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

Sea Lions and San Francisco

The sea lions at Pier 39 are a San Franciscan institution, though they arrived to the docks only a few months before the Loma Prieta Earthquake in 1989.  They bark constantly and playfully jostle for space on the wooden docks, pleasing tourists, marine biologists, and the occasional photog.

Some of these shots were difficult purely because I couldn't get any closer to the animals beyond using the 55-200mm zoom lens, which made composition a challenge.  Some of that was resolved with post-editing and liberal use of cropping, but it makes me yearn for a telephoto lens.  I don't need one, but any stretch of the imagination, but I would love to be able to zoom in to capture expression in detail when moving closer isn't an option.

Still, I managed to get several interesting images out of 40 or so tries.

The sea lions' view of the city

Unsurprisingly, they all were gathered on the docks furthest away from the viewing area.

Making a ruckus

Plenty of dock space to go around

Active Shooting Hours: 1
Review Hours: 0.5
Hours to Date: 126

Halls of Science

72 Nobel prizes, 15 Turing Awards, discovery of 16 elements on the periodic table (more than any other university in the world... Go Bears!), University of California, Berkeley and Berkeley Labs are collectively a heavy hitter when it comes to scientific discovery, research, and contribution.  And then, of course, there's the California Academy of Science... natural history museum by day, club and bar for the scientifically-minded on Thursday nights with its Nightlife events.  Aside from the nostalgia of revisiting old stomping grounds, I wanted to to capture the exploratory, innovative, and erudite spirit of these places in an image.

This was a tough endeavor since the lighting in both places were harsh.  At Berkeley, it was early afternoon with the sun bearing down and buildings created shadow, which resulted in unwanted shadows.  At the Academy of Science, there was harsh overhead lighting in the rainforest exhibit and no flash photography allowed anywhere.  Not to mention people everywhere in both places... and not helpful crowds blending in the background to add to the scene, but random individuals wearing obnoxiously bright and distracting floral patterns that distracted the eye.

Not as successful as I would have liked, but I still managed to have a great time... of course, the drinks at Nightlife helped with that!!

Looking from North side back towards the Campinile... otherwise known as how engineers see campus.

The lighting of this photo is all off since the background is in bright sunlight and the foreground has the bear statues in the shadow of the building to the right.  Opening the aperture or slowing shutter speed resulted in blown out sky and bears that were in shadow.  I'm not sure this could have been corrected with just the camera given the natural light and short of waiting for the sun to be in the right spot at the right time.  Even with a neutral density filter that would tint the sky and not the ground, the vertical lamppost and the Campanile itself would be exposed incorrectly since they both would cross the neutral density filter line.  Tricky.

Pterodactyl in the Valley Life Sciences Building

Rainforest dome in the California Academy of Science... it was 80 degrees and 80% humidity in there!

Monster of the deep.

Looking up.

More Science

Active Shooting Hours: 1.5
Review Hours: 1
Hours to Date: 124.5

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

All Over the Place

Since my last post, I've been caught in a whirlwind of travel, adventures, and organized chaos.  I've seen the Book of Mormon, traipsed all over Santa Monica and Hollywood, been waylaid by snowstorms and freezing rain in DC, Richmond, and Houston, went shooting at an outdoor range, experienced an excruciating corneal abrasion, and did a lap up the California coast around old Bay Area haunts to celebrate the end of an era.  It's been a crazy month with no real time to update, but I have logged considerable hours for the project, especially on the trip.

On the corneal abrasion note... don't get one, they're an especially terrible misery.  Long story short, my hard contact lens cracked and developed a hole while on my eye and scraped the hell out of my cornea before I was able to get to the optometrist for treatment.  It's like having sandpaper for an eyelid until the epithelial cells regenerate and I was incredibly sensitive to light.  Even a full week later, my vision in that eye is still blurrier than usual.

In any case, when I get a chance to review the trip photos more thoroughly, I'll post those.  In the meantime, a smattering of iPhone-based photos from various treks.

Beignets from The Beachcomber Cafe

Pigeon trying to sneak in for some brunch

Making the best of a bad situation with authentic southern shrimp & grits after a flight cancellation and getting stuck in Houston overnight en route to Richmond, VA

Snow, ice, and a baby plane at Dulles International while trying to get to Richmond

The speakeasy life - Bourbon & Branch in San Francisco

Combined Active Shooting Hours:1
Review Hours: 1
Hours to Date: 113

Unconventional Las Vegas

The scintillating city of excess - replete with bacchanal revelers looking for a weekend of carefree debauchery... which will, of course, stay in Vegas.  I find this city and the entire industry built on hedonism to be fascinating... mostly it always underscores the importance of balance for me.

I don't know anyone who can or wants to sustain the endless drinking, eating, and partying for more than a few nights at a time.  In economic terms, it suffers from diminishing marginal utility - not only is it increasingly physically exhausting, it also delivers less and less enjoyment per each additional night.  In many ways, it's a reminder that we can all burn out doing any activity or piece of work and to ensure I have some variety in my life.

To be sure, I ate myself silly at establishments like Tom Colicchio's Craftsteak and Mon Ami Gabi, filled with all kinds of the noveau naughty ingredients (none of which, I happen to agree with): gluten and dairy.  Not to mention all of the conventional terrible things for you: fat, salt, sugar, rare steaks, cholesterol-filled seafood... In any case, after that weekend, I immediately myself on a repentant diet with lots of fibrous fruits and vegetables.

Craftsteak prie fixe menu dessert tasting - chef's choice.  Liberal application of Instagram magic.
Clockwise from top: fresh fruit, chocolate indulgence with chocolate ice cream, coconut lime and raspberry sorbets, and cinnamon monkey bread with vanille ice cream.  Paired with a Polish dessert wine.

Mon Ami Gabi - where your cappuccino can come in a bowl larger than the cup of French Onion soup.

But I wanted a different experience and adventure to photograph with the DSLR and thus, we went off-roading.  My amazing sorority sister who happens to live in Vegas recently bought a new Jeep and graciously took us out on a trail that wrapped us around Las Vegas via Rainbow Gardens Rd.

Hi Jeep!

Quite overcast, which made it a comfortable day trip, but did make the pictures less dramatic since it flattened the highlights and shadows and softened the contrast.  Most of the pictures have had some additional editing during review to punch up the contrast a bit, but it's no replacement for the correct lighting to convey a mood.

Along the winding road

When dirt meets asphalt

The Strip from the trail's end

Active Shooting Hours: 4
Review Hours: 2
Hours to Date: 111

Traveling Back in Time

Last Saturday, I wandered the halls of the LA County Museum of Natural History in search of dinosaurs.  At the La Brea Tar Pits, there were numerous signs adamantly stating that the exhibits there were in the ~20,000 thousand years ago and that there were no dinosaurs there.  I really wonder how many times people needed to ask that they felt the need to bold and underscore it on multiple signs in multiple places. 

In any case, the Museum of Natural History is apparently the largest of its kind in the western part of the United States and houses nearly 35 million specimens and artifacts that cover ~4.5 billion years of history.  Even with almost 3 hours, I made it only through probably a third of their exhibits and will definitely have to head back to look at the other exhibits and the architecture of the building itself.  The only disappointing thing is that I find photographing museum exhibits indoors to be somewhat discouraging, since the glass frequently causes a reflection and ruins the best of photos.  The best pictures I get are generally things that are just in the open air and under natural light.

Now that I've gotten the first 100 hours under my belt, I think I'm going to stop focusing so much on subject based photography and start working on technique with specific areas like composition, lighting, color, etc.  And a series taken with just a regular point and shoot to force me to practice some of these elements.  Taking it up to the next level!!

A battle of Jurassic proportions

Immense and bizarre indeed!

From under the rotunda

Active Shooting Hours: 2
Review Hours: 1
Hours to Date: 105