Welcome To The Hotel California

Poppies, statices, all their colorful array accented the more than 200 year old Mission San Juan Capistrano

 

Welcome to the Hotel California

Such a lovely place...

The fountain even provided some color

While on our way to my brother’s house in Carlsbad,
we ended up at the Mission San Juan Capistrano.
And like Don Henley sang in the classic Eagles song:
such a lovely place.
The mission brick over 200 years old.
Not quite 65 degrees.
 The blue skies.
The white cotton clouds.
 And colors in the garden like
fresh oil paint right out of the tube.

Bouganvilla meets original mission style

Walking around the mission, I quickly realized I was in a place
where the pictures ‘find you.”

What I saw all around me invoked images of vintage California.
It reminded me of some of those slightly over-lit technicolor shots from the Hitchock's Vertigo, the movie Chinatown or vintage California postcards.

The drive along the I-5 reminded me of why I love Southern California.  It would be a crime to drive inland when you can drive along the coast gazing into the endless blue of the sea.


After about an hour at the mission, I had this feeling that I had been transported to 1940’s California.  My 60 mm and a 17-35 mm lenses had provided the perfect scope of vision for this visit. 

Like a postcard

But in the end it wasn’t my camera, my lenses, 

or the images 

that I was making that made the day. 

It was California itself 

with its mission heritage, wild flowers, 

and coastal breezes.

 

A view of wildflowers of the ruins of the original mission

Father Serra founded Mission San Juan Capistrano on All Saint’s Day, November 1, 1776.

I find a tranquility that comes from the dark shadows of arches

Classic CA: The mission, the skies, the palms & cactus

For this brief time, I felt like a visitor in my own 

homeland.  And the best part was 

that I was already home.

There’s nothing like appreciating 

what you already have.

They livin' it up at the Hotel California

What a nice surprise!

Down By The Seaside

Today was one of those days when I experienced 

the pure joy of taking pictures.  I could say the same thing about the friends my wife

and I spent the day with.  I often say we not only have our own family,

but we have our church family.  Our church family consists of our Christian friends 

who we openly share our faith with. They may be from church or just other 

believers in our circle of friends.

On this fine February day, my wife and I were finally able to get

together with our long-time friends:  Greg and Brenda Norris.  This

day trip had already rescheduled a few times, and today was the day.

We ended up in Laguna Beach.

I decided to bring my camera along, and I decided to make

a selection of photos in a very strategic way: one camera,

and my 60mm macro lens.  And I would edit as I went along, deleting my “throw away”

images. My idea was to bring home  my 10 best shots in camera.

My goal was to look at the light and have fun taking pictures.

So here is what I ended up with:

The light was just right on these plants.  Love their shape.

Window light illuminates these items in a shop.

Our friends Greg & Brenda: So In Love!

This will be my next oil painting

My previous oil painting.

The day was going wonderfully.  Relaxing, having great conversations, people watching and taking pictures.  Then I got a double bonus

when I noticed a cluster of foliage in a planter. The reason I responded to it so much is that it was perfect subject matter for my next oil painting.  Typically I paint in an abstract expressionist fashion. Often times, I start out with a found situation that I photograph. The last one I did was abstracted from a photo I took of a burnt manzanita bush in the mountains.

Light filters through a hand-made patio decoration.

Photography is looking at thing differently.

Bottles used as light fixtures in a shop.

I love to incorporate lettering in images when I can.

We finished the day having drinks atop the Hotel Laguna.  The building is from 1930, but
the manners from the hostess were current 21st Century OC rude.  The 949-er must have seen the 951 signs around our necks and never called us for a table.  But alas, that didn't stop our fun nor me making one last image.  The setting sun combined with the drizzle in the sky to create a truly sumptuous filtered light.  Can't wait to have another day like this one soon!

The gal was in the right place at the right time for my camera.

Shoot It While It's HOT!!!

One of my favorite subject to shoot is food.

Especially good food. 

And actually its not so much the food, as the challenge and fun of lighting it on location.
When it comes down to it, whatever subjects we as photographers shoot ultimately becomes an object to light:  be it a turkey sandwich or Miss Turkey.

For our upcoming Riverside Magazine issue, the topic was Alan Borgan’s 

Chile Rellenos @ Ancho's

Top Ten Restaurants in Riverside.  We first went to Ancho's Southwest Bar & Grill where I encountered the wonderful Mexican BBQ smell that is Ancho's.  I knew going in that one of my images would be the lucky winner of an oversize photo possibly one a full-page.

Hence, I grabbed my SB-800 kit and adjusted my camera to shoot TIFFs. 

For the Chile Rellenos I did a simple set up:  One strobe bouncing into a black-lined umbrella, one strobe set at a throw of 70 mm for an edge light and one decorative pancho to cover the table.  Next was the Costillas Ribs.  I had shot at Anchos before, and I knew I wanted to shoot on the grill.  For this setup I used a tripod, shot at 1/25 of a second, and used two strobes--one covered with a red-gel to amp up the “heat” factor of the photo.  The flames were provided by the chef dabbling some oil into the fire.  Oil plus fire plus slow shutter speed equals a dramatic and succulent looking image. (see at top)

The Jalapeno Shrimp Burrito at Dona Timo's on University Ave.

I used my 60 mm AF macro lens for the Jalapeno Shrimp Burrito as served at Dona Timo's Mexican Seafood Restaurant in downtown Riverside.  This was a pretty basic item of food that had flat fluorescent light and none of the dramatic fire options at the previous restaurant.  Once again, I bounced a strobe into the black-lined umbrella for just a general lighting technique.  Since there are not many ways to sex up a burrito with lighting, I used my 60 mm macro lens with a creative crop to make my point.

Falafel upclose with a 60mm Macro

And so it was with the Falafel and Chicken Kebabs at the Green Olive Grill in La Sierra.  Both of these I shot with my strobes locked into Nikon AS-21 stands. I just set them on the table and gave them a slight bounce position.

Chicken Kebabs from Green Olive Grill

My final two shots came out of Vino Veritas Wine Bar in Riverside and display tripod photography.  Having shot 80% of my Festival of Lights images with a tripod, I realized that using one is the best way to secure creative lighting from low-light situations. This was perfect as the lighting in this place was kind of like a lounge.  Using my tripod, I stopped down to 1/3 of a second for both the food and the customer shot. 

Bake's Swordfish at Vino's served with 3-strobe Setup:  A bounce above into a white plate, a bounce into a gold reflector at 11 o'clock, and a rim light 10 feet away from the right.

 I think for me, I enjoy solving the puzzle of how best to light a subject.  There are certain advantages to shooting food. One is that your subject is usually a small item, which allows you a bigger playing field.  As opposed to having to gel an entire wall to get a color change behind a model, you only have a table top to light.  The other advantage is that the owners of the establishment see the free advertising element of your shoot and are quite accommodating to you as a photographer.

These lovelies were the perfect cornerstone to my ambiance picture at Vino's, shot on a tripod at 1/3 second at f5.0.  One SB900 with a plastic diffuser attached.

The last advantage of course is that many owners send you home with some food.  So if you shoot the food while its hot--and if your fast enough, the food is still warm when you get home.  Thank God for perks!!