Monterey Cypress Trees, Point Lobos State Reserve, CA

On my recent trip to Monterey, I came to the realization that Point Lobos State Reserve has the most spectacular scenery along the entire California coast. In particular, I think the Allan Memorial Grove trail is really something special. Point Lobos can be a difficult place to photograph but when you walk around this place, it is truly a magical feeling. The coastline here is so rugged and free.

It is a shame that our state government has been contemplating eliminating many state parks and services (reducing the number of trash cans by half at state beaches for example) due to the budget crisis. I do not buy the reasoning that it is to save money because the parks are one of the few public services in this state that actually do bring in profit for the state. People come to California because the state is known for awesome wilderness parks like Point Lobos. We only get one shot to preserve these places in addition to the state historic parks. Once you stop protecting them, they are gone.

As a nature photographer, my goal is to the see our state’s natural resources preserved as they were meant to be and to see damaged areas restored to their natural state. I think most of the people who read this blog probably share similar views so if you know people in California, talk to them about these issues. They might not even be aware that this is happening. Everyone who has lived in this state has been to a state park whether they were aware or not. Most of Huntington Beach for example is a state park.  If enough people start talking about our California State Parks then perhaps Sacramento will start listening.

See more of my Monterey Bay pictures.

Dirt Road at Dusk, Taylorsville Lake State Park, Kentucky

I don’t recall sharing this story before but it is kind of embarrassing. I was on a trail looking for an overlook of Taylorsville Lake and in parts you have to go through that thick brush and into the forest you see on the left. After some time, I saw a bunch of white things moving swiftly through the brush from the corner of my eye. My heart started beating out of my chest worried that some hooded Klansmen might have spotted me and were about to finish me off! I mean c’mon, what is a minority supposed to think while hiking through the South? You read about all of these things that have happened so you never know.

I calmed myself down by thinking that perhaps I might have been seeing things since I didn’t get a clear look. The same thing happened again several minutes later so I was like freaking out by this time thinking that if I ever make it out of this place I am never going to return. It wasn’t until I returned via this plowed path in this photo that I got a clear look at what the white things were; white-tailed deer! I had seen deer, elk, moose, etc… but not these type of deer. White-tailed deer are big and extremely agile. Man that was a big learning experience for me.

See more of my Kentucky pictures.

Devils Postpile National Monument, California

As mentioned in the Milky Way Galaxy post, one of the photographer’s I was traveling with wandered off to Rainbow Falls without letting us know and also left far too late in the day without being prepared for night conditions. The trail to Rainbow Falls from Devils Postpile is at least two miles through the woods and given that the sun was dipping below the mountains, early evening is probably not the best time to venture that way. So here are some general safety guidelines for nature photographers and anyone else in a wilderness area.

1. Have a trail map and know the distances.

2. If you choose to explore on your own then let someone else in your party know and give an approximate time frame for return.

3. Know what time of day it is and consider that you have to return the way you came.

4. Carry a head lamp if you might return in the dark.

5. Carry a jacket.

6. Bring water.

7. Remember that you are in a wilderness area and that help is not always readily available.

Luckily the photographer eventually made it back to the campground eventually but he had to find his way to a road (that he had never seen before) first then follow the road back to the campground because the hiking trail was way too dark and dangerous. He said it ended up being a six or seven mile hike for him due to the darkness. I was worried for him based on what I had heard from other hikers returning from the trail but I’m glad that things worked out in the end. The end lesson here is that it is important to always value your safety first before taking pictures. It is easy to get seduced by lust for the viewfinder but you have always got to think clearly above all else.

See more of my Eastern Sierra pictures.

Moonset over Agricultural Field at Dawn, Salinas, California

For every kid educated in California, Steinbeck Country is probably familiar territory. I think that also plays a big part of why I am so fascinated with the Monterey Bay area.This region is the most historically-rich region of our state in addition to probably being the most beautiful.

Steinbeck House, Salinas, California

See more of my Monterey Bay pictures.

McWay Falls, Big Sur, California

It took me a whole lifetime of exploring up and down the California coast to finally get a picture of McWay Falls. Yes!!&&!!!@! Being one of the most iconic spots along the coast, it may sound weird to be so excited, but when if you spend a good chunk of your day fantasizing about the romance of the road, then perhaps you could relate. Once you are smitten with California it never leaves you. Ask me to go to Paris with you and it would take me a while to decide. Ask me to pack my stuff and head up PCH within five minutes and I’ll say yes!

I remember my most recent visit prior to this (Labor Day weekend), was in 2002, when I was moving to San Francisco. My mom, grandma and brother were traveling with me and McWay Falls was one of our stops between Morro Bay and Monterey. I’m pretty sure that my grandma had never traveled up PCH before in her prior 75 years at the time, and I think she was impressed by how beautiful the central coast of California was. I’m glad that she was able to travel with us then because she is 82 now and had a stroke a few months ago. She still appears healthy aside from some minor walking trouble but it is a reminder to savor every minute we have on this planet.

See more of my California Central Coast pictures.

U.S. Flag Hanging on Fence to Cemetery at Manzanar NHS, Independence, California

Did these people obtain independence before or after death?

North Lake Morning Light, Inyo National Forest, California

If you were following my blog last year then you might remember my unpleasant experience at North Lake. I opted to skip sunrise at North Lake with the photographers I was traveling with in favor of sunrise at the Owens River. When I met up the guys that morning they told me that a crowd of 20+ photographers gathering around the shoreline hoping to get some sunrise light then quickly dispersed. I’m sure they got some fantastic alpenglow on the peaks but upon hearing that story I was glad that I wasn’t there at sunrise. If you haven’t been to North Lake, this shoreline is quite narrow and can’t really accommodate that many people in such a tight area. I consider myself to be a nice guy most of the time but I don’t play that tripod jockeying game anymore. If you want a certain spot, get there before the next guy does otherwise you have no one to blame but yourself.

See more of my Eastern Sierra pictures.

Milky Way Galaxy in Night Sky Over Chalk Bluffs, Owens Valley, California

It’s hard to believe that it’s been over a month since I photographed this but this photo was taken after a crazy day with a couple other photographers in Bishop Creek Canyon and Devils Postpile NM. Basically one of the photographers that I was traveling with hiked onto Rainbow Falls in the early evening from Devils Postpile NM without telling us and nearly got stranded out there in the dark without a jacket, headlamp or water. I’ll elaborate in a future blog post but anyway… on the way back down to Bishop where we were all staying I noticed the Milky Way so I asked the other guys if they wanted to try some night photography. Since it was dark, and with the Chalk Bluffs Road being the area I was most familiar with in the dark, that’s where we went to try shooting the Milky Way. It was a half moon on this night which is probably less than ideal for night photography but heck, we were all there for fun (minus the mosquito bites from the Owens River) trying to learn some new techniques.

After some experimentation and comparing of images, we came to the conclusion that a high ISO, wide open aperture with 20 – 3o sec. exposures was the most effective way to balance quality with getting the stars to show up without blurring too much nor being too faint. I saw Greg Lato’s Milky Way photos on his LCD screen and I think that his use of a super-wide angle lens was more effective in capturing the Milky Way than my 24mm so I’ll be sure to bring my 17-35mm lens the next time I am in a position to see the Milky Way.

See more of my Eastern Sierra pictures.

Why PC’s Suck: The crashes weren’t just any random program crashing, I have also gotten Windows system errors straight out of the box and also upon fresh hard-drive formatting / re-installation of the operating system. That is unacceptable and says one thing; that Windows is a very flawed operating system and that there are too many variables out there when it comes to PC’s. Look at how many brands of PC’s and types of configurations out there on the market. How can you expect things to run smoothly when you have one operating system that is supposed to fit three million different types of computers? Not realistic.

If you have ever tried a fresh re-install of any Windows computer, I’m sure you can relate to stressing over finding the driver CD’s that came with your now-”obsolete” computer. If you can’t find those discs, then you won’t have sound and various other issues. And good luck finding the drivers on Dell’s website if your particular configuration is not listed in their database.

The Dell PC that I recently replaced was a Duo Core processor purchased in February 2008. Speed-wise I had no complaints but it has been a nightmare to try running a photography business while having that as my main digital photography workstation. That is what four crashes (blue screen of death) in 2009 will do for you. Most recently however, even re-formatting the hard-drive led to the blue screen of death within minutes which means that either the hard-drive is completely dead or my Symantec Windows XP restore got corrupted by a malware attack. I have a hard time believing that the hard drive is gone though because I was able to back up all of my files on Safe Mode prior to re-formatting the Dell.

I won’t even get into the topic of virus scanners. They are the bane of any computer-users existence.

Mac Skeptic: My former roommate, Brandon, has been bugging me about switching to Mac ever since the first day that I met him in 2002. He, along with several other people, can attest to how skeptical I was about switching. One of the reasons why I was so reluctant to do so was because the Dell I had at the time lasted from 2002 til 2008 with few of the problems that plague many other PC’s. It was dare I say, a fairly reliable PC! The hard-drive died after six years which wasn’t surprising and since the computer wasn’t up to speed anymore, I ended up purchasing the Duo Core, which is now sitting in a corner of my living room. I figured that if I got six years from the previous one, then maybe the joke was on Mac-users who were brainwashed into Apple’s branding scheme, because Dell’s only cost about $1,000. Well, half of that theory didn’t quite work out so here I am trying out a Mac Pro now. Considering the cost of the system I sure hope to at least get a few good years out of this computer. I probably won’t ever pay this much for a computer ever again (the price tag is ridiculous) but something clearly needed to change so I did it.

I won’t put my foot in my mouth by saying that Mac’s are perfect because I have used some pretty bad G4’s in the past at ad agency jobs but so far, I am really liking this new computer with Apple’s new Snow Leopard operating system. (Side story – when I first overheard two guys in passing referring to Snow Leopard a few months ago, I thought they were talking about Himalayan wildlife which caught my interest. I wondered if they knew who Galen Rowell was.  A few days later, I realized via Twitter that it was computer-speak. Blah!) Anyway, so every piece of equipment I have plugged into the Mac has been compatible so far without having to install any drivers. The only hitches was that my version of Lightroom 2 wasn’t compatible with Snow Leopard straight out of the box so I did some research which led me to downloading the latest demo from Adobe’s website then entering in my serial number. I also use the NVU open source HTML editor to design my website which is just as buggy on the Mac as it is on Windows. But hey, it is free and does the same thing that Dreamweaver does minus the bank-breaking price tag.

Regarding Windows users concerned about their favorite programs not being compatible with the Mac OS – I purchased VMWare Fusion 2 for $20 which allowed me to install Windows Vista and run it as a program on my Mac on a separate partition. As a result, I’m able to run the Windows version of Microsoft Office on my computer and should be able to install AutoPano Pro and ProShow Gold eventually. Rumor has it that Mac’s run Windows better than PC’s but having never used Windows Vista on a PC, I have no way of verifying the validity to that claim.

Software I use to process my images and prepare them for distribution -

- Adobe Photoshop CS4 (fine-tuning/cleaning up files, prepping for publication, and meta data entry)

- Adobe Lightroom 2 (for editing photo shoots and processing RAW files)

- Noise Ninja (noise reduction Photoshop plug-in and standalone program)

- PT Lens (lens distortion correction Photoshop plug-in)

- NVU (open source HTML editor)

- fotoKeyword Harvester (stock photo keywording)

- AutoPano Pro (panoramic photo stitching)

Photoshop and Lightroom have been a dream to work on with this computer. No complaints at all. I haven’t tried installing Noise Ninja on this new computer yet so I’m not sure if I will need Mac or Windows to run it.

One of the worries I had was how would my Windows Explorer photo filing system fit in with the Mac filing system. I am happy to report that there have been no issues at all with migrating my files over.

I will conclude this Mac switch blog post with that any worries you might have about switching from PC to Mac should be laid to rest other than the price tag. I think what Apple fans are really trying to say is that a Mac gives you more peace of mind than a PC. So far that is what I have been experiencing on my new Mac Pro. It’s important to remember that Mac’s aren’t going to cure your father’s Parkinson’s Disease nor make girls want to marry you but as for running a photography business it is great.

Photographer, Richard Wong at Granville Island, Vancouver, Canada

After two months worth of blog posts, I have finally finished processing my photos from Canada and added them to my website. Feel free to take a look at my Canada pictures gallery which includes sub-galleries for Vancouver and Victoria as well. I will also eventually be adding a few of my mom’s pictures when I get to processing them. She isn’t a photographer so I was pleasantly surprised that she managed to get some pretty good publishable images. Every little bit helps.

I might go back to Vancouver next summer for a wedding at Granville Island so we will see. Even after two weeks, there are still places we didn’t get around to visiting such as the Vancouver Lookout, Lynn Canyon and UBC Arboretum so I would definitely try to visit them next time. It would also be fun to take a six-mile bike ride around Stanley Park.

Fall Color Along Middle Fork Bishop Creek, Inyo National Forest, California

Greg Lato, Chris Chin, Bill Brothers and I spent the last weekend of September exploring Bishop Creek Canyon, the Owens River and Devils Postpile National Monument. I’d shot photos with Greg previously in the Bay Area but was my first time meeting Bill and Chris. Chris and myself were the only two that had explored this area before so I’m sure the other guys shot a lot more images than I did. Overall I would say that the colors were much better last fall than they were this year. There didn’t seem to be much consistency with the colors whereas normally all aspen groves turn at the same time because they are genetic clones. But I’ll take any fall season in the Eastern Sierra over anywhere else in this state at any time of the year.

North Lake Fall Color, Inyo National Forest, California

More to come in a few weeks. I’m taking a break and need to shop for a new desktop computer in the mean time. (Blue screen of death.) Mac Duo Quad Core looks awesome but I’d need to invest serious $ not just into the computer but into software. Not sure if that’s how I want to spend my money. A single Quad is more in line with my budget if it can handle 56 image panoramic stitches.

Mount Rainer Aerial Photo, Washington, USA

We could have had another full day in Vancouver but not one to have much common sense, I ended up booking a late morning flight which cost about the same as if we had taken an evening flight. AaagghhH!! It wasn’t so bad though I guess because the trip was long enough as is.

Overall, it was definitely worth the wait to return to Canada after all these years. I enjoyed visiting all of the sights again and seeing family. Also, the merchants and waitresses are so friendly and open in Canada that it just makes the travel experience so much better.

A few minutes after flying past Mount Rainier, we looked into the cauldron of Mount St. Helens and Mount Hood shortly thereafter. Talk about an awesome flight! BTW, here is my Mount Shasta aerial photo from Day 1.

Coal Harbor Marina, Vancouver, B.C.

The final day of the Canada trip consisted of return visits to the International Buddhist Temple in Richmond and Granville Island, and an evening along the Seawall in Stanley Park. I would spend every day riding a bike along the Seawall if I could. I love this place! Judging from the amount of people who use the trail for exercise and recreation I’m not alone in thinking this.

See more of my Vancouver pictures.

Avalokitesvara Buddha Thousand Hands Statue - International Buddhist Temple, Richmond, B.C.

After arriving back on mainland British Columbia from Vancouver Island the day before, as we were heading to the Gulf of Georgia Cannery, we passed the International Buddhist Temple. It looked like an interesting place but didn’t stop to look inside. So the following day, we had another family gathering planned for dinner so my mom’s relatives took us sightseeing again when we had some time to burn – this time to the International Buddhist Temple in Richmond.

The temple was an amazing experience! Since it was about closing time, I had to run through the complex and shoot photos faster than I have ever done before. Being the 2nd to last day of the trip, I had to make the most of the limited time available. But I was literally stopped in my tracks when I stepped into the Seven Buddha Pavilion and saw the Thousand Hands Buddha. Despite never having traveled overseas I suddenly felt transported to Tibet. I could imagine people falling to their knees in prayer at the foot of the statue because it almost happened to me and I’m not even Buddhist!

International Buddhist Temple, Richmond, British Columia

The International Buddhist Temple isn’t highlighted in the tour guide books but this is definitely a must-see if you are in the Vancouver area.

See more of my Canada pictures.

Capilano Suspension Bridge, North Vancouver, Canada - 1986

As previously mentioned on my blog, I am scared of heights. The suspension bridge is several hundred feet above the Capilano River and sways harder the more people that there are on it. I barely made it onto the bridge 23 years ago before having to turn around. I heard that my grandaunt made it across that day though so that has always been on the back of my mind.

I Survived the Capilano Suspension Bridge!

This time I did make it across the bridge finally and saw Treetops Adventure on the other side. It wasn’t really that bad on the initial crossing because not many people were there at 9 a.m. But even then when you get toward the center of the bridge you can feel every vibration. Coming back was a completely different experience. There were lots of people on the bridge and it was swinging hard! I can’t even describe how scary it was but I was griping the cables hard while bumping into people left and right! Talk about an adrenaline rush.

Still Scared of Heights

See more of my Vancouver pictures.

Cleveland Dam, Capilano River Regional Park, North Vancouver, B.C.

Cleveland Dam has some very beautiful scenery. Unfortunately it was also where we had the worst experience on the entire trip. Many of the people there after dinner were a bunch of misfits running around doing whatever the heck they want. Like this “dynamic duo” who kept throwing large objects over the dam down to the bottom laughing the entire time from large plastic devices to large boulders. Have a little respect for your own drinking water people! These clowns were standing just a few feet away from us with no shame whatsoever. There were also a lot of family and people walking their pets for exercise here not causing any trouble. I don’t think they approved of those people’s behavior either. My mom was getting uncomfortable with the whole situation so we just went back to the lake on the other side.

As soon as we got back over by the lake side, there was a gang of drug-addicted thugs on the benches talking about smoking dope and wondering out loud how much my camera equipment cost. That really ticked me off. What is wrong with these people in North Vancouver?!? Get a job if you need some money! I have sold a lot of pictures to pay for my equipment. I ended up just took a few photos and called it a night after that. It was no fun at all.

Cleveland Dam really needs some police patrol at all times and I will probably not be returning there ever again which is unfortunate because I had good memories of it as a child.

See more of my Vancouver pictures.

Iron Chink Machine Named for the Chinese Fishing Industry Laborers That it Displaced, Gulf of Georgia Cannery National Historic Site, Steveston, British Columbia

Just as there was in the U.S., the Chinese in Canada experienced their fair share of racism. I was a bit taken aback at seeing the name of this machine, “Iron Chink”, at the Gulf of Georgia Cannery National Historic Site. On one hand it is nice that they acknowledged this dark period of history in the Canadian fishing industry but at the same time it is terrible that there is even a story to tell about.

See more of my Canada pictures.

Bicycle in Chinatown Fan Tan Alley, Victoria, B.C.

Not sure what it is because I haven’t ridden a bike in years but they seem to catch my eye in photo compositions.

Bicycles Parked in Fire Emergency Route Outside of Empress Hotel, Victoria, B.C.

This image was taken during my first afternoon in Victoria.

Parked Bicycle at Inner Harbour, Victoria, British Columbia

This picture was one of the last photos I took during the 5th and final night in Victoria.

See more of my Victoria BC pictures.

Japanese Garden at Hatley Park NHS, Vancouver Island, B.C.

Visiting Hatley Castle was sort of an afterthought but we had already done everything else that we had planned to so we spent our last afternoon in Victoria at Hatley Park National Historic Site. I didn’t have high expectations from what I had heard so I didn’t bring my tripod which cost me some shots and sacrificed some depth of field in others. That turned out to be a mistake because the gardens at Hatley Park are beautiful. The Japanese Garden and Italian Garden in particular stood out in my mind. If I ever return to Victoria, I will be sure to bring a tripod. (A much lighter one.)

See more of my Victoria BC pictures.

Red Flowers at Beacon Hill Park Garden, Victoria, Canada

This photo is for the waitress at Gatsby Mansion Inn & Restaurant.

On our first night in Victoria, it was raining quite hard so we pretty much had the entire restaurant to ourselves. They have great food by the way! Anyway, so we had this very friendly waitress serving us and had a nice long conversation with her about life on Vancouver Island. She had a lot of great things to say about Beacon Hill Park so I kept that in the back of my mind during our stay in Victoria. I ended up spending two early mornings and an afternoon wandering around the park before I finally saw the beauty that she had described. It is a little dirty around the fringes with a few homeless sleeping overnight but the garden is landscaped very beautifully with many types of flowers, water fountains and ponds. These red flowers were my favorite though I don’t know the name of the species. Beacon Hill Park was a fun place to take pictures.

Since purchasing the Canon 70-200mm f4 lens a few months ago, it has renewed my interest in photographing flowers. I like the nice blur that the background areas have with this lens. I haven’t really mentioned it on this blog but when I was first starting out with 35mm slide film in 2002, I learned the basics of exposure, depth of field and composition by practicing on flowers and landscaping at Descanso Garden, Huntington Botanical Gardens and the L.A. County Arboretum. I had little interest in the subject matter as landscape photography was what I really wanted to do but it was a good learning experience. But now, I can legitimately say that I enjoy photographing flowers.