The Island of the Pelicans

Innocent sounding enough, but Native Americans avoided it, believing it to be cursed.  Early Spanish explorers initially called it La Isla de los Alcatraces, after the flocks of migratory birds that nest there; it would later be known simply as Alcatraz.  First a lighthouse, then a military garrison and prison, and finally, and most infamously, a federal prison housing only the most troublesome inmates who had a penchant for escape elsewhere.

Even during one of the most beautiful days I've ever experienced in San Francisco and amidst the throngs of tourists, there's something unsettling and eerie about the place.  Beyond the rumors of it being haunted, it's bleak and cold.  The natural light that streamed into the cell block created harsh contrasts and the incandescent lighting inside the cells themselves cast a sickly yellow tinge upon everything and everyone inside them.  It was a stark contrast to the glorious weather outside.

Perhaps the highlight of the trip was meeting an actual former prisoner, Bill Baker.  He has written a book about his experience and happened to be on-island during our visit.  We were fortunate enough to get signed copies and ask some questions... of course the boyfriend being far more thoughtful than I, asked the better question: What would you have mailed yourself, if you could have? He responded hilariously that he would have mailed himself either a pretty woman or a speedboat to get off the island.  It's amazing to me that he was able to maintain good spirits and humor despite all of that time locked up in a bleak environment not optimized to actually rehabilitate anyone.

Freedom and captivity

Welcome to Alcatraz

Cell blocks

A key hanging from the gun gallery

On any other island, it would just be a glorious day.  On Alcatraz, it further underscores the dilapidation.

So close, yet so far.

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Active Shooting Hours: 4
Review Hours: 2
Hours to Date: 132

Dream Big

Awestruck.

That's the best word to describe the feeling one experiences when looking up at Hearst Castle.  Dreamed up by newspaper magnate, William Randolph Hearst, and designed by architectural glass-ceiling-buster, Julia Morgan, this property is truly stunning.  To me, it's a reminder of what can result from a lot of work and little luck.  Luck, of course, being what happens when preparation meets opportunity.  Of course, life isn't all about work and this place wasn't Hearst's main abode, but a vacation home of sorts.

Despite being referenced as "The Little Ranch" and described as a side project for Morgan, it's incredible what can result from a labor of love, skilled artisans, and a ridiculous amount of wealth.  Perhaps it's because I'm not familiar with current trends in art, architecture, or decor, but it seems to me that there isn't the same value or importance attributed to quality craftsmanship or attention to detail now.  At the very least, it doesn't seem that it's a priority.  Of course, that could just be a blind spot... after all, I lack a sample from today's wealthy and it's always said that history is written by the victors and the rich.

In any case, I've been wanting to photograph Hearst Castle since I started this project and I'm glad I was finally able to plan the trip.  Logistically, it can be a difficult trip to plan since it's approximately 4 hours from either Los Angeles or San Francisco and removed from major cities.  In part, that's what makes it so picturesque - there's no development within 13 miles of the property.

These were from just the first day of a 5 day lap around my old haunts in Northern California to celebrate the end of an era and the new adventures to come.  On this day, we drove up to San Simeon via the 101 (after detouring around a ridiculous milk truck accident) and continued up the Pacific Coast Highway through Big Sur and on to Monterey for the night.

More to come once I get a chance to update.

Casa Grande - the main house... over 60,000 square feet of house.

Hearst's Gothic Study, where yellow journalism was perfected.  I dream of a workspace like this.

He collected ceilings... that's right, ceilings.

Neptune Pool

With this view and a private airstrip for easy access, this seems like paradise.

An elephant seal flipping sand on itself at Piedras Blancas, just north of Hearst Castle.

Rain Rocks Rock Shed, opened just in January.  Built by Caltrans to protect this section from falling rock.  It actually shepherds falling rock directly into the Pacific Ocean instead of onto the road.

The rocky shore, from a viewpoint alongside PCH

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Active Shooting Hours: 6
Review Hours: 3
Hours to Date: 122

Some Days and Some Places are Just More Inspiring than Others

I've felt a certain photographer's block for the past month - images just didn't manifest for me and what I saw didn't translate to what was captured.  I've come to find that the largest discrepancy between what I see and what my camera sees generally occurs when the lighting is poor.  My favored light is just natural sunlight - it's not too yellow and not too blue, both of which just mercilessly  flatten interesting contrasts and focal points.  Part of it was also due to the fact that I've been busy in suburban paradise (hell?) lately and the cookie cutter nature with tract housing isn't exactly conducive to interesting photos.

In any case, when I found out I needed to travel for work, I immediately took the opportunity to tack on a side trip to Philadelphia to practice looking for interesting subjects.  I've never been to Philadelphia before, so I took the opportunity to learn some Jeopardy-esque factoids:

• The city is actually quite literally called "Brotherly Love," from the Greek philos (loving) and adelphos (brother). 
• It's the 5th most populous city in the United States, behind New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston.  Also fun factoid, I've now been to all Top 5 cities.
• Founded by William Penn, a Quaker, as a colony of religious tolerance.  Despite having a charter from the British, he actually bought land from the local native tribes to maintain their good will, which actually helped the colony flourish more quickly than others during the time.
• Best known regional foods include the cheesesteak and soft pretzels - largely from German influence and roots.

Of course, as luck would have it, I ended up in Philly amidst the federal government shutdown, which meant that every national park operated landmark (i.e. Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and the homes of Edgar Allan Poe and Betsy Ross) were all closed and in some cases, barricaded.  To add insult to injury, it was raining, so I traipsed about negotiating an umbrella, a smart phone based map, and my actual camera.

Still, Philadelphia is a fascinating city with Old World and New World feel - I do love my Federal & Greek Revival architecture and in a city with the history of Philadelphia - these are intertwined with the newest and shiniest of high rises.  In some ways, that was a challenge - to capture the character of buildings without the noise of people, cars, and other buildings intruding on an otherwise interesting shot.  I wonder if long-time Philadelphians (or other big city dwellers) rush past these buildings and monuments because they're so everyday for them.

Photographically speaking, I think I made some real progress with this trip.  I actually shot many of the photos with a circular polarizing filter, which was moot since it was shrouded in a cloudy and drizzly haze the entire time I was there, but at least it protected my lens from the wet.  Also in the review time, I actually experimented with some digital editing to punch up the qualities of the photo like color and contrast to better evoke what I felt in the moment.  I'm sure there are purists out there who would argue that that digital manipulation and filters is cheating, but I would rebut that photography is about capturing the mood and visually interesting aspects of a scene.  After all, it's a form of art.  And even Ansel Adams, one of the photographic greats, was known for using filters and developing processes such as dodging and burning to enhance the mood of his images.

Contemplated jumping this barrier to the Liberty Bell (which is outside) until we saw a guard posted, probably to prevent us from doing just that.

So close, yet so far.  Focal B&W filter applied.

The Signer - to commemorate the courage of those who signed the Declaration of Independence
and put their names to their words.

Chinatown gate, with lomo effects applied.

The menu at Tommy DiNic's in the Reading Terminal Market

City Hall through the urban jungle

This T. Rex was animatronic, with a motion sensor - a fact I discovered when I went to take a shot and nearly dropped my camera when it roared at me and started moving.  I wonder if there was a hidden camera feed into the Academy of Natural Sciences... that would be amusing to watch because I was definitely startled.

Active Shooting Hours: 6
Review Hours: 4
Total Hours to Date: 70

Following an Impulse

There's something magical about chasing a great idea on the spur of the moment - following something into the unknown and seeing where it takes you.  My entire world has always been governed by plans - planning for my majors in school, planning for my job, planning my life.  Plans certainly get you from Point A to Point B more efficiently than just flying by the seat of your pants (in theory), but sometimes, exercising the willpower and discipline to follow through on a plan is just exhausting and can feel like a chore in itself.

To be sure, I went into this weekend with plenty of plans: beach volleyball, dinner with friends, and errands.  And despite having consistently planned and set aside time to devote to photography for each of the past 3 weekends, I didn't actually go into this past weekend with explicit plans to do any photography at all.

But I literally woke up on Sunday morning with the random desire to go take pictures at Mission San Juan Capistrano... and something about just following that impulse (maybe the instant gratification?) because I wanted to and could... was just so damn satisfying.  Not to mention, I got to give my right brain some exercise and get some creative thinking in, which was much needed after a long week of flexing my left brain.

I love that it's specifically a civil engineering landmark... I wonder if there are others designated around Orange County

Interesting fact I didn't learn during the 4th grade curriculum on missions... Abraham Lincoln actually signed a proclamation in March 1865 which restored ownership of the Mission proper to the Catholic Church after some 20 years being owned by a private owner following a questionable auction

From the other side of the arches - adobe brick really does keep rooms cool during the summer.  Despite fairly hot while I was there, all of the rooms were easily 10-15 degrees cooler

The famous Mission bells

The near bell was damaged during an earthquake in 1812, which also took down The Great Stone Church - pretty incredible to think about what else was going on in the world at the time

One of the arches of The Great Stone Church - didn't see any swallows though (who build their mud nests in the arches), which apparently have been dwindling in number in recent years.  Did meet a nice couple from Argentina who had come to visit since that's where the swallows actually migrate from and got to practice some Spanish with them

Make a wish!

Monster koi in one of the ponds - this little girl threw a cheerio in the pond... not sure cheerios are part of a fish diet but it was funny when the big gold fish unknowingly swam up under the cheerio in the mad dash to eat it

Bloop

Hours to Date: 11 - woooo 0.11% complete!!