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Showing posts from 2013

Capitola Painted Bungalows

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Painted Bungalows , a photo by skip.kuebel on Flickr. Sunset on the beach in Capitola, California with brightly painted beach bungalows in the foreground. I've been in a tilt-shift mode lately and here is another example. It makes the highlighted buildings look like miniature models like you would see on a model train set-up. Visit my Flickr site to see these images at full size. Happy New Years! Skip Kuebel, Photographer skiptown@comcast.net

Golden Gate Bridge

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Golden Gate Bridge , a photo by skip.kuebel on Flickr. Here is the magnificent Golden Gate Bridge shot from the west side above Baker Beach on the hiking trail. Had to go underneath the toll plaza and hike past  WWII Godfrey Battery to get this view. I shot this with my Canon 40D and the post-processed it using Lightroom for basic color balancing, cropping and so on, then a quick trip to the Nik software plug-in to cross-process the color, then a touch of glamour glow and finished off with lighten/darken center. Then into Photoshop to do some minor touch-ups and then used the tilt-shift blur filter. Back to Nik to use the auto noise reduction and then sharpened up the middle portion a tad. Check out more of my GG Bridge pictures at my Flickr site to see the pictures at full size and resolution. Skip Kuebel, Photographer skiptown@comcast.net

Family Portrait for Autumn

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Skip Kuebel, Photographer skiptown@comcast.net  A family portrait of my tennis buddy Yoshi and his wife and 3 month old baby girl. We shot some pictures at the Bollinger fountain in San Ramon and then went over to Central Park to get these photographs. The trees were great the lighting was beautiful the family was into it, the only problem was the wind was blowing about 30 mph! But we pushed on with a few breaks for the little one to warm back up. Here are two shots from the day. If you want to see the rest you can view them on my Flickr site.

Autumn in San Ramon

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IMG_5724.jpg , a photo by skip.kuebel on Flickr. I was scouting locations for an upcoming family portrait session and realized that California is always knocked for not having any seasons. I know it ain't New England in the fall, but still not too bad right? This is the fountain in San Ramon. Maybe the saving grace is that it's 72º with no snow! Skip Kuebel, Photographer skiptown@comcast.net

Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens

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Here are some more of my Washington D.C. adventure pictures. Mount Vernon was George Washington's Virginia estate. The view from the front porch is very relaxing. Too bad George was too busy to enjoy it much. I guess leading the army, setting up the country and being President took a lot of time. Go figure. There is also a working farm on the property, that they work like they did back in Washington's day. See more of these photos on my Flickr account. http://www.flickr.com/photos/97777205@N03/sets/72157636642510135/ Skip Kuebel, Photographer skiptown@comcast.net

The WWII Memorial still closed in Washington

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I visited Washington D.C. a few years back and had such a good time wandering the Mall and looking at all the monuments. As, you can imagine I took a bunch of pictures. I can't believe they would put up barriers around these, as they are just out there in the open. Now, it would be hard to get pictures near them. Hopefully everyone will come to the senses soon and open these treasures back up. Even more so with the National Parks. It must take more personnel and equipment and cost to keep people out vs. watching them visit? Here are a few of the WWII Memorial and you can see more from my trip at my Flickr site.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/97777205@N03/with/9196711208 Skip Kuebel, Photographer skiptown@comcast.net

Container Ship vs. Alcatraz

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Container Ship vs. Alcatraz , a photo by skip.kuebel on Flickr. Like King Kong vs Godzilla, this giant container ship passes just in front of Alcatraz island in the San Francisco Bay. The ship is almost the same size as the old prison island. I shot this near the St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco. Skip Kuebel, Photographer skiptown@comcast.net

I Want Cheese, Somebody give me Cheese!

I took a photo of my neighbor's dog Mini and used some new software called CrazyTalk Pro. It's a very fun piece software and also very easy to use. With a few clicks this was up and running. I'll dive into it a little deeper and post some more. They are fun!

Old Point Loma Lighthouse

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San Diego's Old Point Loma Lighthouse overlooks the San Diego Harbor and Airport. I thought it was interesting to view this whale sculpture with the lighthouse in the background. Lots of nice flowers, this was shot in the Spring. The light had only a short life because the seemingly good location concealed a serious flaw: fog and low clouds often obscured the beam. On March 23, 1891, the keeper extinguished the lamp for the last time. Boarding up the lighthouse, he moved his family and belongings into a new light station at the bottom of the hill. Today you can see the "New" Point Loma Lighthouse from the Whale Overlook, 100 yards south of the Old Point Loma Lighthouse.  See more on Flickr.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/97777205@N03/9273155512/in/photostream/# Skip Kuebel, Photographer skiptown@comcast.net

Lighthouse on Alcatraz Island

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Alcatraz, The Rock. I went out to photograph this once famous civil war fort, and prison and during the 70s it made news again when it was taken over by Native American Indians, all this, but I forgot there was a Lighthouse on the Island. So, to add to my lighthouse collection was quite a bonus. You can view them at my SmugMug site: http://skiptown.smugmug.com/Lighthouses/Lighthouse-on-Alcatraz/ Skip Kuebel, Photographer skiptown@comcast.net

Mini

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Mini , a photo by skip.kuebel on Flickr. Mini is my neighbor's Chihuahua who comes by daily to beg for cheese. It's nice to have a little dog visitor, and I could't resist taking a few pictures. See more from this shoot here:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/97777205@N03/sets/72157635351920346/

Tomb of the Unknown Surfer

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Here is the Tomb of the unknown surfer. It's on West side drive in Santa Cruz, California. Well, of course it is. This monument in close to the Mark Abbott Memorial Lighthouse and surfing museum. Good view of the Boardwalk from here as well. What caught my eye was the red and purple flowers and the surfer in the background. See more from this shoot at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/97777205@N03/9400350745/in/set-72157634856906611 Skip Kuebel, Photographer skiptown@comcast.net

Yerba Buena Lighthouse

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Yerba Buena Lighthouse is a US Coast Guard light station on the old Goat Island which was re-named Yerba Buena later, near the Bay Bridge on the San Francisco bay. I shot this by boat and would love to know how I could get permission to shoot it on land from the Coast Guard. If anyone knows send me a note. Here are more shots from that day:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/97777205@N03/sets/72157635253362550/ Skip Kuebel, Photographer skiptown@comcast.net

Point Bonita Lighthouse

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The Point Bonita Lighthouse is at the very tip of the Marin Headlands leading to the mouth of the Golden Gate. This is a sight not to miss. You park and need to walk about a mile down a path and through a tunnel and then across a very shaky wooden suspension bridge, braving the wind and sea sprat to arrive at the Point Bonita Lighthouse. It's not for the weak of heart, but well worth the view. See more at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/97777205@N03/sets/72157634474053938/ Skip Kuebel, Photographer skiptown@comcast.net

Fort Point Lighthouse San Francisco

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This is one of my favorite places. The Fort Point Lighthouse which as you can see lives underneath the Golden Gate Bridge. This is a brick, Civil War era fort with a lighthouse on top. While the dream of the Golden Gate Bridge was coming alive, Fort Point’s future was looking bleak: the bridge’s construction plans called for the demolition of the fort. Fortunately, Chief Engineer Joseph Strauss appreciated the history and architecture of Fort Point and redesigned the bridge to arch over it. Some great views of the bridge, the bay and the city. You can even walk from this point under the roadbed by the toll plaza and get to the other side of the bridge and even hike down to Baker Beach from there. See more photos from this shoot at:   http://skiptown.smugmug.com/Lighthouses/Fort-Point-Lighthouse Skip Kuebel, Photographer skiptown@comcast.net

Editor's Choice at HDR Spotting

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In Spring I posted this photo on Trey Radcliff's website called HDR Spotting. I was lucky enough to have this one picked as an Editor's Choice Award. They were looking for some great HDR photos from around the world.  HDR methods provide higher dynamic range from the imaging process. Non-HDR cameras take pictures at one exposure level with a limited contrast range. This results in the loss of detail in bright or dark areas of a picture, depending on whether the camera had a low or high exposure setting. HDR compensates for this loss of detail by taking multiple pictures at different exposure levels and intelligently stitching them together to produce a picture that is representative in both dark and bright areas.  This was shot on Tassajara Road, in Pleasanton, California during the spring. Skip Kuebel, Photographer skiptown@comcast.net

Tilt Shift in Elk, California

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Trying my hand at tilt-shift photography.  Tilt–shift photography  is the use of  camera movements  on small- and medium-format cameras, and sometimes specifically refers to the use of tilt for  selective focus , often for  simulating a miniature scene . Sometimes the term is used when the shallow  depth of field  is simulated with digital post-processing; the name may derive from the  tilt–shift lens  normally required when the effect is produced optically.  This was shot in Elk, California near Mendocino along the Highway 1 heading south. You can see more photos like this on my Flickr account:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/97777205@N03/sets/72157635428549102/ Skip Kuebel, Photographer skiptown@comcast.net

Mark Abbott Memorial Lighthouse & Surfer Museum

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This photo was chosen by the Santa Cruz Conference and Visitor's Council to appear in their Santa Cruz Magazine. The Mark Abbott Memorial Lighthouse is currently home to the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum. The museum was founded in 1985 by Longboard Union members Dave Dyc and Boots McGhee, who received permission to house the museum in the lighthouse. The museum opened in May of 1986, and is a branch of the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History. The lighthouse is currently threatened by erosion, which is undermining the point.  To see more from this shoot go to my SmugMug site at: http://skiptown.smugmug.com/Lighthouses/Santa-Cruz-Lighthouses Skip Kuebel, Photographer skiptown@comcast.net