What did you think you were going to see?
Perverts.

Wrapping up our Santa Cruz Trip (Day 1, Day 2), we left the Chaminade and drove up Highway 1 North toward Half Moon Bay, and eventually the Pigeon Point Lighthouse.

I’m all about mountains and water. I’m not particularly fond of the beach and sand, but the California Coast is somewhat unlike the coast on the eastern side of the country where I’m originally from. It’s much more severe, with sharp cliffs and rocky shores where the waves come crashing in. Oh, and the sharks.

Otherwise, it’s absolutely gorgeous, and I’ve never seen anything like it.

We started up north, not wanting to immediately head back to the Sacramento area, since we were on vacation and such…Rachelle, however, has a very different concept of sight-seeing than I do. Her version entails us going between 80 and 90 mph as we fly past miniature forests, rolling green hills, scenic overlooks, and oh yeah, the entire California Coast <– more pictures.

At one point we were forced to slow down because of a man who actually was as old as a triceretops, who could not make his car go faster than 35mph. We were amazed.

Suddenly there was scenery all around us that we hadn’t noticed before because it was just whizzing by so fast. Trees, mountains, pumpkin patches, all sorts of picturesque things to take pictures of!

We found a few scenic overlooks, which were actually just dirt roads leading off toward the water, and wandered around in the strong breeze taking pictures of the crashing waves and some campers who found a nice sandy spot for an overnight stay.

We stopped at a little diner for some lunch, then continued on our journey. Next stop on the list was the Pigeon Point Lighthouse (and youth hostel).

Unfortunately, the lighthouse is closed due to damage to the structure. They are hoping to raise funds to restore it to original condition, but for now there is wire strapping holding the top together, and the lighting system has been replaced.

The view was gorgeous, and we both decided we wanted to build a house right next to the lighthouse and live there forever - assuming we won the lottery several times.

Eventually, the coast grew monotonous and we took an easterly highway back to civilization, passing through Walnut Creek, Concord, and back onto highway 80 to Sacramento.

All in all, a wonderful mini-vacation on the coast. Good times. Good times.

I just got back from a 3 day trip to Santa Cruz, and unfortunately did not have internet access while there (nor any time to get online anyway).

But I’m home now, and am putting together all my pictures from the mini-vacation. Look for something mildly interesting tomorrow :-).

Note: This post is in the form of a photo travelogue.

On Sunday, 9/9/07, David and I took a mini photography road-trip to Rancho Seco, the former nukular power plant south of the Sacramento area.

The property is owned by SMUD, and includes a recreational lake where you can fish for 8-eyed trout and the like.

Actually, having a recreational lake near a nuclear plant is not all that new or fascinating. My dad often goes fishing at the Shearon Harris plant near Raleigh. I can’t recall ever eating anything from the lake, but it’s very likely that I have a bit of uranium residue floating around in my bones somewhere - and after driving incredible close to the plant yesterday, I probably have a bit more.

This was the second time in my life that I’ve been near a nuclear power plant, which is instantly recognizable wherever you are, by the twin water cooling towers and the main reactor building (which sometimes has a domed roof and looks like a bullet).

I won’t say that these things freak me out, but the hypochondriac side of me could absolutely feel all those little pierces of radiation blasting through the side of the jeep and into my body.

I never claimed to be sane, so just go with me here.

We ventured as close as we could get, which turned out to be a parking lot that was in need of significant repairs - they will eventually get around to fixing it when this place is converted over to natural gas energy (which is apparently the direction, according to David’s research).

We wanted to go visit the recreational lake just to take a few pictures, but decided that we’d rather not spend $5 for 5 minutes of driving around a parking lot, so we u-turned out of the place and drove north into wine country.

Well actually, we didn’t have to drive very far, because the entire area around the power plant is now absolutely COVERED in vineyards. And I’m not talking about 5 or 6 scattered vineyards, I’m talking about one huge one that went on for miles and miles, completely covering the landscape. The vines were so close to the water towers that if they hadn’t been trimmed back the entire side of the thing would have been crawling with cabernet.

I don’t know about you, but I’m not sure I want to drink radioactive wine. This rich, full-bodied Cotes du Seco has all the peppery uranium aromas, black cherry, cassis, and argon flavours and a long half-life complex finish of a fine Seco wine and is a perfect accompaniment to redneck cooking. Mmmm, mmmm good.

We passed through the um, wine country, then up toward Plymouth where the real vineyards are. Places like Montevina, Karmere, etc. reside outside this teeny tiny little town that has exactly one cafe, one carousel, and one truck with a permanently attached American flag.

We ate at a little cafe (I had the vegetarian tamale and a crab cake while David opted for the foccacia sandwich with dead animal).

We both tried, what is advertised (on the label) to be the Great American Root Beer. It was not great; I can only assume it’s American based on where it is bottled; I can attest that it vaguely tasted like root beer.

At this cafe we also discovered (pictured in the background) Frambois. David loves that stuff - raspberry infused port, and it’s somewhat difficult to find. It’s bottled by Bonny Doon and is quite delicious over ice, with cream or on ice cream (which is a combination of ice and cream I just realized). Highly recommended if you like sweet dessert wines.

Just down the street was the coolest part of the town…an old carousel that is now used as a catering spot for your favourite events like wedding receptions and birthday parties.

The art on the interior is of a woman leading her son toward a group of kids who are celebrating a party - a birthday I assume. The decking is spread out with chairs and tables, and it appears to offer a pretty unique location for events - very cool spot.

Topping our trip off as we left the Plymouth area, we can’t forget the permanently affixed American flag on the red truck.

I really don’t think I need to say much more on this one.

Finally, we made our way up toward Placerville, back onto Highway 50 and in the direction of home.


But of course no trip would be complete without a message from Jesus, who has apparently moved on to billboard advertising now as part of his global marketing campaign.

David is a big fan of the fair, especially when it comes to fireworks or anything deep fried (especially those nasty and ridiculously disgusting corn dogs).

I prefer something a bit lighter like a diet pepsi. I could never stomach a deep fried twinkie or a chocolate dipped slab of cheesecake.


We went to the fair this weekend, because David wanted to see the fireworks. I was bored, and I wasn’t feeling well (I had a headache the entire day), but I braved the absolutely insane crowds, the fear-inducing heights of the ski-lift, and my inability to enjoy the Moscow Circus fun-house due to my throbbing and pounding headache.

David splurged for a disgusting and expensive $12 margarita that had absolutely zero tequila, zero sweet/sour, and zero flavour.

It was green/yellow ice. It was like using a Snoopy Sno-Cone machine with a bit of food colouring. (but not to fear, we went to our favourite mexican restaurant for dinner and had a REAL margarita just to spite the fair folks)


But…the highlight of the evening, before we braved the traffic trying to get out of the parking lot and home, was the 5 minute fireworks display at 10pm.

Now I enjoy fireworks, but David is NUTS about them. He wants to be directly beneath them so he can smell the sulfur of the explosion and feel the sting of the cinders as they fall in a sparkling, shimmering shower onto the ground.

I will admit…it was pretty cool :-).

(More pictures from our trip to the fair)

And here’s a video of the fireworks finale on 28 August.

What strange and wonderful thing could this be?

Tentacles?

A halo of long and spindly branches with seeds on the end, reminiscent of bean sprouts?

A deep green throat with a bundle of fibres ending in a tentacled urchin-like mouth?


Let’s back up a bit.

Why, it’s a flower! Wonderful white silken leaves surround the throat of this amazing blossom.

Layers upon layers of tissue-paper petals that let through the most subtle amount of light, illuminating the green orifice.

Where does a flower like this come from?

From a cactus.

Unfortunately, within 24 hours of blooming this flower will wither and die. You’re lucky if you get two of these blooms in a year. My favourite flower of any plant in existence.

If you’re interested, here are some other stunning photographs of cactus blooms.

The end.

Starting out as an amateur photographer is tough.

It’s not just as easy as picking out a camera and starting to click the shutter button. What sorts of features do you need in a camera? What types of pictures are you interested in taking? Do you want to take pictures just for use on the web or are you looking to make prints/posters/keepsakes?

These are only a few questions I asked myself when I started thinking about dabbling in photography. I’ve always loved taking pictures, but they were usually shoved in a box after I retrieved them from the store after developing. Digital changed that right away. I stored them on my computer, and had easy access to look at them any time I wanted, without having to climb over dusty boxes in a closet.

Here are some helpful sites and tips I discovered that have offered me guidance, insight, and general awe as I am making my journey into photography.

1. Research for a camera: Stay at home first. Nothing beats some online comparison shopping before you head to the store for some touchy-feely. It might sound cliche, but I’ve found that reviews of digital cameras on amazon.com are a superb place to get many opinions and thoughts on the multitude of choices you have when buying digital. Another place that has been around for a while is BizRate. They go beyond just product reviews, but also off price comparisons and store ratings as well. Another excellent spot for technical product reviews is dpreview.com.
2. Learn from other amateur photographers before you go to the pros: Why? Because these folks have and are going through what you are going through. Share learnings, find out what worked and didn’t work for them and tell them your story too! One of my personal favourites is Ricardo Carreon. It seems like he’s got his camera with him 24×7, and some of the shots he takes are amazing. You can also take some lessons on light (and lightning) from tinyvices.com storm photography.
3. Take some Online Training: there are numerous sites out there offering free education for photography (digital and non). Unless you prefer hard copy books, of which there are plenty, eLearning is a great alternative. Geoff Lawrence offers an easy to use site of free tutorials, ranging from exposure, to closeups, to fireworks. Cambridge in Colour offers tutorials and even education on using software tools like Photoshop. And finally, don’t forget PhotoNotes dictionary of Film and Digital Photography.
4. Head to the book store and get some magazines: Digital Camera Magazine out of the UK is one of my personal choices. Yes, you’ll find plenty of adverts in any magazine you get, but this one has the most REAL content of any periodical I’ve picked up.
5. Join a Club: Online or offline you can learn a lot from social networking. If you’re a Canon owner, you can join groups like PowerShot Pro1 and participate in numerous forums and discussions. Got a Nikon - then you’re a Nikonian! If you have a camera, there’s a group out there for you.
6. Narrow your focus: Grab your camera, walk out into your yard, and start taking pictures of anything and everything. Take pictures of plants, the driveway, your house, the trees, all of it. Don’t get fancy, just point and click. Come back inside and see what you like. Do you prefer the artistic nature of flowers, or the simple nature of concrete? If you see something you like, head back outside and concentrate there. It is easy to get overwhelmed with the numerous genres of photography. Pick something and try it out for a while.
7. Try your hand at something fun: Pick a photography project that is fun! If you have an exciting (and even challenging) time doing it, then you’re learning. My top pick is “transparent screens“. It will take a little prep, but the outcome is a crowd pleaser. If you want to go crazy, you can try your hand at capturing explosions, falling water, and sneezes like Andrew Davidhazy.
8. Show Off: It’s quick and easy to set up a web page these days. Upload some of your photography and start showing it off to the world. Some people choose flickr for their photo albums, and others set up a site of their own. Whatever you choose, you’re sure to get some great comments from others just like you. Some beautifully done sites include: Southeast Asia Photography, New Zealand photography by Vonnagy, and a recent stumble Creative photos by Chema Madoz.

So there’s your starting point. A little bit of research, a dash of social networking, and a splash of fun, and you’re on your way to creating interesting and unique photographs for the world to see. Or if you’re not ready for the world just yet, your friends and family would love a few pictures for the family album.

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Cheers!