Uploads from RobertCross1, tagged la, with geodata

Fiery flagpole sky

nobody@flickr.com (RobertCross1) — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 09:24:39 -0700

Just another evening in southern California.

Feliz Quarta Sunset – Happy Sunset Wednesday, everyone!

Impressionistic lily

nobody@flickr.com (RobertCross1) — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 23:04:27 -0700

There's nothing like looking at the world with eyes and aperture wide open.

Manual focus F.Zuiko OM 50mm f/1.8 lens on my OM-D E-M5.

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Palos Verdes - winter's last sunset [Explored]

nobody@flickr.com (RobertCross1) — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 09:52:02 -0700

RobertCross1 posted a photo:

For sunset Wednesday, this one's from a few months back. The sun going down over the Pacific as seen from the Terranea Resort on Los Angeles county's Palos Verdes peninsula. At the lower right is Point Vicente Light.

Point Vicente Lighthouse was built in 1926 on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The light source was dimmed during World War II to avoid aiding the enemy. It was automated in 1971 by the United States Coast Guard. The original third order Fresnel lens still revolves in the lantern room. The Point Vicente Lighthouse is an important landmark and beacon light relied upon by thousands of ships and pleasure craft. It provides a means of fixing their position, and ensuring their safe passage up and down the coast. The Point Vicente Light Station has been guiding sailing vessels to and from the Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbors since March 1926. It was first operated and maintained by the United States Lighthouse Service for 13 years prior to the service being merged with the U.S. Coast Guard, which was delegated all aid-to-navigation responsibilities in 1939. The lighthouse was manned until 1971 when it was automated by a remote electronic aids-to-navigation monitoring system. The cylindrical tower is 67 feet (20 m) tall[1], and the masonry structure is built on the edge of a 130-foot (40 m) cliff. This places the center of the lantern 185 feet (56 m) above the ocean, and because of this elevation, the 1.1 million candlepower-beam can be seen twenty miles (32 km) away. The most striking feature in the lighthouse is the classical third-order rotating Fresnel Lens located in the lantern. This particular lens was manufactured around 1910 in Paris, France, by Barbier, Bernard and Turenne, the oldest lens making company in the world. This lens is made up of hand-ground prisms held in place by a cast brass frame. The prisms and frame represent an excellent example of the precision achieved by optical scientists and the lens making art in utilizing the known principles and properties of light. This lighthouse also incorporates a pleasant-sounding foghorn to audibly warn ships during times of low visibility which are common to the area. According to urban legend, the Point Vicente Lighthouse is known to be haunted. (Wikipedia)

Manual exposure with my pocket superzoom, the Sony HX9V. 24mm focal length FF equivalent, ISO 100, 1/60-sec, f/8, hand-held.

Feliz Quarta Sunset – Happy Sunset Wednesday, everyone!

My 24th shot to make Flickr's Explore: #170 on 8 August 2012.

Sierra Madre Surreal Sunset

nobody@flickr.com (RobertCross1) — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 09:50:54 -0700

RobertCross1 posted a photo:

We get a lot of great sunsets down here in southern California, so I figured I'd try various different ways of capturing them. I don't do a lot of HDR, and it's definitely best when tripod-mounted. But since even my current pocket camera can exposure bracket three shots in less than a second, and I didn't have a tripod on me at the time, I thought I'd give a hand-held JPEG, small-sensor HDR sunset image a shot. You do what you can with the tools you have on you.

And yes, this camera does do in-camera HDR. But it is entirely automated, and the manual mode does not work with it. So it only produces acceptable results in certain situations, and a high contrast sunset scene like this one is not one of those.

Three-shot, hand-held HDR, taken with my Sony HX9V, small-sensor superzoom, merged and tonemapped in Photomatix Pro 4.2.

Feliz Quarta Sunset – Happy Sunset Wednesday, everyone!

Cytherean skies over LA at Sunset

nobody@flickr.com (RobertCross1) — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 09:09:40 -0700

RobertCross1 posted a photo:

A wild autumn sunset over downtown Los Angeles, with Venus visible in the upper center. Appropriate, as the cloud formations look in this light like they might have been directly imported from Earth's sister planet itself.

Feliz Quarta Sunset – Happy Sunset Wednesday, everyone!

Metro Rail comes to USC

nobody@flickr.com (RobertCross1) — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 11:37:04 -0700

RobertCross1 posted a photo:

The Expo Line of the Los Angeles metro lightrail system is finally open all the way out to Culver City. Here's a shot at the USC/Exposition Park station, serving the campus of the University of Southern California, as well as the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (main site of the 1984 Olympic Games), and a number of LA's top-flight museums.

Shot hand-held with an Olympus OM-D E-M5, using an F.Zuiko OM 50mm f/1.8 manual focus lens, at ISO 200, 1/4000 sec. shutter, f/1.8 aperture, and 50mm focal length (100mm FF equivalent).

The Expo Line is a Metro Rail light-rail line which runs between Downtown Los Angeles and Santa Monica, partially in service and partially under construction. The Expo Line Phase 1 segment from Downtown Los Angeles to the La Cienega Station opened on April 28, 2012. The two remaining Phase 1 stations, the interim terminal Culver City Station and an intermediate Farmdale Station, opened on June 20, 2012.

Construction of Expo Line Phase 2 (from Culver City into downtown Santa Monica) started in September 2011 with a completion date of 2016. The east–west route primarily follows Exposition Boulevard with a terminus at 4th/Colorado in Santa Monica about a ten-minute (half-mile) walk from the Pacific Ocean. It will be operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

It will reuse the right-of-way of the Los Angeles and Independence Railroad / Santa Monica Air Line which was closed in 1953 and will be the first passenger rail line to serve the Los Angeles Westside since the abandonment of the Pacific Electric Railway. (from Wikipedia)

This shot made discoverLosAngeles.com's Photo of the Day for Tuesday, 10 July 2012:
blog.discoverlosangeles.com/photo-of-the-day/expo-line.html

Thanks very much for all of your views, comments, and favorites, everyone.

Complex simplicity

nobody@flickr.com (RobertCross1) — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 09:50:56 -0700

RobertCross1 posted a photo:

Sometimes those things that seem the simplest turn out to be a great deal more complex when you look at them closely. And for me, therein lies the real beauty.

Taken at the Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden.

Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M5
Lens: M.Zuiko 40-150mm
ISO: 200
Shutter speed: 1/1000 sec.
Aperture: f/5.6
Exp bias: -0.3
Focal length: 150mm (300mm FF equivalent)
Hand-held, no flash.

Happy Flower Thursday, everyone!

Santa Anita Canyon Hipstamatic Water

nobody@flickr.com (RobertCross1) — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 19:46:46 -0700

RobertCross1 posted a photo:

A lush, wooded glen alongside the creek at the bottom of Big Santa Anita Canyon. The canyon is one of several that carve their way deep into the San Gabriel mountains, towering from one to two miles directly overhead. Filled with waterfalls, ferns, firs & pines, and a wide variety of wildlife -- including black bears, mountain lions, bobcats, mule deer, and bighorn sheep -- most people have no idea just how much wilderness is directly accessible to the L.A. area's eighteen million people. This particular spot is just thirty minutes from downtown Los Angeles.

Taken with my iPhone 4S in the Hipstamatic app. All processing, framing, everything chosen BEFOREHAND by picking the lens and film. In this case, Lucifer VI and Kodot XGrizzled, respectively.

This is iPhoneography.

He had his eye on me

nobody@flickr.com (RobertCross1) — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 18:19:38 -0800

RobertCross1 posted a photo:

This American Flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber) had his eye on me right from the start.

Walking around the Los Angeles Zoo with my Olympus OM-D and the Zuiko 70-300mm f/4-5.6 super tele zoom lens. This is at 252mm (504mm full frame equivalent), f/5.6, ISO 200, 1/160 second, hand-held.

Thanks for stopping by, everyone!

Wild skies over the Arboretum

nobody@flickr.com (RobertCross1) — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 18:18:16 -0800

RobertCross1 posted a photo:

One of the most remarkable things about southern California is the proximity of tall mountains to the ocean. The transverse ranges, parts of which are in the very city limits of Los Angeles, have high points above 10,000 and 11,000 feet. This produces stunning weather patterns and some amazing skies.

This is the main fountain at the Arboretum of Los Angeles County, right across the street from world-famous Santa Anita Racetrack. The mountains in the distance (which appear shortened by perspective) are the front range of the San Gabriels, rising 6,000 feet (almost 2,000 meters) straight up above the valley floor. The Arbortetum itself is a fantastic place, with a wide range of plant and animal life, and various parts of it have served as filming locations in countless films and television shows. If you're a photographer, this place is a must-visit.

This is not HDR. A single shot with my Olympus OM-D, M.Zuiko 12-50mm lens, and a Hoya circular polarizer, exposed largely for the sky, with some work in PSE10 and Photomatix to lighten shadows and recover detail from this very high-contrast scene.

Thanks again, everyone, for your visits, kind comments, and favorites. It's all very much appreciated!

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The first day of spring

nobody@flickr.com (RobertCross1) — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 09:42:04 -0700

RobertCross1 posted a photo:

For the Macro Mondays group theme, the week of 20 August 2012: "Fresh". Nothing quite as fresh as springtime flowers.

Taken at the South Coast Botanic Garden, on Los Angeles County's beautiful Palos Verdes peninsula.

Happy Macro Monday, everyone!

Forest Lawn – Temple of Santa Sabina

nobody@flickr.com (RobertCross1) — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 09:35:28 -0700

RobertCross1 posted a photo:

This marble canopy is over 1500 years old, and comes from the Basilica Santa Sabina in Rome – making it by far one of the oldest structures in the Los Angeles area. It was a sypathy gift from Pope Pius XI to the prominently Catholic, oil-rich Doheny family, after their son died in mysterious circumstances in 1929.

"Edward L. 'Ned' Doheny, Jr. (1893-1929) was a Businessman. Son of oil tycoon Edward L. Doheny. He has been called "The Bagman of Teapot Dome" for his role in the 1920s political controversy, but is chiefly remembered today for his mysterious demise. Doheny was born in Los Angeles. His parents divorced when he was six and his mother committed suicide in 1901 after losing him in a custody battle. He was raised by his stepmother, Carrie Estelle Doheny. In 1913 he married Lucy Smith, daughter of an executive at the Santa Fe Railroad; they would have five children. From 1913 to 1916 he attended USC [the University of Southern California], where he earned a degree in business and was later elected to the Board of Trustees and as President of the Alumni Association. After serving as a lieutenant in the US Navy during World War I he joined the Doheny oil business as company Vice President. In December 1921, Doheny was instructed by his father to withdraw $100,000 from his own brokerage account and deliver it to US Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall in Washington; he did so accompanied by his close friend and personal secretary, T. Hugh Plunkett. This transaction became one of the key events of the Teapot Dome scandal (1923-1924), in which the senior Doheny and rival oil magnate Harry F. Sinclair were accused of bribing Fall to gain leases on government-owned oil reserves. During the years of litigation that followed Doheny kept a low profile in the business world and devoted his free time to supervising the construction of Greystone, his $3 million mansion in Beverly Hills. The work was completed in October 1928 but his residence there would be brief. On the night of February 16, 1929, Doheny and Hugh Plunkett were found shot to death in one of Greystone's guest bedrooms. Within 24 hours police concluded that Plunkett had murdered Doheny after being refused a raise and then turned the gun on himself. But the haste of the investigation (details of which were later disputed by one of the detectives on the scene), the rather pat motive attributed to Plunkett, and the way the incident was hushed up in the press, inspired several alternative theories and left many questions unanswered. One of them concerns Doheny's resting place. Although the Dohenys were devoted Catholics, Ned was interred not in the Doheny Family Room at Calvary Mausoleum but alone at Forest Lawn in Glendale. This gave rise to the scenario that Doheny was the actual gunman, since suicides were denied Catholic burial at that time.... His parents later donated $1.1 million to USC for a library in his honor. When the Edward L. Doheny, Jr. Memorial Library opened in 1932, California Governor James Rolph, Jr. declared, 'Here we see perpetuated the love of a father for his dutiful son'." (bio by: Robert Edwards, at findagrave.com)

One shot JPEG, hand-held Olympus OM-D E-M5 camera, with M.Zuiko 12-50mm lens, 12mm focal length (24mm FF equivalent), ISO 400, 1/80-sec, f/14, with a Hoya circular polarizing filter.

Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, is a stunning place. Filled not just with famous gravesites, beautiful trees, and rolling acres of grass, but also numerous statues, exhibits, and works of art, and steeped in its own rather fantastic and in some respects controversial history. Well worth a visit if you're ever in the LA area.

They work the line

nobody@flickr.com (RobertCross1) — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 09:45:55 -0700

RobertCross1 posted a photo:

♬ "As sure as night is dark and day is light" ♬

Linemen repairing the wires at sunset after a particularly strong storm. With the crescent moon looking down from above.

Taken with my pocket superzoom, with the manual setting. As they say, the best camera is the one you have on you... :o)

Feliz Quarta Sunset – Happy Sunset Wednesday, everyone!

Fiery bee

nobody@flickr.com (RobertCross1) — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 10:10:14 -0700

RobertCross1 posted a photo:

I saw this bee up to his neck in the center of a rose in the midst of the Exposition Park Rose Garden, right in the heart of Los Angeles, California. He seemed pretty busy, so I had no trouble getting right up close to him.

One shot JPEG, hand-held Olympus OM-D E-M5 camera, with M.Zuiko 12-50mm lens in macro mode, 43mm focal length (86 mm FF equivalent), ISO 200, 1/500-sec, f/6.

Have a great weekend, everyone. And best of luck to everyone competing at the Olympics. May they all represent their countries with pride and honor.

Black Beauty in the Butterfly Pavilion

nobody@flickr.com (RobertCross1) — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 12:51:05 -0700

RobertCross1 posted a photo:

Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes), seen in the Butterfly Pavilion at the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History.

One shot JPEG, hand-held Olympus OM-D E-M5 camera, with M.Zuiko 12-50mm lens in macro mode, 43mm focal length (86 mm FF equivalent), ISO 2500, 1/4000-sec, f/6. I'm still amazed at how well this sensor performs at higher ISOs.

More than 53 different butterfly and moth species and an array of plants take up residence every summer for the LAMNH's much-anticipated seasonal exhibit, the Butterfly Pavilion. It runs from April through September, and is a must-see for any butterfly fans living in or passing through southern California. If you haven't been yet, drop what you're doing and head on over. :o)

Take a gander at this

nobody@flickr.com (RobertCross1) — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 09:24:35 -0700

RobertCross1 posted a photo:

Canada geese at the Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden. This guy hissed at me pretty fiercely, as he didn't want me horning in on his grazing.

The Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) is a wild goose with a black head and neck, white patches on the face, and a brownish-gray body. Native to arctic and temperate regions of North America, it is occasionally found in northern Europe, and has been introduced to other temperate regions. This species ranges from 75 to 110 cm (30 to 43 in) in length and has a 127–185 cm (50–73 in) wingspan. The male usually weighs 3.2–6.5 kg (7.1–14 lb), and can be very aggressive in defending territory. The female looks virtually identical but is slightly lighter at 2.5–5.5 kg (5.5–12 lb), generally 10% smaller than its male counterpart, and has a different honk. The life span in the wild of geese that survive to adulthood ranges 10–24 years. This species is native to North America. It breeds in Canada and the northern United States in a variety of habitats. Its nest is usually located in an elevated area near water such as streams, lakes, ponds and sometimes on a beaver lodge. Its eggs are laid in a shallow depression lined with plant material and down. Like most geese, the Canada Goose is naturally migratory with the wintering range being most of the United States. The calls overhead from large groups of Canada Geese flying in V-shaped formation signal the transitions into spring and autumn. In some areas, migration routes have changed due to changes in habitat and food sources. In mild climates from California to the Great Lakes, some of the population has become non-migratory due to adequate winter food supply and a lack of former predators. Such is the case with these geese here.

Canada Geese are primarily herbivores, although they sometimes eat small insects and fish. Their diet includes green vegetation and grains. The Canada Goose eats a variety of grasses when on land. It feeds by grasping a blade of grass with the bill, then tearing it with a jerk of the head. The Canada Goose also eats beans and grains such as wheat, rice, and corn when they are available. In the water, it feeds from silt at the bottom of the body of water. It also feeds on aquatic plants, such as seaweeds. In urban areas, they are also known to pick food out of garbage bins.

A very adaptable bird, which in this case has found the perfect home.

Sunrise stratacrow

nobody@flickr.com (RobertCross1) — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 15:47:56 -0700

RobertCross1 posted a photo:

There's nothing quite like a sunrise after a southern California storm. All kinds of varying cloud strata that catch and diffract all of the dawn light and illuminate the sky in a nearly neon display of color. Then it's just look for a tree and wait for a bird to land. Here it's an American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) in an Italian cypress.

Thanks very much for all of your views, comments, and favorites! I'll have family visiting from out of town the next few days, but I'll catch up with everyone else's new shots soon. Have a great rest of the weekend, everyone.

Look out world, here I come!

nobody@flickr.com (RobertCross1) — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 08:18:01 -0700

RobertCross1 posted a photo:

A dog's-eye view of my best buddy Bailey on his afternoon walk through town. He's such a happy guy.

Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M5
Lens: M.Zuiko 40-150mm
ISO: 400
Shutter speed: 1/200 sec.
Aperture: f/4.9
Exp bias: 0.0
Focal length: 89mm (178mm FF equivalent)
Hand-held, no flash.

Thanks very much, everyone, for stopping by. And extra special thanks for your comments and favorites!

Double rainbow all the way

nobody@flickr.com (RobertCross1) — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 10:21:33 -0700

RobertCross1 posted a photo:

Whoa! OMG! What does it mean?!? A double rainbow all the way! ;o)

A pair of rainbow lorikeets in the Lorikeet Forest exhibit at the Aquarium of the Pacific, in Long Beach, California.

The Rainbow Lorikeet, (Trichoglossus haematodus) is a species of Australasian parrot found in Australia, eastern Indonesia (Maluku and Western New Guinea), Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. In Australia, it is common along the eastern seaboard, from Queensland to South Australia and northwest Tasmania. Its habitat is rainforest, coastal bush and woodland areas. Rainbow Lorikeets have been introduced to Perth - Western Australia, Auckland - New Zealand, and Hong Kong.

The Aquarium's Lorikeet Forest is a 3,200 sq. ft. outdoor aviary. More than 100 enthusiastic lorikeets fill the trees. You can purchase a small cup of nectar, the lorikeets’ favorite food, to feed the birds as you walk through the exhibit. You will find them sitting on your hand, arm, shoulder or even your head to get a sip of sweet nectar.

I shall call him Ryan

nobody@flickr.com (RobertCross1) — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 08:56:25 -0700

RobertCross1 posted a photo:

A good-looking, if slightly rumpled, gosling at the LA County Arboretum & Botanic Garden. A real explorer, he wasn't one to be typecast and just hang out in the pond. No, he had places to go, people to see.

Hand-held Olympus OM-D E-M5, with M.Zuiko 40-150mm lens, 150mm focal length (300mm FF equivalent), ISO 200, 1/1000-sec, f/5.6.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great weekend, everyone!