An Old House, A Lighthouse, Some Flowers & A Fence

[dkapp]

This morning the rain finally let up for a few hours. After taking the dog out & wiping the sleep from my eyes, I was heading down the road. Well...after starbucks :D

I wanted to revisit the Lighthouse, and spend a little time in Pescadero. Pescadero is a little historic community about 2 miles off of highway 1. The downtown (both blocks) was packed today with people. I guess they were tired of being inside too! There was no parking available, so I went outside of town looking for my subject.

Luckily, I ran across this old house and flower field. I spent a lot of time there, and this is what I came up with.

http://dkapp.smugmug.com/photos/13411828-L.jpg


http://dkapp.smugmug.com/photos/13411831-L.jpg

Once I finished there, I did some more exploring & took a few notes. I wanted to get moving down the road before the weather turned. When I had left, the weather.com showed rain again early afternoon.

I was excited to see the clouds and good light today. The one thing I did not do was remember to take a few shots from my favorite composition spot. I got to talking with some tourists & completely forgot to finish.

This is what I was able to do. I need to go back, yet again for sunset shots, and maybe re-take these from my other spot.


http://dkapp.smugmug.com/photos/13421549-L.jpg


http://dkapp.smugmug.com/photos/13411812-L.jpg


I did get a new shot at the lighthouse. I loved the weathered old fence. I'm a huge fan of lines, colors & textures. Put them all together and I'm giddy.

http://dkapp.smugmug.com/photos/13411817-L.jpg

This is all from today. I get my rain cover tomorrow, so hopefully I can keep shooting.

For the lighthouse shots, I had to blend a few exposures to get the dynamic range. One thing I did notice is how the Fred Miranda plugin really boosts the saturation once you blend a few images. I will have to find some way around this.

Dave

[fish]

Wow! Excellent...all of them! :bow

I think I'm going to have to tag along with you and learn something.

[marygrace]

Great shots! I need to go down HWY 1 sometime soon while there's some awesome clouds in the sky. Thanks for sharing!

[dkapp]

Wow! Excellent...all of them! :bow

I think I'm going to have to tag along with you and learn something.

Thanks Fish!

I've got a pretty flexible schedule, so shoot me a message if you ever want to go out shooting. I love getting out with new people, even if they use Canon gear :D

Dave

[gus]

As always dave ...great shots. Thanks for showing me.

[dkapp]

Great shots! I need to go down HWY 1 sometime soon while there's some awesome clouds in the sky. Thanks for sharing!

Highway 1 is great. There is so much to do, you could go every day for a month, and not come close to seeing it all.

I've been out here for almost 1.5 years now and this past week is the first I've really ventured down for photography. I'm usually driving visitors down the road & stopping at a few beaches along the way. They would never put up with me if I brought my camera :D

Dave

[ian408]

Highway 1 is great. There is so much to do, you could go every day for a month, and not come close to seeing it all.

I've been out here for almost 1.5 years now and this past week is the first I've really ventured down for photography. I'm usually driving visitors down the road & stopping at a few beaches along the way. They would never put up with me if I brought my camera :D

Dave
Nice shots! Only one comment, the fence could use some horizon leveling.
If you drive a tad south of the lighthouse, you can get some great shots
looking North.

Had my stuff in the truck...was looking out the window of work() and thought
I should bail out and go shooting. And then it started raining again :cry

Ian

[Nir]

Beautiful shots Dave! All of them! :thumb

[dkapp]

As always dave ...great shots. Thanks for showing me.

Thanks 'gus! When are you going to make it out to the west coast & visit us? I'd love to get you out here and turn San Francisco upside down :D

Dave

[dkapp]

Nice shots! Only one comment, the fence could use some horizon leveling.
If you drive a tad south of the lighthouse, you can get some great shots
looking North.

Had my stuff in the truck...was looking out the window of work() and thought
I should bail out and go shooting. And then it started raining again :cry

Ian

Thanks Ian. Between you and I, we could probably apply for a job at that old lighthouse & man it 24/7 :D. I guess its your turn to go back next.

You know that damn fence was killing me tonight. I started at it for a good 30 minutes before I gave up. I turned on grid lines, held a ruler to my screen, and even made that little photographer window with my thumbs and forefinger to try and frame. It seems no matter which way I rotated it, it was still crooked. Maybe I'm just cross-eyed :dunno

This weather is crazy tonight. With the high wind, I had to put a little duct tape on the mail slot to keep it from flapping. It had the dog all freaked out. She thought a monster was going to come through and get her! :rofl

Dave

[GraphyFotoz]

Love the shots!

You gotta stop teasing me tho!

I want one of those Nikon D70's real bad but just don't fit my budget!:cry
Body alone cost almost what my 828 cost.

Siiiigggghhhhh depressing.

[gus]

Thanks 'gus! When are you going to make it out to the west coast & visit us? I'd love to get you out here and turn San Francisco upside down :D

Dave


Just imagine Steve Irwin on amphetamines if at all possible....how good is your S.W.A.T ?

[ian408]

This weather is crazy tonight. With the high wind, I had to put a little duct tape on the mail slot to keep it from flapping. It had the dog all freaked out. She thought a monster was going to come through and get her! :rofl

Dave
My ex-inlaws lived in Anchor Bay. I used to love sitting in the living room
watching it storm...ah, those were the days.

It's quieted down here in the last hour or so. Earlier, I went out for a walk
and it was big drops and wind all the way.

I stopped by the store at the lighthouse. There are some great books
in there. Which makes me want to hit a few more...but I will take up the
torch and head down there again. Perhaps this weekend if the weather
pans out.

Ian

[ian408]

Just imagine Steve Irwin on amphetamines if at all possible....how good is your S.W.A.T ?
Ah...you don't want to know. Let's leave it at "over anxious" :rofl

[dkapp]

Just imagine Steve Irwin on amphetamines if at all possible....how good is your S.W.A.T ?

Worst case scenario, we would have to call in help from the L.A. S.W.A.T. They are a few hours away, so you could have a little fun :D

I would love to visit the down under some day, but I may be too much of a sissy :rofl I've read some of your stories. Those ants, big spiders, sharks, stinging trees? What the hell is that about? Seriously..

Maybe I need to train with our S.W.A.T before the trip :D

[dkapp]

Love the shots!

You gotta stop teasing me tho!

I want one of those Nikon D70's real bad but just don't fit my budget!:cry
Body alone cost almost what my 828 cost.

Siiiigggghhhhh depressing.

I'll give you fair warning, the D70 body will be cheap compared to everything else you will buy. There is a whole new disease with no cure called lens lust. Many, many paychecks will go to newer, better, faster lenses! I have a love hate relationship it :doh

Dave

[gus]

Maybe I need to train with our S.W.A.T before the trip :D
Dont worry...i'll get you up to speed fairly quickly...can you create a diversion whilst i photograph :deal ? Thats what i really need at the moment.

Pretty well everyone i know keeps their distance from me.

[John Mueller]

Nice Dave,really like the first one.My kind of shot:thumb

[ehughes]

Nice shots Dave, I really like the fence..:thumb

[pathfinder]

You know that damn fence was killing me tonight. I started at it for a good 30 minutes before I gave up. I turned on grid lines, held a ruler to my screen, and even made that little photographer window with my thumbs and forefinger to try and frame. It seems no matter which way I rotated it, it was still crooked. Maybe I'm just cross-eyed :dunno


Dave

I think this series is excellent - Once again I envy the subject matter and the weather ......

The fence looked fine to me until Ian started mentioning the horizon. The image isn't really tilted I think - Was this shot with a wide angle lens perhaps?? I think this may represent barrel distortion, and might be approached that way. There are some software approaches to Barrel distortion - one is in the Adobe Liquify filter. The other is the free transform tool.

The fence looks fine to me, but horizon does curve down and to the left. Remember though that this tends to be a fairly critical audience
:D

Nice work Dave. You have come a long way in the last year as an artistic photographer. The camera club experience is showing through perhaps??

Happy New Year!!

[Bryan]

I did get a new shot at the lighthouse. I loved the weathered old fence. I'm a huge fan of lines, colors & textures. Put them all together and I'm giddy.

http://dkapp.smugmug.com/photos/13411817-L.jpg

Dave
Is this the fence shot everyone is talking about? The horizion looks more like a hill than a horizion. If it is a hill then one would expect that it ould not be flat running perfectly accross the shot, right?

I love this shot and it composition is amazing. It show the Photog has a great eye and has captured a great setting. If the picture were tilted to correst the horizion then he would lose the line that you get with the post and the edge of the picture.

*shrug* I like it like it is :-)

[ian408]

Is this the fence shot everyone is talking about? The horizion looks more like a hill than a horizion. If it is a hill then one would expect that it ould not be flat running perfectly accross the shot, right?

I love this shot and it composition is amazing. It show the Photog has a great eye and has captured a great setting. If the picture were tilted to correst the horizion then he would lose the line that you get with the post and the edge of the picture.

*shrug* I like it like it is :-)
Don't get me wrong, I really like the shot.

I don't think the hills should be level but the fence along the background
should be more level than it is. Also, the barn structure in the background
is near the highway which is slightly uphill until you reach the road for the
lighthouse (if you are headed North on 1).

Honestly, I don't know if I'd have noticed had I not been there a few days
ago.

Ian

[fish]

Remember though that this tends to be a fairly critical audience
:D


Only if one cares about the audience's critiques :D

[DavidTO]

Dave,

Love the shots, and the velvia look for them.

Of the house and the lighthouse, I prefer the first of each, think they're stellar.

As is the fence. Awesome shot.

[dkapp]

I think this series is excellent - Once again I envy the subject matter and the weather ......

I noticed you are in IN. Were you a part of the country that got the heavy snow last week? I don't envy anyone having to deal with a cold harsh winter. I did it for 26 Years in IL.


The fence looked fine to me until Ian started mentioning the horizon. The image isn't really tilted I think - Was this shot with a wide angle lens perhaps?? I think this may represent barrel distortion, and might be approached that way. There are some software approaches to Barrel distortion - one is in the Adobe Liquify filter. The other is the free transform tool.

The fence looks fine to me, but horizon does curve down and to the left. Remember though that this tends to be a fairly critical audience
:D

This was shot with my 17-35 at 17mm. Your probably right as to the lens causing the issues here. I'll have to do some searching to see if I can find a cheap way to correct the distortion.


Nice work Dave. You have come a long way in the last year as an artistic photographer. The camera club experience is showing through perhaps??

Happy New Year!!

Thanks for the compliment! I'd say my improvements are due to shooting more, the photography club & dgrin. Most of all, I'm having more fun than ever. I was in a rut for awhile, and I've seemed to finally get myself out.

Dave

[dkapp]

Is this the fence shot everyone is talking about? The horizion looks more like a hill than a horizion. If it is a hill then one would expect that it ould not be flat running perfectly accross the shot, right?

I love this shot and it composition is amazing. It show the Photog has a great eye and has captured a great setting. If the picture were tilted to correst the horizion then he would lose the line that you get with the post and the edge of the picture.

*shrug* I like it like it is :-)

Thats the shot! Thanks for the kind words.

Dave

[dkapp]

Dave,

Love the shots, and the velvia look for them.

Of the house and the lighthouse, I prefer the first of each, think they're stellar.

As is the fence. Awesome shot.

Thanks David. I just noticed your in Thousand Oaks area. I've spent a lot of time in that general area a few years ago. I spent many sleepless nights installing and testing equipment at a Telecom site in Indio.

Do you get out into the deserts much for landscapes? I've always thought about making a weekend trip, but wouldn't know where to start.

When I was traveling, I usually had to get the work done & head down the road. There wasn't much time for exploring with our deadlines.

Dave

[GREAPER]

I happened across that same lighthouse , just by chance last year when I visited S.F.

http://dehmphoto.smugmug.com/photos/4076342-L.jpg

I love seeing all your pics of it. It reminds me of the trip.

[dkapp]

I happened across that same lighthouse , just by chance last year when I visited S.F.

http://dehmphoto.smugmug.com/photos/4076342-S.jpg

I love seeing all your pics of it. It reminds me of the trip.

Awesome shot! :clap :clap :clap

Do you remember when you were here? I'm not sure when anything blooms as the weather is always the same. I love the flowers in the foreground :bow

Dave

[Sam]

This morning the rain finally let up for a few hours. After taking the dog out & wiping the sleep from my eyes, I was heading down the road. Well...after starbucks :D

I wanted to revisit the Lighthouse, and spend a little time in Pescadero. Pescadero is a little historic community about 2 miles off of highway 1. The downtown (both blocks) was packed today with people. I guess they were tired of being inside too! There was no parking available, so I went outside of town looking for my subject.

Luckily, I ran across this old house and flower field. I spent a lot of time there, and this is what I came up with.

Once I finished there, I did some more exploring & took a few notes. I wanted to get moving down the road before the weather turned. When I had left, the weather.com showed rain again early afternoon.

I was excited to see the clouds and good light today. The one thing I did not do was remember to take a few shots from my favorite composition spot. I got to talking with some tourists & completely forgot to finish.

This is what I was able to do. I need to go back, yet again for sunset shots, and maybe re-take these from my other spot.








I did get a new shot at the lighthouse. I loved the weathered old fence. I'm a huge fan of lines, colors & textures. Put them all together and I'm giddy.

http://dkapp.smugmug.com/photos/13411817-L.jpg

This is all from today. I get my rain cover tomorrow, so hopefully I can keep shooting.

For the lighthouse shots, I had to blend a few exposures to get the dynamic range. One thing I did notice is how the Fred Miranda plugin really boosts the saturation once you blend a few images. I will have to find some way around this.

Dave
Dave very nice series of shots. I need to go back and some better light house photos.

After looking at the fence photo I came to the conclusion that the horizon was tilted. i rotated it and here is the results. Better?

[wxwax]

Excellent set, kappman, really good stuff. :clap

[GREAPER]

Awesome shot! :clap :clap :clap

Do you remember when you were here? I'm not sure when anything blooms as the weather is always the same. I love the flowers in the foreground :bow

Dave


I was there in April of this year (2004).

[DavidTO]

Thanks David. I just noticed your in Thousand Oaks area. I've spent a lot of time in that general area a few years ago. I spent many sleepless nights installing and testing equipment at a Telecom site in Indio.

Do you get out into the deserts much for landscapes? I've always thought about making a weekend trip, but wouldn't know where to start.

When I was traveling, I usually had to get the work done & head down the road. There wasn't much time for exploring with our deadlines.

Dave

You're thinking maybe of Thousand Palms? That's a bit closer to Indio than I am, I'm halfway between LA and Santa Barbara. (well, not quite halfway).

I do want to get out and shoot some landscapes in the desert. I'd like to go out to Joshua Tree and see what there is to shoot. Last time I was out there was before the digital rennaissance in my photography. I was just shooting snaps.

[Mitchell]

http://dkapp.smugmug.com/photos/13411817-L.jpg



Love this shot!! The texture on the fence is great. I found the other two lighthouse shots somewhat unsettling. The distortion from the wide angle lens makes the lighthouse seem like it is falling to me! I have a D70 with the same lens and have noted the same distortion at the low end.

mitch

[DavidTO]

dkapp,

Your lighthouse got me interested in learning how to correct for distortion. I bought Panotools, and messed around with your shot, and also the perspective transform command in PS. Here's what I came up with. Hope you don't mind. Let me know what you think. No one knows your picture like you do. I'd be interested to hear how I did.

Note that this was just an exercise in learning. I love your shot.

http://davidrosenthal.smugmug.com/photos/13787131-L.jpg

[dkapp]

dkapp,

Your lighthouse got me interested in learning how to correct for distortion. I bought Panotools, and messed around with your shot, and also the perspective transform command in PS. Here's what I came up with. Hope you don't mind. Let me know what you think. No one knows your picture like you do. I'd be interested to hear how I did.

Note that this was just an exercise in learning. I love your shot.

http://davidrosenthal.smugmug.com/photos/13787131-S.jpg

It looks real good David. I'll have to check into Panotools. Is that a Windows only application?

I am interested in your workflow.

Dave

[DavidTO]

It looks real good David. I'll have to check into Panotools. Is that a Windows only application?

I am interested in your workflow.

Dave

It's a PS plug-in, cross platform.

What exactly are you interested in?

[dkapp]

It's a PS plug-in, cross platform.

What exactly are you interested in?

You said you used both panotools and perspective transform in PS. How much was done in panotools & perspective transform? I'm trying to figure out if I can duplicate this with more PS knowledge, or if I'm better off buying the other software.

How long did this take you?

Thanks again.
Dave

[DavidTO]

You said you used both panotools and perspective transform in PS. How much was done in panotools & perspective transform? I'm trying to figure out if I can duplicate this with more PS knowledge, or if I'm better off buying the other software.

How long did this take you?

Thanks again.
Dave

It took maybe 10 minutes. 7 was just trying to figure out what the heck I was doing. I got the bowing out of the lighthouse, but it was still leaning left, so I used transform>perspective and slid the top of the frame right in order to get the lighthouse more vertical.

[DavidTO]

I'm trying to figure out if I can duplicate this with more PS knowledge, or if I'm better off buying the other software.


You can demo Panotools (http://www.kekus.com/plugin/) for 15 days.

[dkapp]

You can demo Panotools (http://www.kekus.com/plugin/) for 15 days.

Thanks for the link, I'm looking at it now. For $50, its not too expensive.

Dave

[DavidTO]

Thanks for the link, I'm looking at it now. For $50, its not too expensive.

Dave

I bought the plug-in for $40.

[Shakey]

Super shots all of them!:bow Thanks for sharing!