San Gabriel Mountains from Irvine

I actually missed the best opportunity for this photo last Tuesday when there was more snow on the mountains and the sky was impeccably clear. It had rained on the prior Friday, which is a very good thing for us in Southern California where we are in a drought, and snow had fallen on the San Gabriel mountains east of Los Angeles. I didn't think to take my camera with me we I rode my bike to work on Monday morning and as soon as I saw the view of the mountains my heart sank. On Tuesday it was cloudy and then on Wednesday I finally got this shot. It's not as good as it could have been on that Monday when there was more snow and the air was crystal clear, but this isn't too bad, I guess.

This view of the San Gabriel mountains is looking north across South Lake on Yale Loop. On winter mornings after rain has fallen and passed, the view can be pretty spectacular. This just gives you some idea of what it's like. Perhaps later in the winter I'll get another shot at it with lots more snow.

One plus in this photo, however, is that the liquidambar trees still have their leaves so that makes for a great contrast of primary colors in this photo. They are the trees with red leaves on the left side.

This is an HDR (high dynamic range) image composed of three exposures at f/20 with exposures of 1/125, 1/30, and 1/8 at ISO 100.

Crystal Cove Beach #2

Photo of the beach at Crystal Cove.

The State of California has only just started renovating the beach houses left by the prior residents of Crystal Cove, but already it is a very popular place to hang out and the beach-houses are rented for years in advance.

Crystal Cove Beach #1

This is a shot up the north end of the beach at Crystal Cove, Orange County, California. I've tried to bring out the brightness of the green of the foreground building and darken the buildings in the background. It was fairly foggy the morning this was taken, so the sky was in fact grey.

Sunset at Crystal Cove #2 - Blend

In this version I applied the cool grey effect to the water. I think this is my favorite of the series.

See the entire Crystal Cove series

Sunset at Crystal Cove #2 - Cool Grey

To me this version of Sunset at Crystal cove could actually be the full-moon setting. But it's not; it's the same photo of the sunset but I cooled the colors down with blue-grey to give this nighttime appearance.

Sunset Opito Bay #2 Sepia Toned

This photo of the sunset at Crystal Cove but with a sepia effect this time. Make sure you click the image to get the full-sized version to be able to enjoy the full effect. Hope you like it.

See the entire Crystal Cove series.

Sunset at Crystal Cove #2

I thought this one had more focus by cropping it in a panorama format.

There's a boat on the horizon just to the left of the sun if you take a look at the full-sized version by clicking on the image.

Sunset at Crystal Cove #1

A group of us went for dinner at "The Beachcomber" at Crystal Cove last night, so I went a little early to catch the sunset which was at a couple of minutes before six. I am posting a series of the photos I took, with different coloring effects. I hope you like them all. This and the next one are "originals" that I haven't added color effects to.

Crystal Cove is famous around these parts because a small group of people had leases on land at the beach which recently went back to the State of California at the expiration of the leases. The State is in the process of renovating the cottages that had been built along the beach and the renovated ones are now available for rental. (See crystalcovebeachcottages.org for information). Dinner, by the way, was excellent, but a little pricey.

Crystal Cove is located between Corona del Mar and Laguna Beach on the southern coast of Orange County, California.

This photo was created using HDR (high dynamic range) technique.
Camera: Canon EOS 20D
3 exposures at 2 EV (1/8, 1/30, 1/2)
Aperture: f/22
Focal Length: 45 mm
ISO Speed: 100

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Lake Cachuma California #1

This is an HDR (High Dynamic Range) photograph of Lake Cachuma in California. I really like the clouds; so much drama!

Across Lake Cachuma 2

Here's my second version of this photo taken across Lake Cachuma.


Camera: Canon EOS 20D
Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture: f/11
Focal Length: 160 mm
ISO Speed: 200

Across Lake Cachuma

The light for this photo was very low and dull so I had to play with the image to give it a lift. Since there was a lot of noise in the photo, I decided to try and make it appear like an old-fashioned toned photo and also tried to make something of the darkness of the scene.

The photo is taken across Lake Cachuma, California, from the Lake Cachuma Recreational Reserve.


Camera: Canon EOS 20D
Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture: f/11
Focal Length: 160 mm
ISO Speed: 200

La Quinta Resort Pool

La Quinta is a small desert town in Southern California about 20 miles from Palm Springs. The La Quinta Resort and Club features several PGA golf courses and a tennis club, a spa, and several restaurants. The thing I like most about it is that unlike so many other hotels and resorts, La Quinta has smaller and more private pools that are enclosed by groups of rooms. I think in total there is something like 50 pools and they are never crowded. This is the view across the pool that was closest to our room on our recent stay. Between the rooms in the background you can see a peep of the San Jacinto Mountains and the wonderfully blue and clear autumn sky.

Here's another photo I took at the La Quinta Resort of the San Jacinto Mountains soon after sunrise with the full moon setting behind the mountains.

Camera: Canon EOS 20D
Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/14
Focal Length: 18 mm
ISO Speed: 100

San Jacinto Mountains from La Quinta with Moon

The La Qunita Resort is located in the low desert of the Cochealla Valley, California, about 20 miles south east of Palm Springs. The western side of the resort is framed by the San Jacinto mountains which are starkly bare. My stay there last week coincided with a full moon, and this photo was actually taken at around 7:20am not long after the sun had arisen and just before the moon set. The newly risen sun behind me cast a beautiful warm red glow over the mountains.

Canon EOS 20D
Canon 18-55mm lens at 33mm
1/80 secs at f/16
ISO 400