Eclipse Shots

UMMMM so if you did not have a chance to see the eclipse tonight here are some shots I was able to take. Once I touch them up a bit they will be crisper but for now you must enjoy! If you have some of your own I would love to see them!

STRAWWWWWWWBERRY!!!!

Straight and to the point. I love the color on this shot!

Union Square SF at night

Took this shot out of a cracked open window at the Hilton Union Square in SF. The opening was just enough that it held that camera steady which allowed for a 1.5 second exposure.

Dreams

I can't believe that I never posted this shot! It comes from the north side of Angel Island in San Francisco. Angel Island (as you might remember from my previous posts) is the Ellis Island of the West coast. Check out more history about it at http://angelisland.org/history/

Lacma Lights

Today's post comes from the outdoor art exhibit at LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art). These are old LA lampposts that were found in a warehouse. There are over 100 of them in front of the Museum. I love this shot for two reasons, 1) the Angle, and 2) How the sun seems to be lighting up the back light on the lamppost on the right.

Venice Skate Park

This past week while in LA I was able to spend a small amount of time at the Venice Skate Park. While I was there an Amateur Skate Competition was taking place. It was incredible the talent that was in the park. The amazing part was all of these skaters were under 18 years of age. There was even a couple of 6 and under kids.

Here are four shots from the time there. I will post some more this week.

5th Ave Street Corner

This picture I always brushed over because I never really enjoyed it that much. However a few years after the picture was taken I have a new love for the shot. It speaks everything about New York. From the insanely busy street corner to the diversity in the crowd to the multi language street cart.

New York City

Recently I went digging through all my photos from the past 7 years to find some shots of New York City for my sister. She was looking for some shots of different parts of New York that would looks great in Black and White.

I always forget how taking a color photo and making it black and white can completely change the feel of a photo.

These are just a sample of some of the shots that I found. I will post more over the course of the next few days.

Fort Mason Sunset

Here is a shot from Fort Mason in San Francisco. This was taken with my little canon pocket camera - I held the camera at my hip and shot. I love shooting like this. You never know what you are going to get.

Making old into Art

As those of you that follow this blog one of my passions in photography is taking something that old and worn out and making it into something artistic and new.

This old gas pump was in China Camp up above San Francisco. I have posted a few shots from this location. It was sitting outside wedged between a tool shed and a house. I was drawn to it for the color that it had, along with the stories of the people that used it when it was new. What was the area like then? What were the people like? With most of the area being immigrants from China, I always wonder what they thought of the place that they now called home? Anyway, ENJOY!

For those history buffs that are curious about Flying A Gasoline, follow the link below. Granted it is from WIKIpedia, so take the information with a grain of salt...but hard to imagine someone wanting to joke around about gas (well I am known for joking around about gas, but not this kind). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tidewater_Petroleum

Good Afternoon Good Evening and Good Night

Hope that everyone has been having a wonderful week. Wanted to take sometime to thank each of you that read this blog daily (or whenever I decide to update). As you know photography has always been a hobby/passion of mine and this blog has allowed me to provide all of you with my love of the Art.

For today's post it is pretty simple. A beautiful San Francisco Sunset.

Light Reading

Simple post for today. Nice depth of field shot taken at the Filoli Mansion Library.

Photographic Block

Well it has been some time now since I have posted. I have to admit that I have not been much of a fan of my recent shots. I find this happening to me quite often. I take TONS of pictures over a long course of time but find that I dislike something in each and everyone of them.

The positive side of this however, is that in a year I will most likely find a good amount of pictures out of the recent lot that I love. The only downside is that is a year away.

I do not want to have a post without a picture so here is one that I enjoy from some time back. This picture was taken in Brooklyn during the last summer that the Grammatical Fairy and I spent there. It is a portrait made from sidewalk tar (yes someone found sidwalk tar lying around and decided to make art with it) across the street from the Brooklyn Brewery. I like this because as a native New Yorker, I can often get caught looking down when I walk instead of looking up and around. In this case the locals benefit by looking at what's beneath them.

I think Freddy Krueger lives here!

This old broken down factory is located on Angel Island in San Fran. In this day and age, Angel Island is a state park. Originally it was an army base and then it was "Ellis Island of the West". They still have the original Asian detainment building on the island, complete with Chinese poetry etched on the walls from immigrants who were detained on the island for up to two years.

This factory was located in an old Army base that is now decaying. I took this shot with my handheld Canon Powershot SD1400. Granted I was still on my bike, half twisted around when it was taken but hey, a little photoshop and BW can spruce anything up.

Also - the San Jose photography event was a blast. I ended up meeting a ton of new photographers in the area and was able to share some of my photos. Thank you to everyone who sent in favorites. I used them all! Of course fans know best, and everyone loved the ones you all chose.

Diving into the Summer

Before you read today's post I need your help! I am showing off some photos this Wednesday night in San Jose. My plan is to use photos that I have uploaded onto this blog to showcase. That is where you readers come in: I need to know what the crowd favorites are. In Facebook, reply to this post with the date or title of your Top 3 B Braun photography favorites. Come Wednesday afternoon I will take the ones that are most popular and show them.

In addition, you might notice that there is a share button located at the bottom of the post. Use this to spread the word of my blog on social networking sites!

WOW! I only had one post in July. Sorry readers. I do have to say though it was a crazy and busy month; it feels like I was just writing my last post yesterday.

Anyway, to kick off August I have a photo that is a compilation of five photos. This series was taken a couple of weeks ago while hanging out in Santa Cruz. In order for the surfers to get into the water they either need to a) climb down the cliff face, or b) hurl themselves off the cliff. As you can see this guy went with option b. Sports mode on the camera is a wonderful thing!

Gramatical Fairy overlooking sunset

Alright well this in my mind is not as on par with my normal work as others you have seen but I still like this. Let me know your thoughts.

Old Truck

Here is another example of taking one photo and giving it a completely different world. Hope you enjoy! Top photo is the original, bottom photo has been altered.

Guess the Machine

Alright granted it is not the 30th yet, but it is past midnight on the east coast.

For this post I want you to guess what machine this is. Best guess gets a round of applause and a beer next time I see you.

Creating Reality

For today's post I wanted to alter reality. Often there are times when we see something in a different way than other people. Often there are times that you might see a painting or a photo and wonder "What if it looked like this instead?" Or you might say "If only it was missing "x," it would be a better photo." Let me know what you think of the two above. Would you alter the original or change it? For the altered photo: would you add or remove something?

Old Worn out Bird House

Not a lot to say about the picture today except that I really enjoy the angle and the old age feel that it has.

Enjoy!

Dealing with Many Men

For today's post I thought I might have a little fun with Photoshop. I always have to laugh when I realize that I can sometimes be doing multiple things at one time and causing destruction along the way. Also, you have to love the fact that the grammatical fairy is always in the center of it all as it goes down.

Hope you enjoy!

Flower Close Up

Took this picture while walking around Mountain View a couple of weeks ago. It seems that once all the rain stopped all the flowers started to bloom.

Sunset in Santa Cruz

Well after some time off from posting I am back. I have a fresh new batch of pictures and I am ready post more for your enjoyment.

This weekend we had the honor of spending time in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It was incredible. This picture was taken on Saturday evening. I took only this one picture that evening. I actually forgot that I had even snapped this shot until I uploaded onto my computer.

The picture speaks for itself. If you want to enjoy heaven on earth, hit up the Santa Cruz Mountains and you will find it there.

This message is Fairy Approved!

Labyrinth

Here is a shot from the Getty Center in LA. It is a beautiful landscape that is designed after a Labyrinth. To some, labyrinths are a sign of peace and have a very calming effect over the soul. I do not know about you but If I was ever caught in a life size Labyrinth I feel that I would be the farthest thing from calm. I would be breaking through that bitch!

Worn and Torn

In today's post we travel back to the town of Bodie. I know I know I have had a few posts from this town already, but LOOK AT THE PICTURE!!! It is almost 3D. This is of one of the barns that is located in the abandoned town.

I love looking at pictures like this and wondering, who were the people that lived there? What was a normal day like? I wonder if in 100 years people will look at where we live now and wonder who we were and what types of lives we lived. Deep man. Very deep.

That John Denver's Full of Crap

Really this photo does not reflect that quote at all. I chose to title this post that due to the fact that every time I look at it I think of the Dumb and Dumber quote.

This was taken as part of our two week road trip last summer. It was around the Bodie area. For those of you that have been following this blog for awhile you will remember some of the pictures from Bodie.

Seriously though! Look at that SKY! AMAZING!!!

Big Basin Waterfall

Thought you all might enjoy this waterfall shot that was taken at the Big Basin Redwood forrest. Took this with a slightly extended shutter speed in order to get the water to have the effect that it has.

Post more later!

Santa Cruz Seals

Here is a shot that comes from Santa Cruz. During certain times of the year the Sea Lions are all over the pier at Santa Cruz. This shot is of a group of Sea Lions that were all swimming together. I really like this one because of the way I was able to get the sunlight to shine off of the water. Looks like a starry night.

There is one other shot from this series that I wanted to share as well. Here it is. It is from the same day in the same water just closer to shore. Amazing how clear the water is.

Golden Gate Bridge

Sorry that I have been out of the posting mode now for the past few days. Been a busy man.

To start off June (wow I really can't believe that it is June already) I wanted to share one of my favorite shots that I took of the Golden Gate Bridge. It was around dusk that this picture was taken. I love how the sun light is reflecting off the water and you can see the tiniest hint of reflection in the water. Also look at the mountains in the background! Unreal!

Well I will be back in the posting mood and will see everyone tomorrow.

B Coming at Ya!

Took this photo a few months back at the Getty Center in LA. I laugh at this one because it makes me think that the bee on the flower is an LA movie star. It has its own body guard that keeps at arms length, circling the perimeter, attacking if there are paparazzi around! HAHA! I just cracked myself up!

Crashing at the end of the day

Here is another post for today. Came across this picture while looking through the shots from the weekend. I did a little burning and dodging to the photo but nothing else. Amazing!

Northern California Landscape

Here is a shot from the camping trip that the Grammatical Fairy and I took over the weekend. This was taken while standing on a cliff that was shooting out over the water. I love this picture because of the comparison of the calm sky against the rough water. While the web has downgraded the quality of the color a bit, the actual photo is BEAUTIFUL!

More to come from this amazing weekend.

Welcome Home

I look at this picture and I think of my grandfather (Papa). He always looked over us, made us feel welcome, did what was needed, and never said no. He ensured that we were safe and we were happy. Through any kind of stormy weather, he made us comfortable. He showed up in places unexpected, sat in the back row and always gave a cheerful smile, wave and nod, which was all we needed to know his approval. For a man that never asked for help, but accepted it when it was offered. For a man that made us who we are today.

This picture was from the Marin county side of the Golden Gate Bridge. The statue is known throughout the Navy community as the Lone Sailor. It is said that he guides naval ships out to sea and welcomes them home after a tour a duty.

California Sunset

Well what can you say about California sunsets? THEY ARE F***ING AWESOME!!!!! They're definitely one thing about California that never gets old. This shot was taken while camping in Santa Cruz last fall. If you are in the area around that time I recommend watching at least one sunset. I do not, however, recommend camping at that time of year as you will freeze your tuchus off. (For those of you not familiar with the tuchus, it is your bottom. If you need help saying tuchus I would tell you to say it like this: "tukas," with a little phlegm between the tu and the kas.)

Long Jump!

I know that it has been a few days since my last post, so I am bringing some Photoshop fun after a break. Over the weekend the Fairy and I and a couple of friends went camping at Costanoa, a beautiful campground that overlooks the Pacific Ocean.

While we were hiking along the beach we all took turns jumping off of sand dunes. I set up my camera to shoot in sports mode and captured the Fairy doing her jump. This is the first time I have tried to combine this many photos into one action shot. Hope you enjoy!

For today's post I am following up with another long exposure shot. This one was taken while we were staying at a Friends cabin up in Washington State. It was about 5 hours north of Seattle. The cool thing about this shot is that it was really sunny outside and leaving the shutter open for 1 second produced this night style shot. Enjoy!

Long Exposures

Well for all your readers out there (8 total from what I can see) a special treat you way. TWO PHOTOS! I am a huge fan of long exposure shots. I wanted to share a couple with you today that were taken in two different settings (one day, one night), but both had over one second exposures.

For the cat picture: I took it last night while I was wondering around MTV (aka Mountain View). I put my camera on the sidewalk, prayed that the cat would sit still, and set the shutter for two seconds. Luckily it only took one try to get the image right.

For the picture of the rocks: I was on a hike with GF near Juno Lake California. At about two miles up there was this incredible stream that we sat around for awhile and just listened. I perched my camera on a rock and had to try ten different exposures before I was able to get the image the way that I wanted.

For the rest of the week I am going to focus on night shots and long exposure pictures. Let me know what you think each day. Well let's face it, if one person comments on this site I will be more than excited, even if you just comment HI!