7 Moody Beach Shots
A Flower.
A Man Fishing
A Tree
Lady with Son on Beach
A Volley Ball Net
Boys Walking on Beach
A Sea Shell
Carmel by the Sea – The Town that GPS Forgot
We had just booked our hotel online and I was trying to find it on my navigation system. I looked at the address the hotel provided and it only said Junipero Street between 7th and 8th. There must be some mistake I thought to myself and we dialed the hotel to get the address.
“Hello”, I said, ” I am trying to find your hotel, can you give me your address?”. The receptionist replied, “Junipero between 7th and 8th”.
A little frustrated, I repeated the question and added, “I am trying to punch it into my GPS so I need the full address.” She replied again, quite matter of factly, “Sir there are no addresses in Carmel”.
Well, that was the first of many unusual, unique and special things that I would learn about Carmel in my brief but very interesting stay there. The roads were a little bit difficult to navigate there but the mismash of storybook cottages were all unique and beautiful. And, instead of addresses, they had names, like this cute place called – Whale Watch.
Carmel is a throwback to the days when 60% of its inhabitants were artist. It is a bit of Europe right in the middle of California. There are no parking meters, no street lights, no numbered houses. There is even a law in Carmel that prohibits you from wearing high heal shoes without a permit. That law was written to prevent lawsuits arising from the very uneven pavement that you will encounter there.
You get the sense that Carmel is a bit out of this world and it is.
When we walked down the streets of Carmel we felt like we had landed somewhere in Europe. It is a tiny town but the restaurants and boutique shops are all top quality. I was amazed out how well the city had kept true to the European theme. In fact, while we were there, a majority of the people that we saw on the streets were from France. Everyone was French!
All around us were these ridiculously cute store fronts, coffee shops and places to sit. There was even a tiny park with a single bench and one single tree.
Carmel was initially an artist community. In 1905 the Carmel Arts and Crafts Club was formed to support and produce artistic works. After San Francisco was destroyed in the fire the next year, the town was inundated with artist fleeing there for new homes. The artist were offered lots to build homes for as little as $10 down and as much as they could pay each month. Thats how Carmel was formed and developed – primarily by artist.
Carmel by the Sea is exceptionally dog friendly city too. Most hotels let dogs stay with owners inside, many of the restaurants and retail stores allow dogs inside and give them treats and water bowls and biscuits can be found outside of many of the stores and restaurants. Even the dogs love Carmel. There is a warmth and friendliness to Carmel that you will not find in other places.
You almost forget you are in California, until you hit the beach. Then you are in for a real treat. The beach in Carmel is rugged. It is sandy. And it is scattered with beautiful and ancient looking trees called Monterey Cypress. If you are a photographer or love photography you have probably seen the picture of the Lone Monterey Cypress jutting out from a cliff.
What makes Carmel such a great destination is not just the beautiful and friendly town itself but the unbelievably rugged and beautiful coastline and long beaches. This is truly one of the finest places to visit in the United States. Carmel is a place that we will return to again and again.
Olivers Birthday was fun!
So much creative energy goes into the parties that the Fendley’s throw and they are always an amazing experience. We met yesterday for Oliver’s Birthday and Soccer Party! You can check out the full gallery here – Oliver’s Birthday Party.
Or just check out some shots here!
Photo Walking at Scripps in La Jolla
I took some interesting pictures are Scripps tonight. I have been practicing shooting in raw to do some ultra-low exposure shots to see what I could come up with.
Ollie and Darla
This is a photograph of Ollie and Darla. They were taking a rest from jumping on the bed.
Ansel Adams Hated his Photography Job
If you love photography, never make it your career. If you do decide to, than make sure that you’re doing the type of photography you enjoy. If you don’t, you just might end up in the same position as Ansel Adams did.
I read an interesting article about Ansel Adams, written by Erik Hayden in the Atlantic Journal the other day. It got me thinking about getting paid for doing photography. I have never gotten paid a single penny for any of my photographs and I think I want to keep it that way. I am not saying there is anything wrong with getting paid for it, it’s just not something I am ready to do.
So anyway, here is the interesting fact about Ansel Adams – One of the photos he took, Oh Little Town of Bethlehem which appeared on the cover of Life Magazine in 1938 was selected as one of the worst Life Magazine covers of all time. Its true – you can check it out here – Worst Covers of Life Magazine of All Time.
You might notice that other legendary photographers such as Richard Avedon and George Silk made the list too. I guess it’s a bit comforting to know that even great photographers can take bad pictures. Everyone is human – even one of the most iconic photographers in America, Ansel Adams.
It wasn’t bad work, probably just uninspired
Apparently, Ansel Adams had taken the photo right before he ended up moving to Yosemite and doing the greatest work of his life. And, according to Hayden, Ansel Adams had hit a breaking point where he wasn’t sure how to instill creativity into his work.
Adams wrote in his biography , “I have to do something in the relatively near future to regain the right track in photography. I am literally swamped with ‘commercial’ work — necessary for practical reasons, but very restraining to my creative work”.
Ansel Adams was fed up with the type of photography he was doing and it the results were showing up in his work. I always find it fascinating how a photographers attitude and personality will almost always show up in the photos they take. Ansel Adams was uninspired and it was showing.
On the other hand, when Ansel was inspired he took some of his best pictures. Take for example his photo -Georgia O’Keefe and Orville Cox, Canyon de Chelly National Monument. It was taken right around the same time as his much panned “O Little Town of Bethlehem” but it is regarded as one of his influential pictures and a personal favorite of his. When Ansel was inspired his work was masterful.
He did it for the money and continued to for many years.
Ansel Adams never did end up completely abandoning his commercial photography, in fact he kept commercial clients until the 1970’s. He maintained clients such as Kodak, Pacific Gas and Electric, Fortune Magazine and AT&T to supplement his income so he could work on his real passion which was photographing the West.
It’s hard to believe that Ansel Adams had to supplement his income with commercial work when today his original prints can sell for $50,000 or more. I suppose even a great photographer has to do photography that they are not inspired by for the money.
Why does money change everything?
I always run over the question in my mind of why I am so reluctant to charge people for taking pictures. And it always comes back to the same thing for me. If I charge them money, then I have to do exactly what they want not what I see in my head.
To be honest, its probably a control issue. If I charge someone for photography, their expectations will rise and then I will feel obligated to give them what they expect. I guess I want to maintain the control and selfishly not have to give creative freedom over to them.
And to be even more honest, its probably due to a lack of confidence in my photography. If I thought I was going to take the best pictures they had ever seen, I might consider charging money. But I guess I don’t feel I can deliver that.
It’s what Ansel Adams didn’t do for money that was the most influential and inspiring
Ansel Adams photography was and continues to be extremely influential. His pictures of Yosemite and the West continue to be the benchmark for landscape photography even though he shot with film and didn’t have many of the modern photoshop tools to help his work.
I am glad that Ansel Adams had some bad commercial photography sessions and hated the work. Imagine if he loved it and that is all he did? Imagine all of the countless iconic images that we would not see. Ansel Adams desire for creative freedom helped to fuel the art that is so in demand today.
I often find myself influenced by him too
I suppose that I have been influenced by him too. I was browsing some of my own photos and noticed in a few how shamelessly I had tried to copy his style with some of my landscape photos. Well, I am sure I am not the first and won’t be the last.
Mountain Ranges in Yosemite
More Mountains and Waterfalls in Yosemite
Mountains in Banff National Park Canada
Photographs. Thank God for Photographs.
There’s a beautiful song by Colin Hay called Dear Father. The song is written to his father who passed away. He wrote the song while he poured through old photos of his dad years later. The song begins with a line that captures the importance of those photographs to him in keeping the memory of his father alive in his heart.
“Dear Father, I’ve got your photographs. Thank God for Photographs. Hip Hip Hooray”.
I love this song and in my mind I hum it often while I am taking pictures. It reminds me of the importance of capturing the moment I am in and how much it might mean to me (or somebody else) someday. The photograph could have the same importance as those that Colin sings about.
Then today, while browsing Facebook, a photograph and a post appeared which was quite moving. The post only said, “Grand Canyon Trip in June. I wish I had a time machine.”
And this was the picture that it captioned.
This might seem just like any other photograph on Facebook. It might seem just like any other family portrait of a vacation. But it is not just any photograph. It is not just any family vacation portrait.
This photograph is one of the last family pictures they took before Alice (the youngest girl pictured) passed away. She had just turned 2.
Her mother posted the picture. It is a powerful reminder of the importance of the moment. It is a reminder that the little things – like a photograph- are not so little. The little things are what make life worth living. This photograph is very important. It is a treasure that they will keep forever. It is a time machine that will take them back to the memory, back to their life with Alice.
A Letter to Alice
I learned of the story of Alice several weeks ago. She had passed away in her sleep. I could not fathom such a loss myself.
Her mother Melissa wrote a letter to her baby which is heartbreaking and beautiful. A goodbye that she never got to say. I wanted to repost the letter because it was very powerful. You should read this – Thank you Alice. How precious life, family and memories are. And, photographs. Thank God for Photographs.
10 Beautiful Photos of Surfers Heading to the Water at Sunset
There are lots of reasons to live in San Diego. When you live next to the beach you can walk to the ocean and watch all the beauty that evolves at sunset. Each day is different. Each day is like a painting that will amaze you.
I have been going to the beach here in La Jolla at sunset for years and snapping pictures when I see something particularly beautiful. Here are some of my favorite shots of Surfers heading into the water at Sunset.
