Pacific Coast Series Part 2 - Redondo Beach

The fog wafting over the happy beachgoers

The Housewrighter Pacific Coast Series is my laboratory of recent photo work along the NorCal seashore. A fellow photographer friend told me about Redondo Beach (not the one in Southern California) and it was indeed striking. Just south of Half Moon Bay, and north of the fabulous Ritz Carlton (see below), this compelling cove is rife with great shooting opportunities. In this study, I used my Olympus Stylus 1  to create all the images you will see. I am continually amazed how versatile, this little cam is, and what wonderful images it produces. I shot the above image from about 75 yards and edited it on Snapseed.

I really enjoy the splash of green moss along the rocks pairing with the green of the golf course at the Ritz in the background. In my next post, you will see some of my slow shutter work I have done, and it looks very cool with this hotel in the fog. I think the RC is going to want to buy this one from me. Shot at about 115mm and edited on Snapseed.

I put the Stylus 1 on a little Gorilla pod and activated the built-in ND filter. This was a 1 second exposure, stopped down 5 stops at about 175mm equivalent. The surreal blur and moss in the foreground make it look like a scene from some Hawaiian volcano opposed to the California Coast. I worked this in Snapseed, Old Photo Pro, and Image Blender to create the final image. All edits were completed on my iPad Air.

This lone fisherman Hipster was trying his luck for the first time in his life with a net. To avoid copyright issues, and to make it a more moody image, I used GLAZE to apply a painterly technique. I blended it back with Image Blender and finished it off on Snapseed. I shot this at 3oomm at f2.8. This one is why I get up in the morning.

This is perhaps the best advertisement for the serenity and solitude offered by the California Coast in my neck of the woods). Who doesn't want to pitch a tent right there, and have the whole beach to one's self? The powerful 300mm zoom on the Olympus makes this image possible on a fairly foggy day. This one is just the image, and a little bit of Snapseed. I often shoot cropping to the square on my Olympus, as I have a trained quick assessment of my work with the iPhone. I took some cool stuff with the iPhone this day as well. However, this was one day I was glad I had the Olympus Stylus 1

Stay tuned for announcements about my upcoming shows, classes, and maybe even something much bigger :-)

SF Photo Walks April 2014

Ferry Building Fog

Sf Photo Walks is a new series of photos based upon my walks in San Francisco. I tend to do my best Don Draper impressions while walking through the beautiful city by the bay, rather than napping. I was on my way to meet my Catalan (I was reprimanded for calling her a Spaniard) friend for drinks and tapas at Coqueta, when I saw this convergence of light and fog. I had just been at the wonderful Intimate Impressionism exhibit at The Legion of Honor, and I was inspired to work backwards to a sketch on this image. I adore the Transamerica building in downtown SF, and I enjoy how it looks so at home with black and white palm trees. The darkness in this shot represents the difficulty inherent to selling art. The plight of the Ferry plaza art merchant is challenging. I love walking through their work, as I am always inspired to work harder on my images. (Captured with the Olympus Stylus 1 - edited with Snapseed - Glaze - Waterlogued - and Image Blender)

The iconic Sutro Tower is becoming more and more an overlord of a changing city. I shot this walking to the new Sightglass Coffee in the Mission district.  Near the MUNI bus depot, and through a bare patch of sky, I saw Sutro looking down on me from Twin Peaks. This blue house was recently remodeled and I would imagine costs were well over 2 million dollars, considering its size. So beautiful, so inaccessible. (Olympus Stylus 1 edited with Snapseed)

Inspired again by the Impressionists, I edited this image I took at the wonderful Central Kitchen brunch 2 Sundays ago. Oysters by Manet (1862) blew me away at the gallery on Wednesday. I knew I had something that I could convey my love of the oyster while not losing sight of the feeling they deliver at a convivial brunch. Still life bored me silly when I was a kid, now I have so many memories, and so much passion for food and wine, that I get dreamy just considering it all. This one is going to be on our new kitchen wall soon. (Edited with Snapseed, Glaze, Old Photo Pro, and Image Blender)

On my photo walks, I typically start them at a coffee shop, and often finish them in one as well. Who does not love the beautiful chemistry of siphon coffee? Blue Bottle Coffee, in Mint Plaza, does these beautiful small-batch brews with this wicked cool, hipster included, chemistry set. I snapped away while enjoying a lever-pulled espresso, and watching this very skilled and fetching barista work her magic with the siphon. I love that you can see the reflection of the flask in her eye (no that is not red-eye). I adore this shop, and while I typically eschew waiting in line, for this quality, I will make an exception. (Olympus Stylus - Snapseed)

The columns at The Legion of Honor always fascinate my eye. I was playing with the diorama setting on the Olympus Stylus 1, and I think it worked. I want to one day have a piece on the walls here. I believe I can do it. (Olympus Stylus - Snapseed)

My walks typically take me through the grungy parts of SF. This day was no exception. At the same time, I could see it changing, the poor being squeezed more tightly in the Python grip of tech cash. There is enough money in SF to right so many wrongs, heal so many wounds, and frankly make it the most livable city on earth. Tech companies are quick to claim how they are changing the world, all while ignoring their own city. (Olympus Stylus - Snapseed - Glaze - Image Blender - Old Photo Pro - Photo Toaster)

Thanks for going on this SF Photo Walk with me.

The Housewrighter

Olympus Stylus 1 Trials - Russian Ridge

Olympus Stylus 1 Trials at Russian Ridge is part 1 of a series of photos I have taken with my new Olympus Stylus 1 Camera. I am slimming down my camera bag for upcoming trips to Mexico, Northern California, and Denver. This amazing piece of equipment takes beautiful images and weighs so very little compared to my Nikon DSLR. These shots, taken at Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve, show some of the capacity that this little gem of a camera has, equipped only with its factory settings.

One of the features I coveted most when seeking a new point and shoot camera is: bokeh. The ability to get attractively blurred areas of an image while keeping other areas sharp. In DSLR photography this is done with short focal length lenses and fast F stops. With the Stylus 1 I simply zoom tight on my subject area from a distance and I get this sharp foreground, and dreamy background effect. The effect is even more powerful on small objects or subjects at greater distances.  I am enamored with the natural beauty of Russian Ridge, and this quick portrait of Juliet given an indication why.

One of the most powerful features associated with this camera, is the built-in Wi-Fi app. I took this photo, and within 10 minutes it was on my iPad, edited, and saved. I need this kind of ease of operation when I am in the field and shooting abroad. The wi-fi connection is a hot-spot between the camera and the iPad (or iPhone) and so no external connection is required to make transfers. One would obviously need an outside connection to post an image. This shot was edited on Snapseed, Old Photo Pro, and Blender. I love the texture and the dreamy association to the past.

I like to crop to 1:1 (square images) to use on Instagram and for print purposes. I caught this young man doing his Tai Chi into the sunset. I was 30 yards from him and was able to get this kind of detail in the zoom. A little editing with Snapseed was all I needed to insure the effect would be strong. This is a moving image and without the lovely zoom and continuous f2.8 capacity of the Olympus Stylus 1, I would not have been able to get this high-quality image. 

Here is an example of the range of the Stylus 1. These deer were roughly 75 yards from me when I caught this image. I cropped the image to 1:1 and the detail in the deer faces is very good. The Bokeh is pleasing, and the shot gives a good example of the twilight capacity of the camera. And of course, the lovely wildlife in Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve.

The purple and pink hues in the sunset that evening were simply stunning behind these craggy oaks. A little Snapseed tied it all together like a good rug in Jeff Lebowski's living room. Very low light is a slight challenge for the Stylus 1 as f2.8 is not the very top end for speed. At the same time, shots like this have less noise than my iPhone and a nicer depth of field.

Finally, with the light waning quickly I snapped off some very nice zooms of the moon. I can never get my SLR to get this correct (without lots of tweaks), and with the Stylus 1 I simply dialed down the exposure, and got a personal taste of moon rocks. I used a fun new iPhone/iPad app called Waterlogue to get the watercolor effects. I blended this in Image Blender to get this take on the moon over Russian Ridge. We were hustling out at this point to avoid any undue encounters with Mountain Lions.

I hope you enjoyed this little review of the Olympus Stylus 1 at Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve. The camera is $699.99 at most retailers and comes with everything one needs to get right out and shoot (except an SD card). I give this camera an A- overall, and that may go up as I get better with it.