Down But Not Forgotten

This shot is part of an idea I had when I saw this gorge full of discarded cars and trash. I went on a hike with my daughter and saw this gorge but did not have my camera with me. The next year we returned with plans of crossing the river but the run off from Lake Chelan was quite intense compared to the same time the year before. The year before we could have walked across the river to get to the gorge. The images below show what we were up against, I had to come up with another idea if I wanted to get there. So as I left with an unsuccessful attempt to get to the gorge I kept my eyes open and noticed a piece of property on the other side of the river with a dirt road leading to it. So the next day we searched for the road and hiked down the river bank on large boulders not sure if we could even get there. As I hiked I kept in mind our safety and hoped we could hike without causing an avalanche. When we got there and I was shooting my leg sunk into the rocks causing my foot to get buried and scraped the side of my ankle. I had an idea of shooting up the gorge and making the cars look like a modern art sculpture but that idea did not work. I have a few more shots I am working on from this shoot.

This is a shot from the hike on the first day. The year before we could have walked across the river.

Everything including the kitchen sink. I can not imagine seeing this view and thinking this would be a great place to dump my trash. 

Cowboy Car

I saw this 1936 Chevrolet Standard at the 2014 Summer Fest in Antioch. With the guns and skull with horns made me think of Roy Rogers     Pontiac Bonneville customized by Nudie Cohn.

Banjo Creek Farms Revisited

I have shot Banjo Creek Farms in winter in the post Banjo Creek Farms. Here is a shot during the summer. I like to visit the same place at different times of the year to shoot a completely different feel, like the post This Old House would not be the same at any other time of the year. Not that you can't get a good shot during a different time of year just a different feel. 

Red Duck Nursery Manson Wa

This is my Grandfathers old orchard it is now the Red Duck Nursery in Manson Wa. I still laugh every time I think about my cousin being perplexed about people buying metal chickens. I see that he has sold quite a few in the area surrounding the nursery. My wife like the large chicken on the left, but not as much as the Bill King (the owner of Red Duck Nursery) likes it. That is why it is still there.

69 Chevy Camaro

I always liked the Chevy Camaro my favorite was the 1967 SS the first year and very similar to this 1969. One of my favorite parts was the look of the cowel induction hood along with the sleek body lines. I saw this at Summer Fest 2014 in Antioch.

Plane Lucky

A plane had to make an emergency landing just short of Buchanan Field Airport in Concord California about a quarter mile from my house. By Lynwood and Willow pass Rd. There were no injury's to the pilot and passenger. For the story check out this link.

I Am Officially Published

I am published in the book America's Greatest Pumpkin Patches by Randy Schmitz my image is on the back cover. The image is in my post at the Clayton Valley Pumpkin Farm 2012. Like Randy one of my favorite times of the year is Halloween I love the cool weather, fall colors and watching my children trick or treat.You can purchase America's Greatest Pumpkin Patches from Amazon.com.

Lil Omen 1950 Ford Coupe

I saw this 1950 Ford Coupe at the Antioch Summer Fest 2014. It reminded me of the car Sylvester Stallone drove in the movie Cobra. The car in Cobra was a 1950 Mercury Coupe, I like the Ford because of the bold chrome grille.

Concord High Carnival

A few weeks back a Concord High School had a carnival. I went with my son and wife with the intention of doing some photography, but my camera was on strike because I had ignored it for so long (both batteries were dead). So I went the next night which was the last night in the third image you can see a ladder being used to take down the lighted sign that says Rising Waters. In fact while I shot the series for the HDR image they had taken the sign almost all the way down. I was lucky to have most of the images shot by that time. On the booth that the fourth image is of (Fun and Games) there was a sign on top that I had intended to shoot but it was already down when I arrived so I changed my plan and shot the counter with the games going on. I arrived late with the intention of playing low light and light trails. The last two images are from the same series of shots with a different ghost image chosen. This is the first post I have used Photomatix I have been experimenting with it for quite some time and finally purchased the program. You can use it for free, but it water marks the images until you buy the program. I have been unhappy HDR Efex Pro  I explain the problem in post 37 Nash LaFayette. So far I have been happy with Photomatix I do not think I will completely quit using HDR Efex Pro but will choose depending on the image I am processing. What I like about Photomatix is that it allows you to circle parts of the image and use different images for the ghost image. For example lets say I was shooting a series of images like in this post and there were two rides and I wanted them both to be moving like the last three images in this post and the rides never were running at the same time I have control over that in Photomatix. In HDR Efex Pro I have to settle for one image or process the image twice and use layers and layer masks in Photoshop to achieve the same result.

1961 Chrysler New Yorker

This 1961 Chrysler New Yorker was at the Show Stoppers Summer Fest 3rd Annual Car Show Antioch. The Chrysler New Yorker was a premium automobile model by the Chrysler division of the Chrysler Corporation from 1940–1996, serving for several years as the brand's flagship model.

1949 Buick

This 1949 Buick was at the Show Stoppers Summer Fest 3rd Annual Car Show Antioch. It has a Buick Fireball Dynaflash straight eight. 

Main Street Disneyland At Night

I like the store fronts on Main Street in Disneyland and how different they look at night with the interior lights coming from the inside out to the sidewalk. Also being able to see the exterior lights that are supposed to get your attention to make you want to go inside. One of my favorite things is the Coca Cola light that is hanging at the entrance of the refreshment stand in the first image. These were all taken around midnight just as the park was closing.

Kellogg's Diamond T California Adventure

This Kellogg's truck is a 1930's model Diamond T I have previously photographed one in the post Diamond T Truck while in Toppenish Washington. This one was located in California Adventure and restored to its former glory.

Chevrolet Truck Bob's Christmas Tree Lot At Night

It's the grill that caught my attention from 100 yards away as I pulled into the parking lot. It's the kind of grill you could comb your hair in and if not there definitely in the chrome half moon headlight covers. The next day I worked nearby I had my camera and was ready to shoot this truck. One thing I love about shooting at night is the different color of the light sources. In the second image you can see mostly warm (orange), a few cool (green) and at least one neutral light. If you look close you can see the left front of the truck is bathed in warm light while the right side is more neutral. I also shot some during the day and had a nice surprise when a 1956 Plymouth Safari station wagon pulled in. 

1957 Pontiac Safari

I was shooting a truck at Bob's Christmas tree lot when this car pulled up. I planned to link this to the truck post but I realized I have not posted that yet, I will post the truck soon. When I talked to the owner of the Pontiac Safari he said his wife got angry when he brought this home. The floor boards were rusted out and now that it is restored she loves it. 

UPDATE: I was told by Val Ramsey that this is actually a 1957 Pontiac Safari.

Enchanted Tiki Room Disneyland

Enchanted Tiki Room opened June 23, 1963 and was the first to feature Audio-Animatronics. The show was originally going to be a restaurant featuring Audio-animatronic birds serenading guests as they dined. Since computers have played a central role in the attraction since its inception, Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room was also Disneyland's first fully air-conditioned building. Since ownership of the attraction was separate from the rest of the park originally there was a nominal admission charge of $0.75.

The presentation features a "cast" of over 150 talking, singing and dancing birds, flowers, a magic fountain, tiki drummers and tiki totem poles that perform the attraction's signature tunes, "The Tiki Tiki Tiki Room" by the Sherman Brothers and "Let's All Sing Like the Birdies Sing". The finale has every Audio-Animatronics figure performing a rousing version of "Hawaiian War Chant". The choice of exit music is somewhat unusual, namely an arrangement of "Heigh-Ho" from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs with lyrics thanking guests for watching the show and hurrying them to the exit.

Disney's Haunted Mansion

I planned on posting this in December but time got away from me. During Halloween and Christmas the Haunted Mansion is decorated with the characters from Nightmare Before Christmas. They call it the Haunted Mansion Holiday. I like shooting at night for the different light sources (sodium vapor, incandescent, florescent and in this case the blue and purple laser) and shadows cast from them. I wanted a clean shot (no people passing through or standing in line) I shot quite a few shots before I gave up and sat down and just waited. Once the crowd had died down I was able to re-position my tripod without worrying about creating a trip hazard and got a better composition. I had security guard's slowly following me out of the park but I made friends with two of them and they actually blocked the traffic for me.