Spent a day last week doing street photography in San Francisco with my photographer friend Joe Ravetz. Check out his web site for some great photography! Ever since taking Jay Maisel’s workshop at the Santa Fe Photography Workshops I have enjoyed the challenges of street photography. It does take me out of my comfort zone! These photos were taken along Market street.

Smoking at the Bus Stop

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It’s amazing the images you can get at 6400 iso!

Camera settings – 1/10 sec @ F5.6; iso 6400; lens focal length 105mm

SF American Flags

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Camera settings – 1/4000 sec @ F8; iso 800; lens focal length 95mm

Funny. I live in Aptos, CA to be near the redwood forests and the ocean beaches. Drive six hours to Humbolt county, CA to be near the redwood forests and the beaches. Go figure! However Humbolt does have rich history of lumber industries and dairy farming. The first two images were taken in the town of Samoa, a lumber company town during the turn of the last century. The last picture is of the original old Humbolt Creamery built in 1893!

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Since taking Jay Maisel’s photography workshop I have enjoyed doing more street photography. Don’t put on the blinders with preconceived ideas – you may miss great opportunities that surround you. While wandering the streets of San Juan Bautista I came upon this cute dog behind a screen door. He was only in the doorway for a brief moment. I was ready for it!

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Photo of the Week

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Camera settings – 1/200 secs @ F11; iso 800; lens focal length 75mm.

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This my second post on San Juan Bautista. Lots of great photo ops in this small town that is filled with historic buildings. And of course there is Mission San Juan Bautista to photograph. However wandering around the neighborhoods I came upon this interesting display of flags.

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Photo of the Week

Photographers note:
Camera settings – 1/2500 secs @ F8; iso 800; lens focal length 115mm.

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“Light, Color, Gesture and Perception” is the name of the workshop with Jay Maisel at the Santa Fe Photography Workshops that I just returned from. Learn from failure, be in the moment and be open to anything the comes to you. Always have your camera with you, don’t let your pre-conceived ideas blind you to what’s around you. These were my take aways. The Zen of photography.

Jay is an amazing photographer, educator, and person. He’s photographed the likes of Marilyn Monroe and Cheryl Tiegs, published books and done corporate work. He lives in New York city and still goes out almost every day to photograph on the street. Not bad for 82 years old!

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Shown here is fellow photographer Neil Swanson and I being interviewed by Bruce Bratton on KZSC last evening. We discussed our current show, Six Views, at the Leed’s gallery in Santa Cruz. Photography as art and the effect of digital technology on photography was also discussed. It was really fun! Bruce is a great host and had clearly done his research and asked interesting and pertinent question. Thanks to Jese Odio for grabbing my camera and taking this picture.

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Camera settings – 1/50 secs @ F5; iso 1600; lens focal length 28mm.

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I love the attitude of this snowy egret on Seacliff State Beach. These birds are more often found in inland waterways rather than on the beach. He was so occupied with feeding that he allowed me to get fairly close. One of the things I like most about the image is the bright yellow color and position of his feet – especially the right foot. The blurry waves make for a nice background.

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This image is available as a “Photo of the Week” special.

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Photo of the Week

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Camera settings – 1/2500 secs @ F2.8; iso 400; lens focal length 200mm.

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San Juan Bautista State Historic Park hosts Living History Days the first Saturday of each month. It’s a great opportunity to photograph people in vintage clothing in an historic setting.

A good technique for photographing people is to plant yourself across from an interesting background with good light and patiently wait for someone to pass in front. This young girl was my lucky subject!

Photo of the Week – not available for sale

Photographers note:
Camera settings – 1/100 secs @ F8; iso 400; lens focal length 105mm.

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Last Friday was First Friday Santa Cruz and the Artist reception for our show “Six Views” at the Leed’s Gallery. The exhibition consisted of six photographers (Mark Wainer, Neal Swanson, Guy Siratt, Jim Collum, Tom Jacobs, and Barry Staley) who have been meeting once a month for the past couple of years. We share our work and offer critiques.

Among the guests at the reception was Bruce Bratton. He is planning to do a radio interview with Neal Swanson and me on KZSC March 19, and of course we are looking forward to the interview! Also Christa Martin from the Santa Cruz Sentinel is planning on writing a column on yours truly in the beginning of April!

Our exhibition at the Leed’s Gallery can be viewed Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 1PM-5PM until the end of March.

Photographers note:
Camera settings – tripod; 1/125 secs @ F5.6; iso 400; lens focal length 14mm.

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Most of you know I play a landscape photographer on TV. But did you know that in real life I am also a portrait photographer? I had the opportunity to work with Kathryn to help her develop her model portfolio. She was very comfortable and beautiful in front of the camera. The color versions look great also, but I have a slight preference for the warm toned black and white images.

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