Uploads from kendra just is, tagged rocky

Here, Here Comes the Rain? - Cripps Beach, Santa Cruz, California

nobody@flickr.com (kendra just is) — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 20:37:59 -0800

L A R G E R

So here is the story. It had been raining all day, and I really have a hard time sitting still for a few hours at a time. I started to bug Jim about getting off his butt, and maybe go on a hike or anything really. After checking the NOAA model, it looked as if the storm was going to break north of town right around sunset. Off we went. On the way across town, we contacted Josh Cripps to see if he wanted to come out and play.

After a brief discussion we decided to head out to a series of shelves that Josh found recently. All sound fine and dandy, right? Well after 10 hours and over an inch of rain, it is safe to say that the trail down was a little muddy. But we made it down safe and sound.

Once down, I decided to check out the edge of one of the shelves. And to get there, I had to cross the red algae of terror. Terror, in the fact that I count on two hands the people I know that work in the intertidal that had succumbed to this algae, mostly ending up with a torn ACL. So I took my time crossing the mine field, spilling and sliding my way to the edge.

Once there I had about 5 minutes of nice (albeit overcast) light before Josh showed up. And Josh, I am only saying that... because you brought the RAIN with you. Oh well, I had a nice time anyways.

Nikon D300
Tokina 11-16mm @ 14mm
f/16 for 1.3s

Where Have All the Beamageowias Gone? - Franklin Point, San Mateo County California

nobody@flickr.com (kendra just is) — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 07:32:07 -0800

kendra just is posted a photo:

L A R G E R

Luckily, Jim got off work in time for sunset. We set off north. Ending up at the north end of Franklin Point, which is just south of the Pigeon Point lighthouse. We stopped at Franklin Pt., mostly because we were persuaded by the cloud-beam'age' gods. As we drove just past the parking dirt for the point, golden-blue goodness caught our eyes and jumped out and chased the glory. Yes, we had beamageowia.

Pronounced: Beam-edge-oh-wee-a
Definition: brief and rare events, where excessive light filters through clouds (usually during a storm) that has been know to blind, maim and cause hallucinations in photographers.

This is pre-sunset during some of the golden-blue happy time. For a bit, we both thought that we had scored and the sunset was going to go off. But the marine layer swallowed all the fun... until next time. ENJOY!

Oh - Long Live Sharktopus!

Nikon D300
ISO 100
Tokina 11-16mm @ 11mm
f/16 for 0.6s
Lee 2 stop soft GND
Singh-Ray 3 stop reverse GND

No Title - Cape Kiwanda, Pacific City, Oregon

nobody@flickr.com (kendra just is) — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 08:34:33 -0700

kendra just is posted a photo:

L A R G E R

Back in June Jim and I made a quick road trip through Oregon and up to Seattle. We only had two days in Oregon. The first was spent in Bandon, the second at Pacific City.

We stopped to see a lot of the popular spots along the way such as Seal Rocks, Cape Perpetua, and Heceta Head Lighthouse. Those we missed out on...we plan on a return trip is for much longer to hit those spots.

Even though it was calm it was on the south side of Cape Kiwanda, we were impressed with the wave action. During some of the big sets, waves would explode as high as the tops of these sandstone bluffs.

Nikon D300
Nikkor 18-70mm @ 18mm
ISO 100 f/11 for 0.4 s
Singh-Ray LB Color Combo
Lee 2 stop soft GND

Elowah Trickle, the Gorge - Portland, OR

nobody@flickr.com (kendra just is) — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 08:53:34 -0700

kendra just is posted a photo:

L A R G E R

Back in June we went on a whirl wind tour of the Pacific North West on our way up to Seattle for the ICPA opening at the Burke Museum. Well by whirl wind, I mean Bandon-Cape Kiwanda-Seattle-Portland- back to Cali; in that order and in 5 days. Alot of driving and hence... alot of sitting.

This is from our way back home, via a couple hour detour in Portland / the gorge and its infamous waterfalls. We hit 4 falls/ 1 lovely marsh and a few amazing bridges in 4-5 hours. Yikes! This is part of lower Elowah Falls, my efforts here were to exclude Jim from any of my shots, and to be out of the way for his.

To get to this spot... I pulled out my many circus skillz: walked a tight rope (wet log hovering 6+ feet over the running water), scaled a colossal mountain (bouldered my way down and up several larger rocks) and finally demonstrated my mad contortion skills.

Hope you enjoy!

Nikon D300
Toinka 11-16mm
ISO 100
f/11 for 1.3 sec
Singh-Ray LB Color Combo

Slow & Kinda Steady - Bandon Beach, Oregon

nobody@flickr.com (kendra just is) — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 07:27:58 -0700

kendra just is posted a photo:

L A R G E R

It has been four months since I have posted to flickr, and the images are piling up. Here is one is fresh off the memory card. Jim and I just got back from our quick trip, yes 5 days and 2100 miles to Oregon and Washington. Our first stop was Bandon, then followed by Cape Kiwanda. A quick stop in Seattle to hang out with littlem, Seattle Miles and Aaron Reed and finally the journey back South.

This was my first trip ever to Bandon, last time I went this way we definitely flew through southern Oregon. Both of us can not wait to come back and spend much more time. We had only one sunset and one sunrise to hopefully get the goods. Sunset happen to be a low tide (around an -.25 feet) which was nice, because it allowed for these rocks in the foreground to be exposed. I would like to see how a bit of a higher tide would look, allowing for reflections of the larger seastacks.

The sunset was blah, hence the black and white. But that is alright, we always have next time.

NIKON D300
ISO 100
12mm
f/16 for 6 sec

Singh-Ray LB Color Combo
Lee .6 soft GND

Surge at BigAño- Santa Cruz County, California

nobody@flickr.com (kendra just is) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:30:19 -0700

kendra just is posted a photo:

L A R G E R

Jim picked me up at work, with photo gear in tow. I guess that I could have meet him up the coast; but I really did not feel like biking somewhere North... with no real destination in sight. Well, actually we have been talking about BigAño for a bit, since Maxxsmart took his shot of 'NuevoBasin'. But we have stayed away until the conditions are right, that being no huge swell.

BigAño is a small stretch of rocks in between Big Basin/Waddell Creek and Año Nuevo State Park. When conditions are right, fingers of rocky goodness get exposed right besides a series of granite rocks that curve North-West towards Año Nuevo.

Tonight, we had a nice low tide at sunset, a few 10+ foot waves and NO WIND. We had hoped for a glowing sunset, but it never can around. Until next time, here is one from tonight.

Nikon D300
Tokina 11-16mm @ 12mm
0.8 sec at f/13
ISO 100
Lee 2 stop soft GND
Sing-Ray 3 stop reverse grad

Pigeon Point - Pescadero, CA

nobody@flickr.com (kendra just is) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:57:23 -0800

kendra just is posted a photo:

L A R G E R

A few weeks back Jim and I went chasing the storms as they ravaged the central coast. Santa Cruz was overcast, Davenport was swamped in so we kept going North. We finally settled in Pigeon Point Lighthouse, as began chasing the light. Sun beams were exposed on the North side and then the South side, leaving the two of us to run back and forth.

This is one of many images from that night, that offered more light conditions in one photo op then I have ever seen.

Nikon D300
Tokina 11-16mm @ 11mm
ISO 160, 2 sec at f/20
Singh-Ray 3 stop reverse grad
Lee 2 stop soft GND

Zabriskie Has Eyes - Death Valley National Park

nobody@flickr.com (kendra just is) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 09:00:03 -0800

kendra just is posted a photo:

L A R G E R

I know, I know this really is not the form for panos... but this pano is comprised of 7 image stitched with Autopano Pro, and is the only way to see the full Zabriski. Images were taken after sunrise, when we still had some interesting clouds cover.

Processing: I also added a second layer of silver efex pro to the pano, that added unique contrast and structure to the rocks formations. In my opinion similar tones to that crazy movie- the hills have eyes.

Nikon D300
Nikon 18-70 @ 55mm
f/14 for 1/25s
ISO 100

Lee 2 stop soft graduated ND

c h a s i n g- Garrapata Beach, Big Sur, California

nobody@flickr.com (kendra just is) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 06:49:32 -0800

kendra just is posted a photo:

L A R G E R

A few weeks back Jim and I met Ivan Makarov down in Carmel, with a goal of chasing storms clouds. We all met up at the last gas station before heading down Hwy 1 into Big Sur. Ivan had his computer with wifi, so we could watch the progression of clouds that were encroaching the coastline. We decided that we would shoot somewhere south of Soberanes Point.

After checking a few sites out, we decided on a beach in Garrapata, mostly because Jim and I have not been down to that beach, and 2 to 1 always wins out. It seemed as if the potential for epic conditions was high, except that the sun may get caught behind some low hanging clouds.

We each went our separate ways to find our spot. I plunked myself on top of some rocks that were already getting surrounded by the incoming low tide. I saw Ivan and Jim running around as the light started to change, but I was perfectly happy with my little spot that offered several different views.

Too bad the conditions never turned to epic, but at least I stayed dry (not Ivan who was pelted chest high by a wave, and Jim never stays dry when hanging around the ocean). This is an image from a bit before the sun went down. As soon as the sun drifted below the clouds all color was lost.

Converted to B/W with Silver Efex Pro, using High Structure and no filter

Nikon D300
Tokina 11-16 @ 13mm
f/16 for 1/10sec
ISO100

Lee Graduated ND 3 stop soft
Singh-Ray 3 stop reverse

Let There Be a Light - Matador Beach, Malibu, California

nobody@flickr.com (kendra just is) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 09:48:25 -0800

kendra just is posted a photo:

B l a c k M a g i c

The last 10 days or so have been packed full of a series of very unfortunate events. But, I think that I am starting to see the light. My mom is back in on the neutropenic floor at UCLA (after 11 hours in the ER), it is raining, and I think that I get to go home.

All of these lead to the notion that maybe So Cal has something to offer. I still do not care for the 405, 10 or 91, but I guess it is part of the game down here.

This is an image to show that southern California does have a few attributes that I can turn towards. Taken at Matador beach last December. Jim and I were photographing these crazy clouds as they passed by us, as the light got better the clouds moved farther away. Go figure. With waves crashing and surrounding me up to my thighs, I decided to switch back and forth from wide angle to telephoto to get a few images of these pelicans and cormorants on some offshore rocks.

Here is the result just prior to the sun dipping below the surface.

Nikon D300
Nikon 70-300mm @100mm
f/22 for 1/30s
Hoya circular polarizer

a no good, really bad, pretty rotten, could it get any worse day- in F***ing LA, So freaking California

nobody@flickr.com (kendra just is) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 19:45:03 -0800

kendra just is posted a photo:

B l a c k M a g i c

Welcome to my world right now. I have decided to post an image of my home that I miss more than anything. I wish every milli-second of this day that I was there. I am hoping that this image will bring some sense of normalcy to my life.

Here is how it started. I got up very early to brave so cal morning traffic. I gave us an extra 1.5 hours to get to set location for a 10:30 appointment at UCLA medical center. Guess what, we were an hour late, it took us almost four hours to drive 112 miles. Most of this drive we spent waiting for incredibly intelligent so cal drivers. Especially those drivers that stop in the middle (really the center lane) of the interstate for a fender bender to exchange info. There really is something wrong here.

Well the appointment went well. I was happy that we were leaving way before rush hour (1:30pm) so we would not have to deal with traffic both ways..

Wrong. First the 405 and then 10E were stopped dead. I found myself cheering when I was able to drive over 10mph. Seriously, something is wrong down here!

Then, the elusive all system failing light came on in my moms car. I had her call her dealership and informed us to get off the freeway before the car locked up. Of course, I was not to worried about the car locking up when I was only going 7mph. But, I did what they said.

After several attempts, they directed us to the nearest Toyota dealership. They diagnosed the problem, did not have the part, and said no way could we drive back. SO to make this shorter... had the car towed and rented a car to get back.

On the freeway again, this time during peak rush hour.... well it is safe to say that there was no rushing. In all a long day... full of many unfortunate events.

Tech Spec:
Hours spent driving: 10
Miles covered: 224

Oh yeah the image... an conversion from a magical day in November. When the light, clouds and atmosphere was ideal for Natural Bridges. Image processed with Silver Efex Pro.

Nikon D300
Tokina 11-16mm @11mm
f/16 for 3sec
3 stop reverse

Matador Beach - Malibu, California

nobody@flickr.com (kendra just is) — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 00:01:40 -0800

kendra just is posted a photo:

B l a c k M a g i c

Here is the first of a series of photo from 4 different locals in Southern California over 9 days. The first just north of LA in Malibu, at Matador beach. Our trip started with a LONG drive to southern California on Christmas eve. When ended up in Orange county, where we would be staying with my sister for holidays. Even with some holiday SoCal madness, we were able to get away and just 'enjoy' what the local flare had to offer.

We ended up in Malibu, where we went to three different beaches before deciding on Matador Beach. Interesting enough, we were not the only one that has a similar idea. A photo club must of had a post x-mas meet & great/show me your new toys. Little did they know that Jim and I take picture in the water, both above and below.

I think that it is safe to say that the two of us were in all of their photos ;). Most of our time was spent in thigh high water, to much satisfaction was much warmer than we are used to. Every now and then, when a wave would surround us even more, we would hear shock from the photo club behind us. Oh well, this is how it is done in our neck of the woods.

This image is post sunset glory at a little slot north of the Matador Rock.

Nikon D300
Tokina 11-16mm @ 11m
f/10 for 2.5sec

Singh Ray 3 stop Reverse
Lee 2 stop soft

nobody@flickr.com (kendra just is) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 10:54:56 -0800

kendra just is posted a photo:

It is crazy how your life can change in a matter of a few hours. I have been down in southern California for the past week or so, not sure how long it has been, most of that time has been spent in a hospital room or on the 405 during rush hour. Anyhow, life happens and then you have to adjust everything. I am on a brief hiatus from family emergency and back in northern California. To celebrate I am going to upload another one from or Tahoe trip over Thanksgiving.

This oldie is from a magical day at Sand Harbor, combing day-time long exposures, moving clouds, crazy sand ripples and of course contrasting blue and gold colors.

Nikon D300
Tokina 11-16mm @11mm
f/13 for 25s

HOYA ND-400X
HOYA Polarizer
Lee .6 GND

Something Wicked This Way Comes - Four Mile, Santa Cruz CA

nobody@flickr.com (kendra just is) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 08:16:56 -0800

kendra just is posted a photo:

View On Black

Here is a recent image to break up my recent Tahoe photos. I had to go tonight and see the impending storm that is making its way down the Pacific coast. Early this morning we had hail, which is unique since we live right on the beach. I ran up the coast just North of Santa Cruz. The whole way up all I could do was keep my eyes on these crazy sun beams. Seriously the whole ocean was lit up by isolated beams hitting the surface North, South and West of Santa Cruz.

As I ran down the cliff to the beach I watched the beams disappear. I just missed them. I am sure that up North they were going off, but I was already down at the site by that time, and it would take 30 minutes to run up the hill and find another site.

Here is my version of the approaching storm, that is sure to bring a week of power outages, flooding and more snow and hail.

Nikon D300
Tokina 11-16mm @ 11mm
ISO 100
f/11 for 2s

Singh-Ray 3 stop reverse
Lee .6 soft GND

Storm a Brewing- Sand Harbor, Nevada

nobody@flickr.com (kendra just is) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 09:26:04 -0800

kendra just is posted a photo:

View On Black

It had been snowing all along the west side of Lake Tahoe, so we decide to go north to test our luck. We rounded the north shore and into Nevada, and the storm clouds were everywhere. At that time we payed the $4 to park at Sand Harbor and checkout out all the spots.

We settled on the North-West facing cove that everyone photographs. This area has SO many options for photos. Which is great for numerous reasons. First,you do not have to battle royale over compositions while the light is good (Jim and I seem to always have to roshambo for comps). Second, your photo friends do not have to be in your photo.

We both strolled out with wading boots and began to play. Wading boots/waders are a must for this site, especially if you do not want to fall in.

You will see numerous sand harbor photos littering my photo stream over the next few weeks, can't help it... that afternoon was that good. All are long exposures, done in mid day.

Nikon D300
Tokina 11-16mm @14mm
f/13 for 30s
ISO 160

HOYA ND-400X
HOYA Polarizer
Lee .6 GND

Blaze of Glory - Lake Tahoe, Nevada

nobody@flickr.com (kendra just is) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 08:14:39 -0800

kendra just is posted a photo:

Big On Black

After shooting some cool long exposures at Sand Harbor, Jim and I moved the car up the road to avoid getting locked in the parking lot after hours. Sand Harbor State Park, unfortunately, closes right at sunset. Lame.

Anyway, Jimmie got us lost on two different trails . It wasn't until he was practically bushwhacking that he admitted defeat and turned around (Kendra here, after I said that each one was wrong), cursing like Eddie Murphy in his 1987 stand up comedy hit "Raw".

We went down another trail, only to realize our original goal of getting back to Sand Harbor was not to be. Immediately, Jim set up in a really nice spot, letting me fend to find a good composition on a tiny little beach. It took soooo long to find a composition that strategically hid not only him, but all his camera gear spread around the beach. (Kendra here again, this is ALWAYS the case... many times I end up shooting in the other direction trying to not have Jim in the picture)

But I did it, I found a composition and captured the sunset in a way that even Jim is now jealous of. That'll teach him to dominate a comp! :)

Write-up by Jim Patterson (filling in for Kendra Karr)
Photo edited by Jim Patterson- [Kendra filling in again, only because my edit was not up to his standards].. (because he really liked the shot and wanted to make it look its best)

Nikon D300
Tokina 11-16mm @ 12mm
8sec @ f16, ISO 125
Hoya Polarizer
Singh-Ray 3 Stop Reverse GND Filter
Lee .6 Soft Stop Filter

Natural Bridges A-Glow - Santa Cruz, California

nobody@flickr.com (kendra just is) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 06:55:02 -0800

kendra just is posted a photo:

View On Black

You know when you have that feeling of being STUCK. There I was in a room with 30ft windows, drinking beer with some of the foremost minds in Marine Ecology, and all I could do was look outside. Everyone is discussing the current status of fisheries collasping around the world (really we were reaming a somewhat recent article), and I keep glancing out of the windows. I watched the gloom of rain disappear and BIG fluffy clouds covered in sun appear. Every now and then I would hear top-down in the conversation, and that would be my cue to chime in; even though I had not been paying attention.

Knowing that Natural Bridges is only 1/4 mile as a crow flies from my office, I knew as soon as it was 4:30 I was out. After the meeting I walked up to my office, glanced out the window and Natural Bridges was a glow. I was now free and off to the beach.

Suprise, suprise I ran into Jimmie. I had told him earlier that I was not going to go out, since the wind had been blowing at my work all day. But there I was, as was he. We didn't get to talk much, it was time to work. ha ha.

Here we go, this image is pretty much what was happening.

Nikon D300
Tokina 11-16mm @11mm
2.5s @ f/16
LEE GND .6 soft

Quick & Dirty

nobody@flickr.com (kendra just is) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:05:31 -0800

kendra just is posted a photo:

View On Black

After months of sitting behind a computer or a microscope I took a BRIEF vacation to Davenport. I know, I know I only live 10 miles from Davenport; but I will take what I can get. I meet Jim as his work, and 'forced' him to take a Quick trip up North. Well you see Jim works until 7pm, which makes sunsets during Fall hard to get at. That is unless he is able to take off to the coast for his 'lunch' break. Usually, he is able to take a break somewhere between 3:30 to 5:30. Tonight, he left promptly at 4:30 and we raced to the Davenport stack. After 45 minutes of shooting, I knew that Jim would be late for work.

Yup, just as were getting ready to shoot another scene Jim got a call from his boss.
Yes, she was wondering where he was. He got caught, Dirty handed at taking an extremely long lunch break. Oh well, I will not lose any sleep over it.

Anyhow here is my shot from the night.

Nikon D300
Tokina 11-16mm @ 11mm
f22 for 3sec
ISO 250
Lee .6 Soft GND Filter

Check List for Laguna Road - Davenport, California

nobody@flickr.com (kendra just is) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 00:22:39 -0700

kendra just is posted a photo:

View On Black

According to my camera, the last time I turned it on and took pictures was 02/01/09. Way too long. Well, I decided that tonight I was not going to let all my work or emails from students stop me again.

Since it had been awhile I made a mental check list. As we started to get ready to leave I went through it...

Camera and lens, check
Filters and tripod, check
Shutter release and at least half a battery, check

I am good to go! Well, we first went to Panther Beach, and decided that too many people where there and decided to check out the beach off Laguna Rd.

It wasn't looking good, we had a pretty steady rain from the car all the way down to the beach. But, we stayed hoping for a break in the rain. Waiting, waiting, waiting an additional 45 minutes or so. Finally, could it be a break?

Yes! Both Jim and I ran as the clearing finally came. And it was glorious. I started pushing the shutter release. Yes, I can't wait to post this; it has been so long since I have posted anything to Flickr.

But wait, there just was something weird. Doh! I was on ISO 2500, not CHECK; I guess that I forgot to put that on my mental list. Quickly, I switched my ISO to 200. Just as I did that the light changed and I had to run to another shelf.

As I got to the new site, I was ready. ISO 200, check. I set up and start taking pictures and notice that I have no control over the aperture. This is not good, who knows how long it is before the rain comes back. Luckily, Jim was right there and helped me through my moment of panic. My list did not include making sure the lens is all the way on. Doh!!

Now, I am ready. Lens connected to the camera body, check. I am good to go and very lucky the light lasted another 20 minutes.

Nikon D300
Tokina 11-16mm @ 11mm
ISO 200
4 sec @ f18

Lee GND .9 Hard and .6 Soft

MoonGlow Shark Fin Cove (aka Panther Beach) - Davenport, California

nobody@flickr.com (kendra just is) — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 10:26:17 -0800

kendra just is posted a photo:

View On Black

Friday night beaneathblueseas.com and I went out to play. We chose to stay close to home tonight and decided on Shark Fin Cove. I previously called this site Panther Beach, but I must say that I like the title of Shark Fin Cove. Mostly because the monoliths really do look like shark fins, this is not just by moonlight. Check out the vantage point of www.flickr.com/photos/jimpatterson/3185133745/ to see the mama and baby shark fins.

We started on the bluff that looks directly over the largest 'fin' and decided that we both wanted to explore different view points. I decided that I liked this spot better, mostly because I was using a fish eye lens. With the full moon our long exposure could not translate the glory of the stars on Friday night, but I think this vantage point adds a bit more star detail.

This was the last shot of the night, since parking along Hwy 1 ends at 10pm. Obviously the people setting up a bonfire on the beach didn't realize the parking restricting nor that it was a full moon. We were laughing at them as the used their 1 billion power flash light to walk across the beach, even though we were walking down cliffs with no lights. Anyhow...

I had decided to get up and work on this image today, since I knew that I would not have any time to work on photos in the near future. As well, I had not posted any thing recently since I have been busy teaching late into the evening. So I decided that I was going to figure out how to 'blend' in photoshop, well it is safe to say that I had NO idea what I was doing. Because when beneathblueseas.com came out, he blurted out " what are you trying to do". I explained, and he sat down and did his magic in 10 mins... in what I had been working on over the past hour. Thanks Jim for your help.

Nikon D300
Tokina 10-17mm @ 13mm
423.5 sec @ f5.6 with NR off