Chinese Dragon Design

Nikon D100, Tamron 24-135mm

We wandered into a music store at the Cannery in Fishermans Wharf, where there were some antique Chinese drums on display. I liked the design of this one, a classic Chinese dragon picture.

With regard to the monthly theme, this is your forum too, so I'm open to all ideas and opinions. My original intent of introducing the monthly project was so that we can work on something together as a group. I thought it would be great to see 4 or 5 different interpretations of a theme. In our previous months, it really was great to see everyone's contributions.

If I'm the only one shooting for the monthly project, then the whole thing seems kind of pointless. I could just choose my own personal projects whenever I feel like it.

So again, I'll leave it up to you. If you want to throw out an idea, I'm game. Just make sure that if you do offer an idea, you'll participate too. I'll give our "official" monthly project a rest for a while.

Personally, I would make a point to go out and shoot a particular topic, location, subject, technique, or idea, but that's just me.

I took my ancient Nikon F2s with me today, on our walk down to the Northbeach Jazz Festival. There was a half shot roll of Ektachrome (E100sw) in the camera. I was using my equally old Nikkor 35mm f2.8 lens. This camera has a problem with the metering system. There is a loose connection somewhere that causes the power to go out to the meter at inopportune times. It would work fine at home, but would power off in the field, so about 1/3 of the shots were done without the meter. It's not a big deal, just an annoying thing that will need to be fixed if I ever get the camera overhauled. Despite its problems, I still enjoyed shooting with this tank of a camera.

--Warren

Lunchtime

Feeding time at the zoo. Takes a lot of produce to feed a hippo.

Shot with a 20D and my doorbuster. Canon 28-300L f3.5-5.6 IS

At 3.7 pounds, it's a log but makes for a great zoo lens.

105mm @ 1/160sec f6.3 ISO 100 -1.67EC

Slow Boat to Alcatraz

Nikon D100, Tamron 24-135mm

This was taken at the same place as the previous picture, Pier 41. These folks were boarding a tour boat to Alcatraz, but based on their glum expressions, you would think that they were about to be jailed on Alcatraz! :)

--Warren

July Project -- A Stolen Moment

Nikon D100, Tamron 24-135mm

July (theme: Decisive Moment) is coming to a close. Here's one to see off our monthly project idea.

I guess we're going to give it a rest for a while, unless more of you speak up, and want to keep it going.

This was taken yesterday at Pier 41 in Fishermans Wharf, this couple's bay cruise was coming to an end, their boat just docked and everyone else was leaving the boat.

--Warren

Marlboro McLaren F1 Racer in Action

Nikon F3HP, Kodak Ektachrome

This is scanned from a slide. I'm guessing that I shot this with my Nikon F3HP w/MD4 motordrive on a monopod, but I don't remember which lens was used at the time.

I have been missing out on Historic Racing action lately, but I'll be attending this year's Historic Races at Laguna Seca in August. I'll try to get some new actions shots then.

This was taken, I believe, in the mid-90's at Sears Point Raceway (now Infineon) before I got my Nikon F4, and before digital. This a vintage McLaren Formula One race car.

--Warren

What's It Going to Be for August and Beyond?

Nikon D100, Tamron 24-135mm

I believe this is a Rainbow Trout, about 8" long, by my eyeball estimate.

This was taken at Lake Tahoe's visitor center. The Rainbow Trail includes a detour into a stream profile chamber where there are floor to ceiling glass walls next to Taylor Creek where 300,000 visitors a year have an opportunity to observe stream life from behind the glass walls. The actual color was quite green and murky, but I was able to correct the color in Photoshop.

Back to the title of this post, I'll leave it up to the group to decide what next month's project theme will be, or if we should give it a rest for a while.

What do you all think?

--Warren

Goosenecks State Park, Utah

Nikon D100, Sigma 15-30mm @ 21mm

The meandering San Juan River carves through 300 million years of rock. This must be a geologist's dream come true.

You can't really judge the scale of this from a picture, but it's about 1000 feet down to the river below, from where I'm standing.

--Warren

Lari -- Circa 1987

Nikon F2, Vivitar 75-260mm

This is one of the 3 kittens that were born in the backyard of our old house on 31st Avenue. When we bought our house on 33rd Avenue, we tried bringing Lari over to the new house, but she was not happy there, so we took her back to be with her siblings on 31st Avenue.

I've been looking through my pile of old negatives for some scan-worthy pictures.

--Warren

Remains of a House

Nikon D100, Tamron 24-135mm

Ruins of Jack London's Wolf House at Jack London State Park, Glen Ellen, CA.

If you're interested in the story behind Jack London's dream house, and what happened to it, you can read more about it HERE.


--Warren

Arcata Redwoods

Last autumn, Genie and I went up the coast to Northern California. We went to a community forest in Arcata, CA which is north of Eureka. Took this with Ilford HP5 200 film, a Yashica FX2000 camera body, and a 35mm Carl Zeiss lens. I like this one and I hope you folx do, too.

Northern CA is the home of Big Foot. I can see why. Nice place.

Eric

Cape Cod Beach Walk

Took a photo of a small beach walk at Cape Cod a couple of years back. This was originally taken on film (Ilford HP5??) with a Yashica FX2000 body and a Carl Zeizz 50mm lens. I used an Epson 4490 scanner.

Eric

Recent photos from the SF LGBT Pride Parade

Balloons from the Kaiser group at the parade.



The eyes of three old Doggie Diner heads.

I shot these with my new Canon A610 camera. I really find it difficult to do serious work with a digital camera. The controls are just too awkward and not easy to manipulate. The viewfinder is too small and the LCD difficult to see in bright light. Images are good if the meter gets the exposure right.

Sunlit Awning

Canonet QL17 GIII, Kodak UC100

I noticed this intensely illuminated, green awning while walking in Chinatown last weekend.

--Warren

A moment to reflect

Only had the chance to take a couple of shots here. The monks were in prayer and the 20D has an intrusive actuation sound. Canon 20D with 24-105 @58mm f14 1/800 @ ISO 800. I think the shot would have been stronger if I could have gotten directly behind the monk and elevated a bit to silhouette him completely in the reflective granite. And it would have been great not to have the orange bucket and trash can in the back.

Chinese temple

In 2004, I took a trip to China. This time Genie didn't go. I spent a couple of weeks in Shanghai and Suchou. I didn't have much time to take too many photos, but one I did take that I liked was of this temple in a cave outside of Suchou. The goddess here is Kuan Yin, Goddess of Mercy. I guess you could say she's comparable to Mary in Catholicism.

Eric

A Trip to Japan

In November 2003, Genie and I took a 3 week trip to Japan. Here are some of the things we saw. Hope you find them interesting. -- Eric

We based ourselves out of Kyoto for the first 1.5 weeks and went on day trips. Our first trip was to Osaka, and on your right was what we saw. It was the outside of a restaurant.



One of our trips took us to Hiroshima. What you see here is the Atomic Bomb Dome. The first A-Bomb dropped blew up right over it. It was a bit unnerving to be there, and it was very sad to say the least. Unfortunately, you see a shot of a building behind it. I thought it would be worth it to post the photo anyway.





The rocks to your right are called Meotoiwa and it's off the coast of Shikoku. Supposedly, this is where Japan began. What's interesting is that supposedly, geologists have taken rock samples from this area and they've found that the rock formations here are the oldest in Japan. Believe it or not.





The photos of the men and women dancers (left and below) are from a dance troupe based out of the city of Tokushima on Shikoku. They were fantastic. Some of the best dancing I've ever seen. You know they love what they do.

A different perspective

I was really glad to have this shot even though it wasn't focused or composed as I wished. I had about one second to bring the camera up and shoot before it was gone. Canon 20D with 24-105: ISO 100 f6.3 1/100 @24mm.

Orb of Gears

Nikon D100

We saw this oddity at the Great Salt Lake, Utah.

It's a free standing sculpture on the shore of the lake. How did the artist make such a perfectly round orb out of all those pieces?

--Warren

Fishing Village

D70 300mm

While on the waterway to Alaska, we passed this fishing village that had suffered some problems. The owners did not seem to care if the house collasped, they just built another a few yards higher.

This was my first conversion of color to grayscale, and also using the smart sharpen filter. Holding the camera on a rocking boat is difficult but the smart sharpen filter helps.

Fallen Leaf Lake

Nikon D100, Sigma 15-30mm @ 15mm

Picturesque scene at Fallen Leaf Lake, a few minutes from South Lake Tahoe.

--Warren

The moment of impact

A silversmith working in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It took a few tries to get this shot. I dragged the shutter to try and capture the moment of impact. Shot with a 20D with a 24-105L IS - ISO 100 at 73mm f4 1/13 second.

Relaxed Moment

Voigtlander Bessa R, CV 35mm f2.5 Skopar, Tri-X

Eric and Genie at our house.


--Warren

Forum Members in Action

Sony DSC-P72

Photo by Gail Tang.

Eric and Jill in action at Sonoma.

What were they shooting? Wildflowers? A gopher? Will we ever see those shots posted on the forum?

--Warren

Crossing Horses

Nikon D100, Tamron 24-135mm

You remember these guys, I think. This scene is from our Sonoma trip. I thought the upside down sign was kind of humorous.

--Warren

Rim Shot

Nikon D100

This is from this year's Stanford Concours. There were a lot of 60's era muscle cars on display. As some of you know, the Cragar S/S wheel is a classic favorite of hot rodders.

--Warren

Helicopter Ride at 7000 Feet.

D70 12 - 24mm (24mm)

An additional shot during our helicopter ride took us over the top of a 7000 ft mountain. I was trying to get the contrast between the smooth snow and clouds and compared them to the harsh mountains. Also in the photo was a drop of rain and the very dim outline of the pilot's reflection that can be seen on the right side. If anyone has a chance to take pictures while in a helicopter, take the ride. Next stop the iceburgs and bear.

Penguin Cave, S.F. Zoo, May 2005

Nikon D100

It was feeding time, and this little guy was emerging from the comforts of his shelter to get his share of food.

--Warren

Lion at SF Zoo

Nikon D100, Tamron 24-135mm @ 120mm

Benson's zoo shots reminded me of a few that I shot at the S.F. Zoo in May 2005 that I decided not to post at that time.

--Warren

Summer Solstice

D70 50mm

I took this picture at 11:30pm on the night of the summer solstice in Alaska. I could make changes with Photoshop, but these were the colors and light on that night. I went to bed, and then got out of bed at 3:30am to see the sunrise.

Anyone Home?

Voigtlander Bessa R, VC 35mm f2.5 Skopar, Tri-X

We don't really need to go all the way to Bodie, California to see a ghost town. We have one right here in San Francisco's Presidio. In case you didn't know, the Presidio is a decommissioned army base in San Francisco that is now part of the Golden Gate National Recreational Area. Many of the military residences have been abandoned, and unused for many years.

--Warren

Creek in Huddart Park, San Mateo, CA

Voigtlander Bessa R, Jupiter-8 (50mm f2), Tri-X, Uncropped

We were hiking in Huddart Park on a fine, late winter day in between rainstorms (lot's of water). I noticed a ray of sunlight shining on one tree.

--Warren

Small Helicopter on a Glacier

D70 50mm
We took a helicopter ride to three of the glaciers in Alaska. Trying to provide perspective was very difficult with most of the aerial photos, except this one. I was able to capture in the center of the photograph the other helicopter. The colors and texture from the cracks in the ice make made for an interesting landscape. I have additional photos, but I was not able to gain some perspective of these massive mountains.

Three Buildings

D70 50mm

Vancouver is a city of reflection. It seems many of the buildings are constructed from glass and metal. The one building in front, the second in the back, and then the second had a third building's reflects due to it's angle. This shot was taken from the top deck of the ship we sailed on to Alaska.

Cape Cod Fat Cat

Introducing Cally the Cat. Cally lives on Cape Cod and eats very well at the b&b she protects.

Eric

Fish Pond, Pope Estate, Lake Tahoe

Nikon D100, Sigma 15-30mm @ 15mm




--Warren

Ocean Beach

Got a shot of Ocean Beach off of the Cliff House. This was shot along with the other photos I took a couple of weeks back.

Eric

On the Ship in Vancouver

D70 50-300mm Sigma

We were in the ship cabin going to Alaska watching these sea planes land and take off. The massive different shape mountains with lines of houses, and this plane was very interesting.

July Project -- Market Gazing

Nikon F4s, Tri-X

Chinatown market. I was drawn to the goofy picture of Chef Martin Yan taped to the window.

--Warren

June Slipped By, July is Upon Us

Hi Gang,

So much for July's project theme, there were not too many posts on that one. But we're already into the 2nd week of July, and this month's theme is "Decisive Moment". When I hear that phrase, I often think of Henri Cartier-Bresson. Following are a couple of quotes from HCB:

"To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organization of forms that give that event its proper expression."

"Photography is not like painting, there is a creative fraction of a second when you are taking a picture. Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera. That is the moment the photographer is creative."

"Oop! The Moment! Once you miss it, it is gone forever."

-----------------------

We also need some more ideas for the next three months. Anyone?

Remember, when you are posting a picture that is for the monthly project, please preface the title with: "July Project --", followed by the actual title of the picture. This way, we can easily visually recognize from the title that the picture is for the monthly theme.

I recently tried Walgreen's online printing service. They offer free picture uploading to their website for printing to the local Walgreen's store. I did all my post-processing in Photoshop, then simply uploaded the pictures to the Walgreen's website under my personal account. In my case, I have the pictures printed at my neighborhood Walgreens where I can conveniently pick them up anytime. I just tried this, and I was very impressed by the speed (1 hour), and quality of the prints. I did this with my Fototime.com account, but when I use Fototime, I had to pay shipping, and I had to wait a few days or more for printing and shipping. Walgreen's prices are very competitive, .19 for 4x6 and 3.99 for 8x10.

Happy Shooting!

--Warren

San Diego Zoo

Last weekend we visited the San Diego Zoo. Just before we left for San Diego, I had purchased my Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 from craigslist. I am so glad I did because I think it made a huge difference in how my pictures came out. Previously when visiting the SF Zoo, I could get shots of animals but they would be so far away. With the long zoom and fast lens, I was able to get some nice pictures.

One of the major attractions at the San Diego Zoo is their panda exhibit. There is a line to get in and then the staff tries to rush you through once you get in. In that short period of time, you just have to get as many pictures as you can. In the 5 minutes or so we were in there, I took over 40 pictures. Here are a couple.

This tiger was hiding in some trees further up the hill behind him. I took some horrible pictures at first then he finally came down to the edge of the rock and I was able to catch this one.

I just loved the look of this bird with its bright colors. With the dull background it reminds me of Eric's shot a while ago with the colored flowers and b&w background.

The last time I went to the SD Zoo was almost 20 years ago. At that time, the koala exhibit was the big draw. It was a very warm day in San Diego so the koalas were just sleeping.

At the SF Zoo, the elephants were moved elsewhere after a couple of them died. People said there was not enough room for them to roam around. So we had our chance to see elephants again in San Diego. Check out that texture.

I took a lot of pictures at the zoo. Here are a couple of my daughter's favorite (at this time) animals.

If you're still with me, thanks for reading through my long posts. I hope it makes up for the my lack of activity previous to this. I'm just excited to have some pictures that are worthwhile to share with the group. With a 3-year old, most of my pictures are of kids' birthday parties and other things that would bore you guys. Let me know if you want to see more pix from our trips, I have plenty more.