Weekend visit from Jackie's Dad

This past weekend, Jackie's dad came to visit for the last time before he goes on his big trip to Europe!  We drove out east to near Palm Springs to visit his sister near the Mt. San Jacinto State Park.  It was a really nice drive, and was a great opportunity to see a bunch of really cool scenery.

Sony Alpha 200, 28.0 mm, ISO 100, f/8.0, 1/160

Going east, it's amazing how quickly the terrain changes in Southern California.

 

Sony Alpha 200, 75.0 mm, ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/100 

We traveled from the Mediterranean-esque brush of the coast, to a region with actual trees!  And not only that, but moss as well!  It really brings me back to my Northwest roots.



*(As a tangent, this Wednesday, the Seattle Mariners play   their season opener against the Oakland Athletics in Tokyo!  It will be at 3 am, but that only barely discourages me from watching it.  It'll be good to play the A's again, a team we might have a chance against, unlike the two Japanese teams we just finished playing.)







The scenery up that way was really beautiful; the golden fields were very inspiring for future outings to try to capture the wildflowers, something I have yet to do in my time in San Diego.

Sony Alpha 200, 28.0 mm, ISO 100, f/8.0, 1/160 

 It was a really nice photo trip overall, and it was great getting to spend some time with both Jackie and her dad.  Hopefully his trip goes well!  Everyone should be sure to follow his blog as well to get updates of his European trek in the coming months!

I'll leave things off for tonight with two final shots from the drive back, down Highway 79.

Sony Alpha 200, 28.0 mm, ISO 200, f/8.0, 1/200 

Sony Alpha 200, 35.0 mm, ISO 200, f/8.0, 1/125

Photoshoot with Friends

Sony  Alpha 200, 55.0mm,  f/3.5, ISO 200, 1/640

Hello everyone!  Jackie and I had a great opportunity recently to do some photographs for one of our friends, Dan.  He was a really great model, and I think everyone had a really great time!

  To begin with, we went to SDSU, which has some neat architecture and warm tones.  It also has flags with a suitably epic feel!  Jackie did a great job scouting out places ahead of time, as you can see from some of the pictures that she has put together (See above link!)

Sony  Alpha 200, 35.0mm,  f/4.0, ISO 200, 1/160

With the sun rapidly fading, though, the time was perfect to head to Coronado.  Besides being a really cute a area of San Diego, Coronado has great views of the downtown area across San Diego Bay.  It's just a 10 minute drive or so from downtown to get to a cute little park.





(As a side note, there were lots of  fancy events being photographed there at the same time we were, including wedding photos.  So if someone's looking for a great place to get photos, I'd recommend it as a very interesting location)

Sony  Alpha 200, 70.0mm,  f/4.0, ISO 200, 1/640 

The quality of this location is especially true in the late evening, as the sunset casts a warm glow on downtown San Diego





As you can see, it's hard to beat that view, especially considering what month of the year it was (March).  Winter in southern latitudes has more perks than just great weather, though; the nice weather means great lighting earlier in the evening, so you're not trying to get shots at 7, 8, 9 o'clock.

Sony  Alpha 200, 60.0mm,  f/4.0, ISO 200, 1/80 

Don't want to get too verbose on this, not really any bigger motive for this other than wanting to share these shots with you, so I think I'll leave you with these final two shots and bid you all good day.

Sony  Alpha 200, 75.0mm,  f/4.0, ISO 200, 1/60