Santa Cruz Harbor Lighthouse

First attempt at photo merge technique. I took about 7 photos while out on the boat and using Photoshop, "stitched" them together for this panorama. Need to practice this technique again, because I love the results.

Santa Cruz

I used to sail from the Santa Cruz Harbor on a sweet 24' Santana sailboat. This weekend I got out on the water again, but on the motor vessel Velocity owned by Stagnaro's. It was great to be on the water again, cruise the boardwalk, wharf and out past Santa Cruz Point, Seal Rock, Cowell's beach with the surfers, then back to the Harbor. Great way to end my weekend in Santa Cruz. This shot was taken from the stern of the boat. Thanks Kerrie for a great weekend.

WOW: Woodies on the Wharf, Santa Cruz

Sixteen year of "Woodies on the Wharf". Great day yesterday, spent most of the day on the Santa Cruz Wharf with almost 200 "woodies", oldest one was from 1929. Heard lots of great stories about the cars and their histories. Music from the 50's added to the ambiance.

Waddell Creek

Yesterday was a driving day from Sacramento to Santa Cruz/Capitola area to visit my friend Kerrie. I took the scenic route, driving from Half Moon Bay down the coast. The sun didn't shine until Waddell Creek (just a bit north of Santa Cruz). Of course I had to stop and take a photo! The windsurfers were out enjoying a great day of sunshine and good steady wind. All those little specks are NOT sensor dust, they are wind surfers.

Mr. Froggy.

Bike rack found in a courtyard in Reno. Pretty cool sculpture!

Feet

Here's a favorite shot from my recent visit to San Diego. My 4-year-old grandson, Shane, had fun when we went to Spanish Village (Balboa Park). We walked around a lot, looking at everything there, then rode the train (3 times) & he always ran for the seat by the huge stuffed giraffe. I took his picture (at his request) hugging the giraffe, but my favorite was this one.

Come sit awhile ...

Lovely warm courtyard in downtown Reno. Great tamales at a local restaurant, great place to eat them. Loved the blue chair against the old brick walls.

Rolling hills

Last Saturday I was driving home from San Diego -- this photo was taken from a rest stop somewhere on Hwy 5, middle of California. It was a great day for driving.

Old photos

I've been scanning old family photographs, and have been lucky enough to find some very old documents (wedding licenses, birth certificates, etc.) Along with those, I found this letter written around 1889 and is a report of my grandfather's conduct in school. The photograph is of my maternal grandfather, Harry Roberts and was taken in Los Angeles around 1940. He was born and raised in the London, England area. What a lucky find!

Using techniques I learned from Carol Leigh's recent montage class (www.photoexplorations.com) I was able to combine the photograph with the handwritten note. I still consider this a work-in-progress and am now exploring this whole area of combining old photos and old documents.

San Diego skyline

Part of meeting up with photo buddies in San Diego was a great meal at Peoho's, Coronado Island, then some night photography at the Ferry dock area. My first real attempt at night photography. The San Diego skyline was a perfect subject!

White fence

I went today to the Hotel del Coronado with three women friends in San Diego. Great get-together with good friends, good conversation, food and photo opportunities. This was taken on the beach behind the hotel. Thanks Terry, CJ & Pat, I enjoyed the day.

Change in pace

I liked this photo from a recent workshop in Pt. Reyes area. Intentional camera movement produced a rather ghostly looking fence post.