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Thirsty Thursday: Montaña de Oro State Park

Rambler: Beth Drink at Hand: 2009 Ventana Pinot Gris...so refreshing on a warm summer day!

Another Thirsty Thursday here again. Time to pour something yummy and make plans for this first full weekend of summer! And what's summer without a trip to the beach? This week we highlight a trip we took to the beach a few weeks back.

About a month ago Terry and I cruised down to San Luis Obispo to visit some friends and do a little bike ride. We were also using the trip as a scouting mission to check out some future photography locations. Unfortunately given the schedule of the weekend we knew we wouldn't be able to get out at the "golden hour" times to catch the nice light on the landscapes, but we could at least check out some good spots.

After breakfast on Saturday morning Terry and I headed out to Montaña de Oro State Park. The location came highly recommended by Steve Sieren, and when Steve suggests a good photo spot, you go there! I have to admit, I was really impressed with diversity of the landscape in this park. Sprawling eucalyptus groves, grassy sand dunes, wide beaches, huge open fields, hidden coves, and possibly the most interesting rock formations along the ocean I've seen. Unfortunately by the time we made it to the water the good morning light was long gone, so the striated rocks on the shore is at the top of the list of photo subjects when we get back down there later this summer. Supposedly the mountain biking isn't too bad either, so we definitely need to get back!

Terry had actually been to this park last year, so he picked our first spot. We spent roughly the next 2 hours climbing up sand dunes, searching out wildflowers, bounding down sand dunes, strolling along the beach, and scribbling notes in the sand. A great morning, just the two of us with camera in hand, doing what we love to do together. Below is a sampling from both of our cameras. I always find it fascinating that Terry and I can be at the same place at the same time and we come away with completely different images! I wonder if any of our readers can tell who took which images...

And for a little schmoopiness...

Thanks for reading. We hope you get out and do something fun this weekend. Feel free to leave us a comment to tell us about your weekend plans!

Massey Monday: Chasing Meadowlarks

Taking Massey for a hike follows nearly the same pattern every time. We hop in the car and she knows every turn to get to the trailhead. She excitedly whines just a little as we approach each intersection enroute; a little reminder just in case I forgot how to get there. We get out and she dashes about 20 steps up the trail...and promptly drops a lovely present in the trail. Fortunately this happens every time, so we know to be prepared with a poop bag. Then it's full on hunting time. First, she walks slowly, ears perked, surveying, stalking.

Suddenly she erupts. The chase is on. The early chases are usually a bunny or a big bird (see the hawk?!) that she really has no chance of catching. The bunnies dive into a thicket or the hawks just float on the thermal winds high above the ground, well out of reach.

After a few all-out quarter-mile sprints (while I hold my breath and hope she doesn't lodge a foxtail in her ear), she chills a bit and waits. She knows she'll find some quail or some smaller birds to chase if she's patient.

This week it was the meadowlarks. They constantly sang as we walked. Their distinctively familiar song reminded me of being back home in Iowa. As the sun heated the golden hillsides, the wind began to stir the grasses and the little birds took flight, swirling and swooping over the tall grass. Our little dog took chase. If you look closely at the photo below, you can see a meadowlark just above the hill in the background.

She was one happy and tired dog by the end of the hike.

 

Thirsty Thursday: Garrapata State Park

Rambler: Beth Drink at Hand: 2009 Redtree Pinot Noir

Another Thirsty Thursday is upon us once again...time to pour something yummy and plan out a weekend adventure. This week we highlight one of our favorite places to play with our cameras.

A few month ago, cash-strapped California released a list of state parks it intends to close by next summer in order to save money. There are 70 parks on the list. Beautiful places, and quite a few parks that Terry and I like to visit. One of the places on the chopping block is Garrapata State Park.

I was shocked to see Garrapata on the list. Its an incredibly beautiful and popular stretch of coastal highlands, rocky shorelines, and sandy beaches that is essentially the gateway to the Big Sur coast. Its one of our favorite places sunset spots, especially in winter when the passing winter storms produce spectacular clouds and some big waves.

I don't know if the state will close access to this strip of coastline. To be honest, I don't see how they could restrict access to the numerous trails that drop down to the beaches from the Highway 1 turnouts. I don't want to think about losing access to this beautiful area. A decision has been made that I don't understand. All we can do is soak up as many beautiful sunsets as possible before this little piece of natural heaven is taken away.

These photos are from February. It was a magical afternoon of shooting. You might recognize a few from our Flickr stream. We need to get back to Garrapata soon...before its too late!

If you'd like to visit Garrapata State Park yourself, head south from Carmel on Highway 1. The first turnouts are about 9 miles south of Rio Road in Carmel.

Hope you find yourself at one of your favorite places this weekend! Get out there and enjoy it!

Thirsty Thursday: Riding Smiles

Rambler: Beth Drink at Hand: 2009 Lockwood Vineyards Malbec

Hey Welliver Photography fans, its Thirsty Thursday once again...time to pour something yummy and plan something awesome to do this weekend. This week's installment is a bit unique--the story happened today, but the photos are from the same location, just a few weeks back.

As I prepare for the Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race, my cycling coach is giving me me all kinds of fun/crazy/tough workouts to get me ready. Today's mountain bike workout was short in length (only an hour and a half to 2 hours) but pretty intense with some max effort hill repeats mixed in the middle. Luckily I have about 30ish minutes of fun trails and fire roads to get to my hill, and it was a great morning to ride. I was having a blast. Then the hard part...a few minutes all out up a 6% grade, still fewer minutes to recover back down the hill, rinse and repeat 3 times. I was stomping on the pedals, drooling, snot streaming, panting, grunting...let's be honest, I assume I sounded like and looked like a rabid dog in heat. After the 2nd effort I had no idea how I was going to survive the 3rd effort. I could barely even figure out how to get my bike turned around on the reasonably wide double track fire road. Back down I went, and then started the final effort. The sun came out. Bonnie Tyler belted out "We Need A Hero" in my right ear. Bunnies scampered along the trail beside me. I clawed my way up the hill the final time. Done. Exhausted. Gasping. But done. Now just a ride back to the car.

I rounded the corner by Laguna Seca. One more small climb and then the route is mostly downhill to the trailhead. As I topped that last little pitch a smile slowly and unexpectedly crept across my face. I was invigorated. I'd finished that last effort just a few minutes before yet I felt fresh.

I bombed down the gravelly fire road. Then a decision. The quickest way home is straight. I turned left. One of my favorite single tracks was to the left. Turning left added an extra 20 minutes to my ride. I didn't care. The smile grew bigger.

I flew down a trail winding through tall grasses dappled with dots of wildflower color. The transition from green spring to golden summer is fast here. The poison oak stays green for a long time though. Its the only thing that slows me down as I try to navigate to the side of the narrow trail away from the toxic oils. Soon I'm on a new trail. Bermed corners. Railing. Pushing the limits of my tires to grip the loose fresh soil. The unseasonable weekend rains created a little tackiness in the dirt. A rear tire slide here and there, but I stay up as I edge closer to out-of-control. The wheels stick. I stay up. I keep cruising.

Across a fire road and onto the Goat Trail. I fly down the upper part of the trail. Its wide open, hard packed, fast. The wind gently whistles through the helmet straps against my cheek. A quick digger of a hill up to my favorite tree in all of Ft Ord. It looks beautiful this morning in the fresh sunlight, green leaves against the golden grass. But I didn't stop. I couldn't stop. The riding is too much fun. The smile isn't fading.

More flying. I look for spots to catch air off little lips in the trail. I lean my bike under me through the turns. I bounce smoothly over the washboarded corners. I've never gone this fast down this section of the trail. A blur of trees and grass scream through the peripheral vision, but I only see the single track in front of me. Low scrub oaks and prickly thistles scratch at my shins. I'm surprised by how quickly I reach the bottom of the trail. Surprised and disappointed. I wanted more.

At this point I am supposed to take the long fire road route back to the trailhead. Terry doesn't like me riding down the poison oak-infested, yet shorter and incredibly more fun trail back to the trailhead. He sorta forbids me from riding that trail. Today, I don't care. I want that trail. Its another of my favorites in Ft Ord. And today was one of those magical days...no dog walkers, no hikers, no runners, not even another mountain biker on the last fun trail down to the parking lot. And the BLM guys had trimmed the poison oak away from the trail's edge. More flying. The smile, now huge, squeaked out a few giggles. I completely forgot about how miserable the intervals had been. As I popped up onto the pavement from the last bit of dirt fun for the day I smiled a little more...that was a hell fun of a ride.

I'm looking forward to another fun mountain bike ride this weekend. This time with some of my favorite riding friends at my favorite place to ride. Its going to be great.

Thanks for reading...And get out there and do something that makes you smile this weekend!

Massey Monday: On the Sac

When we were in Japan, we were able to purchase a 6' LoveSac. It's a huge bean-bag that's not filled with the typical "beans". Instead it's filled with foam. It's great! It essentially swallows you up when you sit in it. Actually, to sit in it properly, you have to jump in it. Unfortunately, we've really never had a place to really put it...but in our new house, it sits in the front of the house in the west window. Massey has never really been allowed on it, but her eyes got to us (I mean me) one day and we (I) let her up there. Now, it might rival her other dog beds (i.e., Beth's Poang chair from IKEA, our queen size bed, and her actual dog bed pillow). She'll lay up there in the sun beam as soon as it's available. Looking at her laying up there makes me want to curl up next to her with a good book (and really only read a few pages before falling asleep).

Thirsty Thursday: Aperture Magic

Rambler: Terry Drink at Hand: 2007 Estancia Zinfandel

Okay, so not the most brilliant wine, but it's enough after the short work week. The photograph for today's post is different than any other photograph I've taken. And no, (for those of you who already looked at it), it's not an extremely edited image. It is edited, but not in Photoshop...just in Aperture...and just barely.

Before I get into the details of the actual edits, let me share with you how I actually took this image. This image was taken the day before the Cote de Tolosa (see previous T.T. post) at Cayucos, CA at the pier. The beach was covered in seaweed and the sun was fairly harsh, but the water was blue. Beth left her camera in the car as we were just checking things out. I wanted to get a shot of the pier with a bit of beach and some people walking. The first two shots I took were completely white.

Oops! I forgot to change my settings from the previous location we were shooting at—rookie mistake. Fortunately, the wildlife (i.e., the people) weren't really moving that fast so I adjusted my camera settings and took another shot. I didn't think anything of the two over-exposed images I just took. When I was able to download the images into Aperture, I saw the "white" images and thought trash. After completing my first round through my photos, I somehow didn't trash one of the "white" images. Oops! Another rookie mistake. But, this time, I was looking at the "white" image in fullscreen and I could see some shapes, just barely, in the center. I decided to edit the image and I was immediately able to "bring back" some of the image by adjusting the exposure slider. With some more tinkering, I was able to get an image that looked like an artist painting of a beach scene. I was mildly impressed...something a bit different.

What did I learn from this? I'm not sure...perhaps pay more attention to your camera's settings before taking your first shot...or perhaps not. Or maybe you can sometimes create something out of nothing? Or maybe, sometimes, you just get lucky, on both counts (the shot and the editing). So, get out there this weekend and make some rookie mistakes. You never know what you'll get!

[exif id="1582" show="location"]

Here are the settings of the improperly exposed image straight out of the camera.

Out of the Camera ISO 500 35mm 0.67ev f/5.6 1/100 sec

Aperture Edits Exposure to -2.0 Recovery to 1.5 Black Point to 50.0 Contrast to 0.06 Definition to 0.33 Vibrancy to 0.2 Highlights to 8.78

What do the Aperture edits actually mean? Well, the Contrast, Definition, Vibrancy, and Highlights are very, very minor edits...they have very subtle effects. The other three (Exposure, Recovery, and Black Point) are the edits that actually matter. I think the exposure is corrected to -1.33 with the 0.67ev taken into account. The recovery adjustment brings back the highest portion of the highlights and the black point adjustment sets the black point to the maximum setting. Basically, three adjustments created the watercolor painting effect.

Massey Monday: Massey and Tori

I was organizing from photos this morning and came across a few from our vacation in Colorado last year. My parents brought their little Welsh Terrier named Tori. She was about 6 months old at the time, and Massey was just under a year old. They played and played and played together. One afternoon we all went for a hike on the Colorado Trail as it passes through the Copper Mountain resort and the dogs came along. Tori's little terrier legs could barely keep up with Massey's trot, but she sure tried!

Mom and Dad got another little Welsh Terrier a few weeks ago, so Massey might have 2 playmates this year in Colorado. That should be entertaining!

Thirsty Thursday: At Tolosa

Rambler: Terry Drink at Hand: 2007 Tolosa Pinot Noir

Beth and I went down to SLO for a ~55 mile cycling ride (Cote de Tolosa) sponsored by Tolosa Winery. This was fortunate for me as I could chill out waiting for Beth to complete her ride at a winery...and a good one at that. In addition, our good friend from USAFA, Britt Miller, lives in SLO and works at Tolosa. What a deal!

While I was waiting for Beth to finish from her ride, Britt (who was playing guitar for the event) asked me to shoot the riders coming in. Fortunately, I was able to photograph all the riders...including some people who were just out riding their bikes from winery to winery. The pictures below are a few that I was able to capture between photographing riders coming across the finish line. I think all bike races should be like this...sunny, warm, and at a winery.

Massey Monday: Playtime

Just like last week, these aren't the greatest of shots. You should try playing with a hyper brittany spaniel holding a wubba in one hand and a DSLR with a fairly large lens in the other. Then, imagine that you're chillin' in a 6 foot Love Sac. Not that these obstacles are tough, but they do make it difficult to get a clean shot. I think we must have played for 30-40 min straight (and she didn't tire out). The light was quite interesting and she was having such a good time. I don't think I looked through the viewfinder for any of these shots. Since they are a bit blurry and just plain random, I thought I'd process them as square with a mostly vintage finish. Good times.

Thirsty Thursday: Arroyo Seco

Rambler: Beth Drink at Hand: 2008 Ventana Pinot Noir

Last Friday morning I got up super early to make the 50-minute drive to Pinnacles National Monument. I wanted to be there for sunrise, just to see what the early morning light was like in the west side of the park. Its never hard for me to pop out of bed when I'm headed out to shoot a sunrise, especially when I program the coffee pot to grind a fresh cup for me as I wake up. Out the door, down the 101 and right on time for arrival at the west entrance about 20 minutes before the 5:58 am sunrise. As I'm making the final turn toward the park, a waiting CHP car in the intersection flashes its lights. The officer tells me there's a wildfire up the road and the route to the park is closed. Grrr!

After getting up that early and driving all the way down there, I wasn't about to just turn around and go home. I needed a Plan B. I knew I wasn't too far from Arroyo Seco Road, and from my 6-hour bike rides out there, I vaguely remembered some pretty trees in some pretty fields. So off I went, racing to find something interesting as the sky continued to brighten.

I found this spot along Arroyo Seco Road. The trees and the open pasture looked interesting. I paced up and down the side of the road looking for a good composition, but it wasn't easy. I couldn't get the tree completely isolated from the busy scrub brush-covered hills in the background. I enjoyed the challenge though...there is something therapeutic about being out in the chilly morning air, peering through a viewfinder, searching for something inspiring. I love mornings with my camera.

Of course my attention always turns from the wide landscapes to the little details close-by.

The cloudless sky continued to brighten so I headed back down the road toward home...but not before I spotted this old barn in a field down below the road.

I knew I had to make one last stop on the way home. Several times a week I ride my bike out River Road, and recently there has been a beautiful display of yellow and purple wildflowers in a pasture beside the road.

So the morning didn't work out the way I expected, but I still found some nice scenes. More importantly, I still got to explore with my camera. And that makes me happy.

Get out there and explore this weekend!

Massey Monday: Technically Incorrect

Sometimes it's not about getting a technically correct shot. A shot that's in perfect focus or a shot that has perfect light. Sometimes it's about being in the moment and getting a shot that reminds you of the moment . . . the emotion. Sure, a perfect shot would probably capture it better I suppose. But these two were taken when we were playing ball in the yard. The eyes and the ears. These two always make me laugh. The playful look in her eyes and those wild ears. I couldn't delete these.

Thirsty Thursday: Chasing Waterfalls

Rambler: Beth Drink at Hand: TJ's 2009 Petit Reserve Tempranillo

Terry and I used to shoot a lot of waterfalls. When we lived in Japan we actually had a book the listed locations of hundreds of waterfalls. Of course, the book was in Japanese so I had to play a little game of trying to match the thumbnail map included with the directions to our bilingual road map, but we still found quite a few of the waterfalls. When we went on vacations we'd continue our hunt for tumbling water, leading to hundreds of blurred water images from all over the world--or at least all over Asia and the US.

I don't know why we don't hunt for waterfalls anymore. I know there are a few not far away along the Central Coast and spring is always a great time to go find a fall with fresh snowmelt and spring showers fueling the flow. Perhaps we just need to make time. Or perhaps we just need a little reminder...and that's what Thirsty Thursdays are for...a little reminder to go out and doing something or find something cool this weekend.

Enjoy the waterfalls. I tried to include a name or location, but some of them I don't know or don't remember.

Little Missouri River, Ouachita National Forest, Arkansas.

Another view of the Little Missouri River, Ouachita National Forest, Arkansas.

Somewhere in northern Japan.

Tucked away in the rainforest near Cairns, Australia.

Close-up of water gushing into Milford Sound in New Zealand. Terry shot this with the 100-400mm lens from a boat.

Stream emptying into Lake Superior along Pictured Rocks National Seashore, Upper Peninsula, Michigan.

Somewhere near Marquette, Michigan.

Another waterfall somewhere near Marquette, Michigan.

We spent a whole weekend scouting falls in north central Japan and found these two images along the way.

Close-up of a rushing stream near Nikko, Japan.

Get out there and explore this weekend!