Happy New Year

I wish you all a happy, healthy and bright 

New Year in 2012

 

Don't give up on me ...

Blame it on the holidays ... lots of photos and no time to "process" them.  I did like this one, though, it seemed appropriate for the blog at this point.  I will be "right back" ... don't give up.  (This photo was shot in Spanish Village (San Diego)  during a meet-up with Carol Leigh and Chris Smith from Photo Explorations.)

Salton Sea CA

A week ago I was in Borrego Springs CA, did a "tour" of Salton Sea with Paul Johnson (through the  Anza-Borrego Foundation).   I'm still sorting through my photos, but wanted to post these from the final stop of our day:  Salvation Mountain.   I had been there 12+ years ago and missed meeting Leonard.  This trip he was there, so in addition to taking photos, I was able to meet the man who built the mountain.  

I hope you'll have some time to follow the link & read a bit about his story.

Inside the "balloon"  He used tree trunks, tree limbs, and he said a telephone
pole!   All put in place by Leonard, with the help of pulleys. 

Snow at the SD Zoo

The forecast yesterday in San Diego was for a cold, but sunny day.   The San Diego Zoo had a different forecast, SNOW for the pandas!     Couldn't resist a photo opportunity like this one!  The pandas enjoyed their gift of snow and the bamboo Christmas tree  ;-)








While there I spent some time with the flamingos, the young ones are so beautiful as their plumage changes.

Versatile Blogger nomination

        Linda Jeffers sent me the following email:

Judy:  I have nominated your blog for The Versatile Blogger Award.  You have been an inspiration.  You will find the details here: http://www.lindajeffers.com/blog/     Linda

I met Linda years ago at a photography workshop in Santa Fe we both attended, given by Carol Leigh.  We've kept in touch through email, each other's blogs and on-line classes from Carol.   She's a great photographer and not afraid to try new techniques -- recently did a lot of lightning photography.    She is amazing &  inspiring with her hiking & backpacking adventures.

This is from her blog:   "According to the rules for this award, with this Versatile Blogger Award logo, one should make a post with a nomination blog list (which should be 15) and one should inform the nominees that they are nominated for this Versatile Blogger Award.   In addition, one should share seven items about oneself that readers don't already know.  And one needs to thank the blogger who gave you this award."

So THANK YOU Linda.   It was a great surprise to read your email!

So here goes with seven items which many of you may not know (well, the first doesn't count, everyone knows this "secret").


1.  I'm an avid photographer:  photograph anything & everything that gets in my viewfinder  ;-)


2.  I am a sailor and lived on a sailboat 1999-2000, sailed from SF Bay down the coast and up into the Sea of Cortez.  Loved every second of it!


3.  Enjoy reading (so send me some book titles you've enjoyed).  


4.  I like burned microwave popcorn.   OK, you can stop laughing now, it was a happy accident.  I burned the last package of microwave popcorn I had in the house and was trying to salvage a few bites that looked OK.  I discovered that I liked the "ruined" ones maybe more than the regular ones.  


5.  I did a triathlon in Santa Cruz (many, many years ago).   I finished!    That's about all I want to say about my time  ;-)


6.  My nickname (in Santa Cruz)  was "The Mermaid" because after work I went to the beach a few times a week and swam in the ocean  (by the SC Wharf).   


7.  Also did a few rough-water swims in Santa Cruz and one in the beautiful La Jolla cove (here in San Diego).  


Blogs I follow and my nominees for the "Versatile Blogger" award.
1.  http://carolleigh.blogspot.com    I first met Carol maybe 10 years ago when she gave a lecture in Sacramento about macro photograph.   I loved her sense of humor then and now (a bit wicked at times), am continually amazed at the versatility in her photographs and art.   Her on-line classes are so much fun and get me photographing things I wouldn't normally do (ICE, Carol, remember the ice assignment).  

2.  http://ezpixels.com/blog   I met Marianne briefly at a photo workshop with Carol Leigh in Tucson. We've stayed in touch with blogs & emails.  She's been extremely helpful when I hit a brick wall with my pixel problems.  Her IR photography is beautiful, inspiring,  as are all her other photos.

3.  http://www.digitalfieldguide.com    I met Harold Davis two years ago in Cuba when we traveled with the same workshop.  I had already been reading his blog before we met, and it was great to meet him in person.  His books on photography are easy to understand and I've learned a lot from them.   Thanks Harold!

4.  http://iphoneographywithterilou.blogspot.com    I took two on-line workshops with Teri Lou and am now addicted to iPhoneography.  Love those apps!

5.  http://www.cakewrecks.com/    For a good laugh, I check in to CakeWrecks.  Sunday's are "sweet" cake days, but the rest of the week their blog always provides some chuckles.

6.  http://plantsoup.com/blog/  After moving to San Diego I started learning about succulents, Native California plants and  became aware of  the HIGH water bill that having a lawn would give me.  I took a few classes from  Nan Sterman in waterwise gardens and liked this concept, her designs and her energy.  She's designing a whole new garden for my house.

So for today I'll stop at 6 blogs I follow, will post more tomorrow -- have to make time tonight to read my other blogs.   Thank you again Linda for the nomination!








So h

Unexpected trip to Reno

I

I had to make an unexpected flight north to Reno.   It was an easy  flight and fun because I had 1-1/2 hrs to play with my iPhone 4s.    First photo was taken as we left San Diego, second as we approached Reno (that's Lake Tahoe we're flying by).   Third photo was done by an app called Decimat8.

Sunset at Mission Bay

We've had beautiful sunsets two days in a row.  I took this last night hanging out at Mission Bay Yacht Club.  

Two more photos from the Queen Mary visit

I'm still processing photos and found these two that I liked.  First photo was taken in a restaurant where  I spotted the shadows on the wall.  I liked the  shapes they formed.

The  flags were flying on the deck of the Queen Mary.

Whale watching in San Diego

This past Monday my friend Terry & I went out on a whale-watching excursion.  The boat left Mission Bay docks around 9:00 AM and headed out in to the fog.  Breakfast  was served as we were underway.  There have been sightings of blue whales in Southern California and we were hopeful -- and not disappointed.

 The first mammals we saw were the Risso's dolphins.  According to the naturalist on board, these are usually shy dolphins, but they were feeding on krill and we  just hung out to watch, and they didn't seem to be worried at all.

One of the crew members was really excited to see a baby along with the mother.   He hadn't seen that before.  




We were also lucky enough to spot two  blue whales.   Again, there was a lot of krill in the area and they were feeding.  The naturalist said the krill was not deep, so the whales didn't have to dive very deep to feed.    We saw them as we motored out to the Coronado Islands in Baja, and again, as we motored back to Mission Bay.

I feel very lucky to have these shots  because when I first downloaded them to my computer and started viewing them, I felt most of my whale shots looked more like a submarine shots  ;-)      So glad I took a second look.

It was a terrific day on the water and we were back on the dock around 5 pm.    

San Diego Zoo and Safari Park

I was at the Safari Park yesterday with Terry and her camera club.  It is actually the first time I've had a good look at the baby gorilla, Monroe.   The Mom (Kokomo) has been a great mother and kept him close to her -- not good for photo ops the few other times I've gone to see him.

He is now 4 months old and she's letting him have a little bit of freedom.  It was extremely enjoyable to watch.  I did get one photo of them that I was happy with.   As you can see here they were enjoying a bit of the sunshine and relaxing.  

Enjoy the link to the Park's website if you would like to read more about him:   Kokomo and Monroe.

More photos from the Queen Mary.

The photo above shows a Scorpion Russian Submarine tied up next to the Queen Mary.  This sub was known as the quietest sub of the Soviet fleet, and we were told that it did patrol the Pacific Ocean.  It was decomissioned in the 1990's, and eventually wound up in Long Beach.  This link will take you to information about the sub:  http://www.russiansublongbeach.com/

The photo to the left shows one part of the interior.  

Reflections ...

 Any time I'm around water, I look for reflections, and Long Beach didn't let me down.   These are my favorites.

Cut paper ...

While in Bishop (Labor Day Weekend), in addition to hiking and exploring for petroglyphs, I went to a crafts fair.   I met Nan, a cut-paper artist.  I was quite taken and very impressed with her art.  I bought a piece and asked to take her photo with it.  She finally agreed ... and here's the photo.

I bought the piece she is holding.


We've been emailing since then and I asked permission to post this photo on my blog, which she agreed to.

She doesn't have a web site (yet), but also sent me 3 photos of work she has done.   I've posted those, plus a piece she did using 2 photos of my grandkids that were on my blog.  She totally captured their mannerisms in her cutout.

This is what she has to say about her work:     "This was call Windows picture in China longlong time age, now call paper cutting. I have some words for that:  Paper cutting art is usually cut out on paper using a knife, razor blade, scissors, or now, modern paper cutting machines specifically used for this intricate type of ancient art.  All of the pictures seen at this display have been created by an artist using a razor blade.

    The art of paper-cutting may be traced back to a period as early as the ancient South and North Dynasties. It appeared around the same time of the discovery of Chinese papermaking."

Here is the photo of the work she did of my two grandkids, and others of her work in general.   What an artist!!!!   If you wish to contact her, let me know & I'll forward your email address.  I'm hoping she'll have a web site soon.

If you look back a few weeks, you'll see the photos she used to do this cutout.  

http://2011photoblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/vintage-look-photos.html

(I hope the above link will take you there.)

These are examples of her work (she sent photos of her pieces).    Amazing!!!

Please remember, this art work is done simply with a mat-knife.  No fancy lasers, nothing other than her eye and her mat-knife.  Incredible pieces.   Amazing artwork.  

More photos from the Queen Mary

Just a few more shots from the Queen Mary.  The tattered flags (flown from the top of the mast to the bow);   looking past the bow I liked the view of the city from the dock; and the strong lines on the deck with the view of the city in the background.

On the water again ...

This time the boat was the Queen Mary (Long Beach) and  tied up to the dock!     My friend Terry & I spent two nights onboard the Queen Mary.  It's an incredible place to visit, lots of history,  and so many photo ops!   We started our time there with a "behind the scenes" tour from a very knowledgeable gentleman who has been associated with the boat for about 17 years.  Lots of funny stories about the history of this magnificent vessel and about the celebrities who have traveled on it.   I've included a few of my photos that I've processed so far.  First one is an overall view of the vessel, taken from the water.  We did a harbor tour one morning.

The following photo  was taken at night -- I loved seeing the lights on the boat.   A surprise when I looked at the photo, I hadn't seen the face in the smokestack until I pulled the shot up on the computer.  Anyone else see it?

This final post is of the city of Long Beach, taken from the sidewalk near the Queen Mary.   

Highly recommend checking out http://www.queenmary.com/Timeline.aspx for more information.  Oh, the food was great too!  

Clouds

We've had a few days of beautiful sunsets and I did, of course, go outside with my iPhone.  The shot on the left was a straight shot, processed with the Filterstorm app.

The second shot was with an app called Quad Camera.  It shoots 4 (or 6) in a row.  I set the timing between each shot to a few seconds so I can move it around a bit.   I also processed this shot with Filterstorm (little bit of lightening needed).

Beam me up Scotty!

Grandson Shane (5 yrs) brought home an alien from kindergarden.  It's about 1-1/2 inches tall & really a cute little guy!   I found a dandelion in the yard and added it before the photograph.  Shane wasn't sure an alien would carry a flower  ;-)   Hipstamatic on the iphone.

Then I played around a bit with a new app:  Decim8 for the two following photos.

Double trouble!

San Diego Zoo Safari Park visit

My grandson Shane and I made a trip to the Safari Park today.   His favorite animal, he said, were the lorikeets.  You get to go in their aviary and feed them a special syrupy mix of vitamins.  The birds were hungry today, and Shane was a happy kid!

iPhone photos, used Diptic app to create the 3-in-1 look.  

Vintage-look photos

Last night I played a bit with the photos and a new plug-in from Topaz Labs.  It's B&W & everything else you may want, so many options.  I chose these three photos and am pleased with the look.  What do you think?

Grandkids photos

No smiles ...

Smile!

Still no smile, but he's hanging in there posing for me!

Family reunion in  Redwood City. Thanks Mike & Cat for having all of us there.  I brought a few of my late-Auntie Mildred's hats and my sister brought a few "guy" hats.  Didn't want to leave the boys out.   I had fun photographing the grandkids in the hats.  A few of them had fun posing ...

Ellery loves her chicken.  

I took some time to use the iPhone camera and snap a few photos along Hwy 395.   These were taken as I got closer to San Diego.  I used a new app (Photo55) to convert them to B&W, then another app (Diptic) to put the four into one.