Try, Try Again - Hole-In-The-Wall Beach

After bombing at Hole-In-The-Wall Beach last weekend, I decided to take another stab at this little gem. My friend, Phil Richardson agreed to meet up with me. Having been in 91˚ heat in San Francisco of all places, I figured that Santa Cruz would offer nothing but great weather. Even Half Moon Bay had great weather. I was absolutely wrong. I guess I'm a glutton for punishment. By the time I got close to San Gregorio State Beach, the fog had rolled in thick. We decided to continue on as planned and just enjoy the location. It just goes to show that no one can truly predict the weather. I suppose it wouldn't be as fun if you always knew what you were going to get. There is a lot to be said for going with the flow of things.

Although I had hoped for something completely different, the fog presented an opportunity for me to get more mileage out of my Vari-ND filter. The conditions were rather perfect for black & white images. I'd say Phil and I were out shooting for a pretty short period of time. 45 minutes to an hour I guess if you count parking and walking to the beach. The fog eventually came in so thick that we felt it was best to get out of dodge and count our blessings. Neither of us were keen on a swim in the Pacific Ocean :) We both managed to get some rather interesting images. Once I got around to editing, I did decide to leave a few in color, but most of the shots that I processed ended up looking better as B&Ws. Here are three images from the day.

Walton Lighthouse

Last wednesday was pretty interesting. After watching the brutally awesome, "The Expendables", with friend and fellow photographer Phil Richardson, Phil and I decide to grab a bite to eat before heading over to the coast. As we were just about to leave, I spotted a friend that I hadn't seen in about 12 years. The timing was pretty funny. Her car had been disabled by the dead battery in her remote. I spotted her right after she called just about everyone she knew. No one was able to help. So we drove her to a Radio Shack to get a replacement battery and back to the car. Fortunately, the car started. We said our goodbyes, and then Phil & I were off to the coast!

The day was beautiful along the Pacific. There were so many people out on the local beaches. Although we had several tourists blocking our shots at some of the most opportune moments (people really have a knack for that), it was still worth the trip. Phil and I managed to snap off a few decent frames. The breeze was light, and the light was fairly nice. The sky along the horizon was a little muddy though :-( I really enjoyed shooting in this location. I'll have to return soon and capture something a bit more dramatic.

One Night in Zürich

I've had about ten layovers in Zürich over the last 15 years. I never had the opportunity or time to stay. Finally, I got a chance to visit the city. By train, Zürich is just under 3 hours away from Geneva, Switzerland. My girlfriend, Fabiola and I arrived fairly early, so we had plenty of time to check into our hotel and relax for a little while. After catching the tram back to the Bahnhofstrasse, we had lunch @ Cafe Sprüngli. Tasty :) Then, Fabi decided to get her hair done while I went off to go shooting. The light was very harsh, so I didn't take many photos except for inside the train station. Afterwards, we met up with our friend, Franka for drinks and dinner. City Beach, anyone? Franka, was kind enough to show us around the city and a few of the local sites. I took a few night shots that were to my liking.

Before we left, we had the pleasure of eating at a great restaurant called Bianchi's! YUM! I highly recommend it.

Zürich was such a magnificent place! I will definitely return. Though there is so much more to discover, I am happy that I was able to leave Zürich with a few images that pleased me.

Lac Léman at Dusk

Since my arrival back in Geneva, Switzerland, the weather has been great! At least by my standards (the locals have not been too pleased). True, it has been very hot. But not unbearable considering that I am from California. The humidity was so high around Lac Léman (or Lake Geneva), that the haze covered the surrounding mountains. Not very nice conditions for the shots that I had in mind.

This was a great opportunity for me to just enjoy this magnificent weather and play the role of participant instead of being the constant observer. Lol. Its a balance that is hard to achieve at times. In this alpine region, consistent heat is always sure to bring rain. Once I started noticing some interesting cloud formations, a slight drop in temperature, I took this opportunity to go out and try to capture a little magic along the left bank of Geneva.

Downtown San Jose

I recently went to shoot in downtown San Jose for a class project. I had forgotten how many changes the downtown has gone through over the years. Here are two images from the night.

Night on the Embarcadero

Earlier this week, my friend Minh & I set out to get some photographs of San Francisco by night. We shot near the Golden Gate bridge, and on Embarcadero. Though I had a few issues with one of my lenses earlier in the evening near Fort Point, my shots along the Embarcadero near the Bay Bridge and Pier 14 came out quite nice! We shot until 2am, and enjoyed the shoot so much that we went back out in time to catch the sunrise. We only managed to get 3 hours sleep, but its a small price to pay for a good time.

Under the Pacifica Pier

This image was taken while trying to kill a little time before a meeting I had scheduled in San Francisco. Most people that view this photo seem to be reminded of a spaceship landing.