Cypress Sunset My wife and I had the great opportunity to take a jaunt up to Pebble Beach and Carmel, California last year. We hiked around Big Sur, visited the Carmel village, went to Cannery Row and toured the excellent Monterey Bay Aquarium. This image, taken in a hurried frenzy as the sun set, out of all the lovely sites, exemplifies this trip. The soothing salty winds and calming waves are nearly transmitted through this image for me. I arrived at the Carmel Beach City Park at 5:35pm, just as the sun was setting. By the time I traversed the sand dunes the sun had set. However, at 5:37pm I exposed this image while hand-holding a ND to stop the sky down a little and help properly expose the sea. The windswept cypress trees along the Carmel coast are most interesting with their squat stance. Here in San Diego the Torrey Pines are very similar to the cypress trees of Carmel. If you are in San Diego and want an excellent hike that covers the beach and hilly terrain, head over to the Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve south of Del Mar and north of La Jolla. Your efforts will be rewarded by the fantastic ocean views from atop the bluffs. May 16, 2010

Post Alley Public Market On a rainy evening I set up my tripod and clicked off a few double-exposures in Downtown Seattle. The blue stormy skies help the red brick building and neon signs pop in the image above. A few other tourists stood by me and tried to take this same picture with their pocket-cams. I have a feeling their images did not expose properly. A Canon S90 (click for review) would have resolved this scene pretty well if used on a tripod. May 11, 2010