California Sea Lions - Moss Landing, CA
These California Sea Lions at Moss Landing lay all over the place. These guys were right up on the dock's cement barrier. I loved how they were just in a line on this wall. I know I probably came within the 100 foot rule, but I didn't bother them at all. I just shot pics for a bit and moved on. So peaceful and cute.
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Uploaded on Jan 3, 2010
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Last Shot of 2009
So, this is my last shot for 2009, and it wouldn't be complete without a wonderful story...
SO... I'm out at Moss Landing / Elkhorn Slough yesterday on the last day of my photo trip. It's midday, and I can't do any landscape stuff with the sun high in the sky, so I go shoot some wildlife around the area. Seals, pelicans, otters, etc...
So I get the seals, I get the pelicans, and I REALLLLLY want a shot of the sea otters. Problem is, even with my 100-400 lens on my crop body, I can't get close enough to them from either shore. So I start thinking, "How could I get closer to them?"
So I rent a kayak, and now you can see where this is going... I ask the guy working at the rental place, "Hey, I've got about $2000 worth of camera equipment on me. I DON'T wanna tip." He goes "Don't worry about it. We'll get a really stable kayak, and they're really hard to tip." WRONG!
So, I rent this kayak, and I'm paddling out of the marina to where the otters are. I've got my jeans, hoodie, hat, and jacket on, along with a life jacket and kayak shirt. My camera is sitting in my lap, with the strap around my neck.
So, it's low tide. At certain points the water was only a few feet deep. I get about 100 feet away from the otters, and I'm all excited and anxious to get some good shots. I notice my kayak is drifting away from them, as the current takes them further away from me, so I'm trying to get my lens caps off and get my settings dialed in.
I aim my camera, try to focus with the kayak bobbing around and the waves moving the otters. Finally I get focus, I'm trying to get a comp, I shoot THIS picture, then I notice I start to tip. I was leaning BARELY over my center of gravity. Like, it was SUPER easy to do. So I notice I'm tipping, and my brain is going "SHIT!" I try to grab my paddle and stop myself and lean to the other side, but in I go, with my $500 camera body and $1400 lens. So I pull out of the kayak underwater, and it's only a few feet deep, but my camera completely submerged with me for about 2 seconds.
I move as fast as I can to get up out of the water. I drag the kayak to some nearby rocks, set my camera down, empty my kayak, and eventually got back to the rental place.
This all happened in the span of about 30 minutes from renting the thing. The guy felt really bad for me and refunded me my $35 for the half day rental, and I had lost the paddle, but my camera was more important to me.
So anywayz, I've got the camera drying, with the lens, in my room. The lens is sealed, so I'm thinking it will be ok, but might need a cleaning to get any salt residue out. The body is cheap, and not sealed, so it might be dead. We'll see.
Things I learned on this trip:
1) Never get into an unstable boat with your expensive camera equipment.
2) Get some waders if you're gonna be near water.
3) Expect Moore's Law to take effect.
4) Always have a spare change of clothes and shoes in case you get totally submerged.
All in all, I'm bummed, but it was a good learning experience, and I may just have to spend more money to get a new body. We'll see. Maybe time for a 5D Mark II ;) My credit card's gonna love me.
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Uploaded on Dec 31, 2009
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Garrapata Sunset - Carmel, CA
This was the only postable sunset I caught my whole trip, so you'd better like it! :P I was walking along this path back to my car and there was this cool cliff overlooking this "beach" and the sun was making the sky nice and pretty, so I thought I'd capture it with some long exposure madness. Enjoy!
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Uploaded on Dec 30, 2009
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Garrapata State Park - Carmel, CA
Continued on my 3 day photo trip today. Shot here and Point Lobos. Being lazy, so keeping this description short for now. Looks good in Black & White too, but I prefer the color version.
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Uploaded on Dec 29, 2009
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Natural Bridges State Beach - Santa Cruz
So, I'm on a little trip around Santa Cruz / Monterey / Big Sur area for a few days. Problem is, the weather is CRAP. I went to shoot Natural Bridges today. The sky was totally gray, so sunset wasn't really an option. This was around 3-4pm. I popped on my new Hoya 10 Stop ND filter (thanks Mom & Dad) and got some nice long exposures. I love being able to do a 30 second shot in the middle of the day :)
I think the black and white, long exposure gives a nice serene feel. I like it. Hope you do too!
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Uploaded on Dec 28, 2009
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