Aliza's Journal

01:57 am - Birds at the Baylands

Today and last Sunday I went up to the Baylands to take pictures. I'm slowly starting to recognize some of the bird species... (only posting one photo, more are in the gallery, and I'll probably put more up over the next week or so.)

Ruddy Duck This gentleman is sporting a fashionable blue bill to attract the ladies. Oxyura jamaicensis.

06:18 pm - Henry W. Coe State Park

I just got back from a short trip to Henry W. Coe State Park. Very pretty, though it's clear that I'm even more out of shape than I'd thought. Photos to follow, though nothing spectacular.

Would someone equally out-of-shape like to take a trip somewhere with me next weekend?

10:46 pm - Photo Workshop

So, I signed up for joedecker's coastal photography workshop; the field session was yesterday.

Now I get to go through 2 Gb of images to find 10 photos that I want to print to bring to the critique session in 2 weeks. This is going to be an interesting exercise all by itself :-) Here are 3 of the first I've post-processed: ( cut, as requested, 'cuz the table messed up someone's display :-(  )

More images are at aliza250's gallery: Coast Photo Workshop

Constructive criticism is actively solicited. Just plain drooling over my photos, or the subjects thereof, would also be appreciated ;-)

(By the way, LJ raised my limit from 100Mb to 1 Gb when I wasn't looking, so I get to upload more pics to LJ. Yay!)

02:45 pm - Taming the Alligators

Alligator Sculpture I drive past this on my way to the bank, and it always strikes me as a little bit of absurdity. I had to move around a bit to get a background that wasn't too distracting, and I'd like to go back to get a different sun angle so I could have some light on the underside of the umbrella. I used a polarized filter to tone down the glints. F5.6, 1/125 sec, 34mmX1.6 focal length, ISO 100 equiv. Resized to about 40% before uploading.

09:07 pm - San Jose: Santana Row

Yesterday I ended up on Santana Row in San Jose, a high-class shopping district. I took a few pictures. Well, OK, more than just a few, but I won't inflict all of them on you...

Striped Leaves	Brothers	An odd way to decorate a wall...	Orange Gecko Fountain

12:03 am - Santa Cruz Boardwalk

First of all, let me state my immense dismay that the much-hyped Santa Cruz Boardwalk is made of **concrete**. That's just wrong.

	Dep-Fried Twinkies, Anyone? They are apparently a SC Boardwalk tradition. I didn't try one, though. Note also the flat-bottomed wheels on the "cart".
	Twirling Lights Time-exposure of a whirling ride.

12:59 pm - Only in California

Avocadoes in a Greek salad.

Current Mood: amused