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Grimace, Pigeon Point Lighthouse and the Flickr Blog
I’m not quite sure if this belongs in journeys or landscapes, but it was an eventful day for me and more importantly, there’s a story to go along with it. I finally have a few days off of work due to a forced shutdown during this holiday season and I can actually take the time to write down what happened on one crazy Saturday in November of 2008.
Grimace came to town for work! Yippee!! Not surprisingly, I took him to a Sharks game when he arrived on that Thursday, but I also had a chance to spend a few hours with him on a very special Saturday morning/early afternoon before I had to put him on flight back home (& Kendal).
And it seemed the weather gods knew that he was coming to town. Saturday was the stuff post cards are made from – bright sunshine from above, sparkling waves of the Pacific crashing on the coastlines, and miles and miles and unbelieving clarity in the haze-less skies with endless of winter green plants lining the hillsides.
We started south and slowly crawled our way north to the city along the coast.
1. Adam and the waves
2. Clear, clear day (in IR) – insane visibility; I don’t think I’ve ever seen the CA coast so clear
3. Pigeon Point in the morning --- Incredibility clarity even with a standard body. Fog – no where to be seen
While at lighthouse, I informed Adam that it would be an extremely special Saturday evening. The first Fresnel Lens was lit on Nov. 15, 1872 and this Saturday was the anniversary of that lighting. In celebration, the light house would light that lens one more time for three hours, and leave it in a non-moving state for five full minutes. I was exhausted and my plans for Saturday included staying at home with a good book and I didn’t want to be anywhere in the proximity of the lighthouse. After all, I was there already there that morning. Adam looked at me as if I was insane and if I lost my mind. After all, he was almost willing miss his flight for the chance for photograph this special event. Almost.
As the morning turned into afternoon, I began to feel the urge to shoot it, but I didn’t have the energy and knew I couldn’t drive back down the coast without crashing. After all, I barely got Adam to the airport in time for his flight. Oops.
So… I called up another friend, and made him drive me back to the lighthouse and arrived about an hour before the lighthouse was lit.
I think lady luck was on our side. When we arrived, we saw people everywhere, but we lucked out in parking, and I somehow shoved my way through the crowd and found a decent spot. I think there were thousands of photographers standing everywhere.
4. People everywhere (with tripods)
And unlike most people, I was completely unprepared. The photographers around planned this shoot for months, and a few individuals around us waited for six hours in order to claim their precious spot for this magical moment. They even meticulously studied and planned their exposure setting by studying photos of previous years and some even brought copies of the exif.
Me. I arrived to lighting there completely cold and only had the gear that I packed for day time photowalk in the city. I had no clue what to expect and no idea how to shoot it. Clueless. Me.
5. It seemed that everyone was jockeying for shots. I think I saw more gearheads here than at the dgrin shootouts.
6. Waiting. And shooting. There wasn’t anything else that I could do but wait.
And then it happened. My jaw dropped. Magic. It was so beautiful, but I struggled. I started with a 30s exposure. The three guys next to me were going for 2 minute ones. I increased the time… nothing worked. I couldn’t get any beans and I knew that time was running out. And then I upped the ISO, and attempted on more frame, and I got this.
7. Five minutes of utter panic & the astronomical twilight
One shot. And then the beans started moving. And the other visual show began. I know understand why people were going for 2 minute+ exposures because you lost the narrow beams once the rotation began.
And the star! Oh the stars! I never knew that I could see the stars from the California coastline!
Luckily, my friend brought his 50 f/1.4 and we were still able to get some narrow lights beams while the lights rotated and the light beams seem to extend forever. Truly, truly beautiful. I don't think that I'll ever forget that evening.
8. Borrowed
I processed a few photos that night and uploaded them to my flickr account.
And I got the surprise of my life the very next day. I started getting e-mail and IM’s from friends. It turns out that my photo was one of the four chosen for the flickr blog and so did Dee’s flickr group. The funny thing – one of the other photos in the blog was taken by guy who was next to me and waited for six hours for that spot.
Adam (grimace) tells me that I’m stretching this too much and giving him too much credit for this game of six degrees of separation, but I don’t think so. I would never have taken any of these photos without him, and without his nudging, I would not have gone back the pigeon point later on that night. And If I did not go back, I would have met a fabulous photographer (the other flickr blog guy next to me) and would have never been introduced to his friend which resulted in these photos of the city.
So… moral of the story.
Go out and shoot. You never know what you’ll get.
And much thanks for Adam for the much needed kick in the butt.
Grimace came to town for work! Yippee!! Not surprisingly, I took him to a Sharks game when he arrived on that Thursday, but I also had a chance to spend a few hours with him on a very special Saturday morning/early afternoon before I had to put him on flight back home (& Kendal).
And it seemed the weather gods knew that he was coming to town. Saturday was the stuff post cards are made from – bright sunshine from above, sparkling waves of the Pacific crashing on the coastlines, and miles and miles and unbelieving clarity in the haze-less skies with endless of winter green plants lining the hillsides.
We started south and slowly crawled our way north to the city along the coast.
1. Adam and the waves
2. Clear, clear day (in IR) – insane visibility; I don’t think I’ve ever seen the CA coast so clear
3. Pigeon Point in the morning --- Incredibility clarity even with a standard body. Fog – no where to be seen
While at lighthouse, I informed Adam that it would be an extremely special Saturday evening. The first Fresnel Lens was lit on Nov. 15, 1872 and this Saturday was the anniversary of that lighting. In celebration, the light house would light that lens one more time for three hours, and leave it in a non-moving state for five full minutes. I was exhausted and my plans for Saturday included staying at home with a good book and I didn’t want to be anywhere in the proximity of the lighthouse. After all, I was there already there that morning. Adam looked at me as if I was insane and if I lost my mind. After all, he was almost willing miss his flight for the chance for photograph this special event. Almost.
As the morning turned into afternoon, I began to feel the urge to shoot it, but I didn’t have the energy and knew I couldn’t drive back down the coast without crashing. After all, I barely got Adam to the airport in time for his flight. Oops.
So… I called up another friend, and made him drive me back to the lighthouse and arrived about an hour before the lighthouse was lit.
I think lady luck was on our side. When we arrived, we saw people everywhere, but we lucked out in parking, and I somehow shoved my way through the crowd and found a decent spot. I think there were thousands of photographers standing everywhere.
4. People everywhere (with tripods)
And unlike most people, I was completely unprepared. The photographers around planned this shoot for months, and a few individuals around us waited for six hours in order to claim their precious spot for this magical moment. They even meticulously studied and planned their exposure setting by studying photos of previous years and some even brought copies of the exif.
Me. I arrived to lighting there completely cold and only had the gear that I packed for day time photowalk in the city. I had no clue what to expect and no idea how to shoot it. Clueless. Me.
5. It seemed that everyone was jockeying for shots. I think I saw more gearheads here than at the dgrin shootouts.
6. Waiting. And shooting. There wasn’t anything else that I could do but wait.
And then it happened. My jaw dropped. Magic. It was so beautiful, but I struggled. I started with a 30s exposure. The three guys next to me were going for 2 minute ones. I increased the time… nothing worked. I couldn’t get any beans and I knew that time was running out. And then I upped the ISO, and attempted on more frame, and I got this.
7. Five minutes of utter panic & the astronomical twilight
One shot. And then the beans started moving. And the other visual show began. I know understand why people were going for 2 minute+ exposures because you lost the narrow beams once the rotation began.
And the star! Oh the stars! I never knew that I could see the stars from the California coastline!
Luckily, my friend brought his 50 f/1.4 and we were still able to get some narrow lights beams while the lights rotated and the light beams seem to extend forever. Truly, truly beautiful. I don't think that I'll ever forget that evening.
8. Borrowed
I processed a few photos that night and uploaded them to my flickr account.
And I got the surprise of my life the very next day. I started getting e-mail and IM’s from friends. It turns out that my photo was one of the four chosen for the flickr blog and so did Dee’s flickr group. The funny thing – one of the other photos in the blog was taken by guy who was next to me and waited for six hours for that spot.
Adam (grimace) tells me that I’m stretching this too much and giving him too much credit for this game of six degrees of separation, but I don’t think so. I would never have taken any of these photos without him, and without his nudging, I would not have gone back the pigeon point later on that night. And If I did not go back, I would have met a fabulous photographer (the other flickr blog guy next to me) and would have never been introduced to his friend which resulted in these photos of the city.
So… moral of the story.
Go out and shoot. You never know what you’ll get.
And much thanks for Adam for the much needed kick in the butt.
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Ignorance is no excuss, so lets DGrin!
Winston
I often feel like not leaving the comfort of my home, but when I do, I often
find that it's worth going out whether I get any keepers or not.
Alvin
Fremont, CA
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April - shoot more - give in to exhaustion less. You will feel better for it!
ann
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I was told the direct opposite this weekend.
I was informed (by photo friends!) that I need to decline events, say "no" more often and stay home. It seems that I've been more forgetful lately.
But the point is a bit moot. Work will crank up and I don't think I'll come out for air for about eight months.
Here's Adam walking into a Badlands sunset.
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Marcelo