It was not too crowded, which is nice of course, and I ran around like a crazy man taking shots left and right. Hopefully next time I am there I can make a proper visit and spend a little longer soaking up the history. But nonetheless, I walked away with many shots that I am happy with, which was the main goal anyways. I’ll save the history lesson for next time!
The Lone Cypress and The 17 Mile Drive
Are ya still with me? Or are you getting bored with these Carmel shots? Since I started this little blog, the idea has been to share photos from different places each day, which I have (mostly) done. So this week has been a departure, since it has become "all Carmel, all the time". So, in keeping with this week's Carmel theme, here's another one (or two actually!)!
The Lone Cypress sits on a rocky outcrop along the rugged and beautiful northern California coast, just about a mile north of Carmel, CA. To access the area, you have to enter The 17 Mile Drive, which is fabulous anyways and worth the $10 or so you spend to get in. Essentially, you are entering the private realm of Pebble Beach, hence the entry fee. I recommend entering from the Carmel side (there is a Carmel Gate) because that puts you just a stone’s throw from Pebble Beach, The Lone Cypress, and the long beautiful stretch of road which hugs the coastline. There is another entry point in Monterey, but it puts you at the other end of The 17 Mile Drive and you wind through the forest for a while before you get any sight of the ocean. I am speaking from experience because we were coming from Monterey and entered the wrong end. So, take my advice. It will save you time and get you to the beautiful parts more quickly!
The stretch along the ocean, which comprises maybe 5 miles of the 17 Mile Drive, is magnificent. They should just rename it The 5 Mile Drive, because that's the only part anyone really is interested in seeing! I am not sure how many times we stopped, or how many pictures I took, but rest assured it was a lot for both. There are several scenic spots where you can take in the view, and some great spots to get down close to the water and enjoy the waves crashing on the beach. Here’s the view from one such scenic spot:
The Tuck Box
Ok, so I am a few images into my Carmel theme this week, and I’m having a great time with these shots. I hope you are enjoying them as much as I enjoyed being there and taking them! I mentioned yesterday that today’s post would be a fairy-tale sort of thing, so may I present to you: The Tuck Box! This is one of the many examples of fairy tale type architecture that is found in Carmel, CA. Isn’t it fun? To me it totally looks like it belongs in a fairy tale, or somewhere in the English countryside at a minimum. I keep thinking that Tinker Bell is going to buzz around the corner. I love seeing things like this, and doubly so through my camera.
The Tuck Box is a small restaurant and English Tearoom, and it is great! I had been there on my previous Carmel visits and I knew that if conditions were right that I wanted to shoot it in HDR on this trip. I got up a little early one morning - especially considering it was a vacation - and since this was just one block from our hotel it was an easy first stop! Luckily all the other tourists were still asleep, so I had it all to myself. Later during our trip we had breakfast there, and being a huge fan of English Breakfast tea in the morning, I must say that their tea is excellent! Be sure and stop by for tea when in Carmel!
Jellyfish - Monterey Bay Aquarium
Jellyfish are interesting, right? They are the original drifters. Talk about being laid back - they just float around and let the current lead them where it may. If they bump into some food, good for them. As humans we are so conditioned to “make things happen” and to “get it done” that it is hard to imagine living this way, but it obviously works for them. They don’t even have brains or a central nervous system, so they are sort of like the oceanic version of a zombie. But hey, there are a lot of them, so they are doing something right!
Anyways, they are fun to watch and I enjoyed hanging out with them at The Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, CA last week. It’s a great aquarium and I was happy to make a return visit since it has been 10+ years since my last visit there. I have seen a lot of cool shots of jellies over the years, but never had any to call my own. Going in, this was one thing that I really wanted to photograph, but it’s kinda hard you know? It’s really crowded and hard to get close, and of course it’s fairly dark in there, except inside their tank which is a bright blue, they reside behind really thick glass - oh and did I mention they are in constant motion? - so I went with a very wide aperture and high ISO - f/5 and ISO 1600, -1EV and 1/30 of a second, to be precise - and was able to capture some decent shots.
I also spent some time snapping a bunch of other creatures, and will see about sprinkling those guys into the blog as well. But, I have so many “scenery” shots that more of those will come first! And tomorrow, a fairy tale village sort of thing!
China Cove, Point Lobos
Ah...China Cove. This was an amazing place. It is located in Point Lobos State Reserve, which is a beautiful area just a few miles south of Carmel, CA. We arrived mid-afternoon and immediately started hiking around (and I started with the camera, of course!). It was sunny and nice, as you can see in the photo, and the waves were doing their thing. This was taken last Saturday - the day after the waves from the tsunami reached the CA coast. There was no damage in the Carmel area but I heard Santa Cruz got hit pretty hard. Anyways, we spent a good deal of time in Point Lobos, and would liked to have spent even more time as the Reserve is pretty large and covers some incredible coastline. There’s just so much to take in that even a whole afternoon is just scratching the surface. After a while, we came to China Cove and a set of rickety old stairs that led down into what amounts to a private beach area, surrounded on all sides by rock. We climbed down and it was like being in a cathedral - totally serene and quiet except for the water rushing in. What a great spot!
Here is a “straight out of camera” shot of it from a distance. You can see the edge of the beach way off to the right hand side there...
As I mentioned yesterday, I have over 1000 photos from this trip and a lot of them are coastal scenes like this one. So, I hope you don’t mind but I like them so much I will be posting a bunch over the coming days and weeks. Like a lot of photographers (I am guessing here of course), I get addicted to my recent photos and forget about all the other stuff I haven’t gotten to yet. So this California coastal thing will last a few days, basking in the glow of newness like a child’s newest toy, but I will try and keep it interesting for anyone that may have stumbled across my blog by mixing in shots from all my other trips. It’s more fun for me that way, too. Variety is the spice of life, and all that. I still have plenty to share from lots of places. Plus, I have another interesting trip on the horizon which will hopefully allow me to capture some cool shots. More on that later, so for now, enjoy the California coastal views!