Stainless

Stainless steel wine fermenters from a Temecula Valley winery. 

Light and Simple

Not sure why, but this lamp on a wall in Old Town, San Diego struck me as an interesting subject. I originally gave it a treatment that accentuated the texture of the stucco wall (see below), but decided to rather tone the texture down with a filter with more negative clarity.  The stucco texture is still there, but doesn't detract from the lamp, in my opinion.

Foilage and fungus

Textures from the forests of Costa Rica. When photographing in the lush forests in Costa Rica, one of the biggest challenges I found was isolate subjects and keep the composition clean.  Close ups seemed to be the answer. Once I made that mental switch, the forest floor became a target-rich environment.

Spinning

Long exposures at Magic Mountain.

Damas Mangroves

While in the Quepos/Manuel Antonio area of Costa Rica, we took a boat tour of the mangrove swamps. Between the monkey, bird, reptile, and anteater sightings, I found the imagery of the old, abandoned boats among the mangrove trees appealing. I'm not sure why. Perhaps they give a sense of levity as they exist between the trees and their reflections on the water and a sense of timelessness because of there weathered surfaces.

Arenal, Costa Rica

 

Back from a family vacation in Costa Rica.  Our first destination was the area of Arenal, with its prominent active volcano. We stayed at the Arenal Observatory Lodge, who's grounds and rooms offer breathtaking views of the nearly perfectly shaped cinder cone volcano. The grounds also have a vast network of well maintained hiking trails through lush vegetation, farmland, hanging bridges, streams and waterfalls. There is also a museum about the volcano on-site that houses a seismograph that you can monitor some of the many small eruptions that occasionally occur throughout the day. 

Bugs

 

 During a recent stroll along the Batiquitos Lagoon in Carlsbad, Ca with the family, I thought I'd try out my new camera's close up/macro ability on the many insects observed along the path.  For me, framing and focusing is difficult in this type of photography since I typically like to get the camera close (~2-5 inches) to the bugs, low to the ground, and sometimes shoot up at the subject.  In this position, I usually cannot see the LCD on the back of the camera or I am down on the ground in some contorted position.  This is where I really wish I had a tilt swivel LCD screen instead of the fixed one on the back of my S90. To get these shots, I rely on constant chimping and expect several out of focus and badly composed shots...but all you need is a couple of keepers to make it all worth while.

 

  Its easy to loose yourself in this bug's world.  By the time I finished taking pictures, I couldn't remember how much time had passed and my wife and son were nowhere in sight.  I headed back to the car and found them there waiting patiently for me to finish up.I guess I do this a lot when I bring a camera along... It's nice that they understand.