Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
Monday Horse Blogging
As Mike was negotiating the curves of the Carmel Valley Road he spotted a group of horses grazing in the meadow far below . . . very picturesque. No pullover, however. So, he got his car to the right as far as possible and dashed over to the side of the road for a few quick shots.
As might be expected, in his hurry Mike was unable to adequately compensate for the correct exposure. Two of the horses were bright white and were solidly overexposed, so the clone tool was used to remove them. In addition, the overall feel of the landscape was rather dull, so Mike did a black and white conversion.
Alas, it's still a little boring.
Photo: Horse─Monterey County, 2011
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Monterey Bay
Early morning down at Monterey Bay. Very quiet, except for the far off barking of seals and the almost-silent lapping of the waves.
Photo: Monterey Bay—Monterey County, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Reading War and Peace On An iPhone
It can be done! What I used: the Amazon Kindle application for the iPhone, and a free download (also from Amazon) of Tolstoy's War and Peace. It helped─somewhat─that I'd read the book previously. (There are parts that you can basically skip.) Yes, there were some problems with the translation. Quite a lot of phrases are in French, with no translation offered, requiring one to guess at the meaning from the context. And somehow Andrei and Maria have become Andrew and Mary. (Doesn't seem right.)
Needless to say, you only get around one or two paragraphs per screen. Tapping the right side of the screen brings you to the next "page."
But the basic story is easy enough to follow. (Spoiler alert: Napolean's army is destroyed by the Russian winter in 1812.)
Photo: iPhone (War and Peace)─Marin County, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
Motel
For the first time, Mike was assigned a second-story room in his Munras Avenue motel. A view of Monterey Bay!
Unexpected.
Reveries of Fort Ord.
Photo: Motel Roof, Monterey Bay—Monterey County, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Garland Ranch
Garland Ranch is about 15 miles east of Highway 1 on the Carmel Valley Road. The twists and turns of the road meant that Mike didn't arrive at the park until mid-afternoon. He parked and took this photo (a two-photo merge, actually) during a short hike. Cottonwood and sycamore trees, he speculates.
Photo: Grass & Trees—Monterey County, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Poppies
Seen at the entrance to a ranch just off the Carmel Valley Road.
Photos: Poppies—Monterey County, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Carmel Valley Road
Starting in the foothills, gradually climbing upwards to very nice views of a quintessential chaparral and oak California landscape.
Photos: Hills & Clouds─Monterey County, 2011; Farm Building─Monterey County, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Monday Cowboy Blogging
Wrangler, seen on his horse, as I pulled over to see if I could get some pix of the green hillsides from my car. New, improved larger size pix as per blog post below.
Photo: Cowboy─San Luis Obispo County, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Blog Redesign
Mike has switched to a wonderful new Blogger template. It has taken him quite a while to find colors and elements that match both the old blog design and his web site.
Reason for the switch: bigger pix can be posted! Wow!
(For example.)
Reason for the switch: bigger pix can be posted! Wow!
(For example.)
Salinas Valley
Mike drove up highway 101 through the Salinas Valley, searching for the route near Greenfield that would lead to the Carmel Valley Road. Needless to say, he missed the correct offramp and had to turn around and go back. However, during the turnaround procedure had was able to get this photograph.
Photo: Farmland, Salinas Valley─Monterey County, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Judgment Day
Friday, May 20, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Photographers
All of us intent on capturing the essence of Los Angeles.
Photos: Photographer (Griffith Park)─Los Angeles, 2011; Photographer (Broad Museum)─Los Angeles, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Museum Guard
Please note how the silhouette of the guard is echoed throughout the rest of this elegant composition. Can't remember who the artist was.
Photo: Museum Guard─Los Angeles, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Palm Trees
. . . planted outside the Broad Museum in a very designery fashion.
Photos: Palm─Los Angeles, 2011; Palms─Los Angeles, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
Monday Balloon Dog Blogging
Big sculpture by Jeff Koons, the famous poseur. Also seen: some tourists utilizing a Koons piece as a amusing backdrop.
There is a local Marin County Koons angle due to the successful lawsuit won by Point Reyes photographer Art Rogers against Koons.
Also, check out this interesting video game (turn down volume before clicking on link.)
Photos: Koons Dog (Broad Museum)─Los Angeles, 2011; Tourists & Koons Sculpture)─Los Angeles, 2011
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Melrose Avenue #33: Everybody Fitflop
An iPhone pix taken at Melrose & Fairfax.
Free advertising for fitflop! Wow! (Check out all the Melrose Avenue pix by clicking on the "Melrose Avenue" label in the right hand column.)
Photo: Everybody Fitflop─Los Angeles, 2011
Friday, May 13, 2011
Melrose Avenue #32: Parking Meters
Don't follow leaders, as I've said.
Photos: Parking Meter #1─Los Angeles, 2011; Parking Meter #2─Los Angeles, 2011
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