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I was stoked to see the winter scenery at Yosemite today. Signal is spotty in the valley but I was able to upload this photo taken earlier today. The weather is cold but bearable. Surprised to see so many visitors.
Camera: Google Nexus 6
I have not been posting for the last couple of days as I was recharging myself out in the desert. I was also shooting mostly with film this time. I 've found it more satisfying. Despite that, the clouds this evening looked gorgeous. So I had to take this with my phone.
I incidentally stumbled onto the Housekeeping camp at Yosemite Valley when I was looking for a spot to stop. As I entered further into the campground, I found myself completely stunned by this view at the riverbank of the Merced. I quickly took a few shots with my phone and was quite content with the results. I am afraid I am falling in love with Yosemite again. It does live up to its fame.
Today I went to Costco to pick up my tax preparation software. When I got out, I saw this insane mustard field by the hillside. So I drove up there to take a closer look. The mustard weeds were all over the hill. I could not believe my eyes. Here came my sneeze. I couldn't help but to take a panorama to show the scope of the mustard weeds.
Finished my long day of work earlier this evening and rushed to Hidden Valley for a short hike to re-energize myself. When I came down from the hill, I witnessed this beautiful sunset behind a lupine field. I immediately took out my phone and composed for this shot. Not the best of my focus work, but still, it made my long day of work with a bitter sweet!
Spotted this lupine field on a slope today while we took our usual evening walk. I didn't even notice it was there last week. Must have been very recent when these flowers start to bloom. I need to come back here with a real camera.
I was surprised to find so many frogs at one of the markets in Oakland. Felt sorry for them for not turning into princes afterall.
Camera: Nexus 6
Night view of the Gijón marina, (Asturias, Spain), located in the Fomentín Dock.
(Photo taken with my smartphone)
PUERTO DEPORTIVO DE GIJÓN, ASTURIAS, ESPAÑA, 2024
Vista nocturna del puerto deportivo de Gijón, (Asturias, España), situado en la Dársena de Fomentín.
(Foto hecha con mi smartphone)
Saw this Ferrari park right in front of a boutique hotel in downtown Palm Springs today. I quickly noticed its license plate captured this angle of view.
Today I visited the Costco warehouse in Orange County. It was very crowded despite shoppers all wearing masks. Who would have thought this photo I took 5 months ago was entirely opposite?
Camera: Google Pixel3
This particular geyser reminded me of Old Faithful in Yellowstone. However, this one would shoot up every five to ten minutes. It's a lot more frequent than Old Faithful. So I waited with my phone hold up ready to shoot. It didn't take long before I captured this photo .
Temple of the Sun is right down below with a curve wall in this panoramic view of the east side of Machu Picchu. At dawn during June solstice, light from the sun will project into one of the temple's windows indicating an alignment between the window, rock and solstice sun.
Ansel Adams Gallery has just published another pictorial book of the games photographer featuring some of his unseen photos from the archive. As soon as I saw a few sample photos, I couldn't help but had an urge to go back to Yosemite again as I knew Fall colors should be at their peaks over there. It turned out I was right. Well almost. I think I might have missed the peak for just a few days. Nevertheless, there were still plenty of colors to be seen at the valley. This photo was taken just yesterday when I walked across Sentinel Bridge. I saw some vibrant yellow foliage with their reflections on the Merced. It was a pretty sight to behold.
Took this panorama when I was behind the visitor center of Red Rock Canyon State Park near Vegas. This was my first time visit and we enjoyed a couple of short hikes.
This bear has been hanging on the fence near the trailhead of Tassajara Ridge for quite some time. Yet no one bothers to remove it. When I first saw it, it happened to be at the blue hour. How weird.
I took this shot at the iconic church at the moment when all the pesky tourists were out of my way in the middle of the day. I think this place deserves some monochrome treatment. Too bad, I wanted to bring my RSS pinhole camera, but I decided not to at the last minute due to the limited space in my carryon backpack.
As the wildfire in Northern California has been subsided, I am thinking about heading back to Bodega Bay one of these days, perhaps, checking out where we have left off from last year.
Camera: Google Pixel3
Explore #374, September 22nd, 2020
When I peeked into this old barn near our house, I thought it was a perfect place to celebrate this coming X'mas. Don't you think so?
Explore#322, June 16th, 2020
Fideuà (dialectal pronunciation of the Valencian word fideuada "large amount of noodles") is a seafood dish originally from the coast of Valencia that is similar to paella, and even more so to "arròs a banda", but with pasta noodles instead of rice.
Its main ingredients are pasta noodles (often hollow), fish (rockfish, monkfish, cuttlefish, squid), and shellfish (Squilla mantis, shrimp, crayfish). It is seasoned mainly with lemon.
Just like paella, it is cooked in a special wide and flat frying pan, called "paella" (the word for "frying pan" in Catalan language), although there are other traditional variants made in a casserole.
The pasta is sautéed in stock, rather than boiled.
HISTORY: The invention of fideuà is attributed to a picturesque story.
Gabriel Rodríguez Pastor, (Gabrielo from a kiosk in the port district of Grau in Gandía), worked as a cook on a boat and Juan Bautista Pascual (Zábalo), was the youngest man on the boat and his assistant.
According to Gabriel's family, the boat captain loved rice and the rest of sailors almost never received their full portion of arròs a banda, the dish that the cook usually prepared.
Trying to find a solution for the problem, the cook had the idea of using noodles instead of rice to see if the result was appetizing for the captain.
The invention was liked, and fame of the dish spread to harbor restaurants such as the "Pastora House", where they cooked the first "fideuades". The dish became distinctive and essential in the area. (Source: Wikipedia)
FIDEUA DE MARISCO, SAN JUAN DE LOS TERREROS, ESPAÑA, 2024
La fideuà (pronunciación dialectal de la palabra valenciana fideuada "gran cantidad de fideos") es un plato de marisco originario de la costa de Valencia que se parece a la paella, y más aún al "arròs a banda", pero con fideos de pasta en lugar de arroz.
Sus ingredientes principales son los fideos de pasta (a menudo huecos), el pescado (pez de roca, rape, sepia, calamares) y mariscos (squilla mantis, gambas, cangrejos de río). Se condimenta principalmente con limón.
Al igual que la paella, se cocina en una sartén especial, ancha y plana, llamada "paella" (palabra que significa "sartén" en catalán), aunque existen otras variantes tradicionales elaboradas en cazuela.
La pasta se saltea en caldo, en lugar de hervirse.
HISTORIA: La invención de la fideuà se atribuye a una historia pintoresca.
Gabriel Rodríguez Pastor, (Gabrielo de un quiosco del barrio portuario de Grau en Gandía), trabajaba como cocinero en un barco y Juan Bautista Pascual (Zábalo), era el más joven del barco y su ayudante.
Según cuenta la familia de Gabriel, al capitán del barco le encantaba el arroz y el resto de marineros casi nunca recibían su ración completa de arròs a banda, el plato que solía preparar el cocinero.
Tratando de encontrar una solución al problema, al cocinero se le ocurrió la idea de utilizar fideos en lugar de arroz para ver si el resultado era apetecible para el capitán.
El invento gustó y la fama del plato se extendió a restaurantes del puerto como la "Casa Pastora", donde se cocinaban las primeras "fideuades". El plato se volvió distintivo e imprescindible en la zona. (Fuente: Wikipedia)
I was glad that the recent storm was finally over last night. So I went out and checked out Alviso today. The water in the South Bay was so calm that it created a mirror effect to the sky. I quickly took a few snapshots with my phone as I was carrying only a film rangefinder. And of course, I also made some photos with the rangefinder. But they won't get developed until I finish the roll and who knows when.
This is the first time I am spending my Spring break in a shelter isolating from others except my wife. I am glad to see some flower blossom nearby.
Walked by this canyon the other day while the sun was going down. Its light had turned the ground into gold.
A pair of turtle doves usually stops by our terrace daily to enjoy the birdseed and bits of bread my wife leaves for them in a small container and another container with some water.
The turtle doves have gradually lost their distrust and now almost live with us, at least during the short time they eat and drink.
They arrive every morning, and if we haven't given them their ration yet, they protest with their characteristic sound.
I've tried several times to take a handheld photo of them, but they immediately take flight and leave.
So I came up with the idea of using a tripod, placing the camera further away, and programming the camera to shoot automatically under certain circumstances that trigger the shutter. I also specified the number of photos per second and the timeouts.
Let me be honest: I spent a couple of hours learning and practicing the automatic shooting system on the Nikon Z8 and Z6III cameras until I got it to work.
Yes, the photos actually came out. They were "technically correct," with good exposure, sharpness, framing...
And in the afternoon, when the terrace was already shaded, my wife approached with her smartphone. The turtledoves, being friends with those who feed them, continued with their business and didn't flinch when my wife used her smartphone.
This portrait is when the second turtledove started its engines and began its flight.
The smartphone, given the poor lighting, changed its parameters a little, but not much.
This is the metadata:
Focal Length: 5.5mm
Exposure Time: 1/177s (!)
Aperture: F1.9
ISO: 100 (!)
According to Aelian, the turtledove was sacred to Demeter. In Roman mythology, the turtledove was one of the emblems of Fides, the goddess of trust and good faith.
Perhaps because they are mentioned in the Bible (especially in the verse from the Song of Songs), because of their soft cooing, or because they form strongly bonded pairs, which can be seen as they groom and caress each other with their beaks, European turtledoves have become a symbol of faithful love, coming to mean in Spanish colloquial language "tórtolos" (lovebirds), or "tortolitos" (small lovebirds), a synonym for a young couple in love.
Photo taken in Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain.
UNA PRECIOSA TÓRTOLA, 2025
Una pareja de tórtolas suele parar diariamente por nuestra terraza para disfrutar del alpiste y trocitos de pan que mi mujer les deja en un pequeño recipiente y otro recipiente con algo de agua.
Las tórtolas han ido perdiendo desconfianza y ya casi conviven con nosotros, al menos en el ratito en el que comen y beben.
Llegan todas las mañanas y si todavía no les hemos puesto su ración, protestan con ese sonido suyo tan característico.
He intentado varias veces hacerles foto a mano alzada, pero inmediatamente levantan el vuelo y se marchan.
Así que se me ocurrió usar un trípode, colocar la cámara más lejos y programar la cámara para que disparase de manera automática bajo unas determinadas circunstancias que activan el disparador, también especifiqué cuántas fotos por segundo y tiempos muertos.
Dejadme que sea sincero: me tiré un par de horas aprendiendo y practicando el sistema de disparo automático de las cámaras Nikon Z8 y Z6III, hasta que conseguí que aquello funcionara.
Sí, la verdad es que salieron las fotos. Eran "técnicamente correctas", buena exposición, nitidez, encuadre...
Y por la tarde, cuando la terraza ya estaba en sombra, mi mujer se acercó con su smartphone, las tórtolas, como son amigas de quién les da de comer, siguieron a lo suyo y no se inmutaron cuando mi mujer usó su smartphone.
Este retrato es cuando la segunda tórtola puso en marcha sus motores e inició su vuelo.
El smartphone, dada la precariedad de luz, cambió un poco sus parámetros, pero no mucho.
Estos son los metadatos:
Distancia Focal: 5.5mm
Tiempo de exposición: 1/177s (!)
Apertura: F1.9
ISO: 100 (!)
Según Eliano, la tórtola era sagrada para Deméter. En la mitología romana, la tórtola era uno de los emblemas de Fides, diosa de la confianza y la buena fe.
Quizás porque se las mencione en la Biblia (especialmente en el verso del Cantar de los Cantares), por su arrullo suave o el hecho de que forme parejas con fuertes vínculos, que pueden verse como se acicalan y acarician con el pico, las tórtolas europeas se han convertido en un símbolo del amor fiel, llegando en el lenguaje coloquial, a significar "tórtolos" o "tortolitos" sinónimo de una joven pareja de enamorados.
Foto tomada en Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, España.
It was raining hard in our area last night, and today we finally got a break in the weather. We went to Tracy and got our COVID vaccine booster in the morning. On our way back, I took a detour to Patterson Pass. We came across this cattle gate along side of the road and saw two fat hawks perching on top of the gate. One flew off immediately as I rolled down my driver side window while the other was unfazed by our presence. I quickly took a shot of the whole scene with my phone and continued our journey.
We went to Brentwood for some cherry picking and saw this gopher peaking out from his den to reach out for the fallen cherries. I actually held out phone really close for my shot and he wasn't even fazed by it at all.
I kid you not, this motel has 3000+ clowns in its collection. Majority of them were donated by people from all over the world. If you like clowns, you will love this place. If you hate them, you should also come here and overcome your psychological barrier. They won't bite. Frankly speaking, I do find them a little creepy. If not for the bright atmosphere and the friendliness of the motel owner, I probably would not enter this place. I 'll show you the cemetery next door tomorrow. Enjoy your weekend and sleep well.
With Highway One open up since the landslide from last year, we took a detour from Paso Robles to Big Sur and drove all the way up to Carmel. Along our way, we made numerous stops to check out the wildflower blossom along the coast. I took this photo with my phone at one of the stops. I actually had several photos taken with my mirrorless camera. But, I prefer this vertical composition with my phone.
We arrived late at Yasaka Shrine shortly after sunset and found these lanterns were lighted up already. Once again, I had to rely on my Pixel phone to compose for this ultra-wide shot to show all the lanterns.
While riding a public bus to our hotel from the Macau port terminal, I saw this moody scene across the opposite side of the bus. I immediately pulled out my phone to capture it even though the window was really dirty.
To salvage the image, I thought of Topaz JPEG to RAW AI. So I converted it into RAW and cloned out some of the dirt on the image. The end result isn't too bad though there are still blown out highlights. But I like the mood in the sky contrasting with the silhouettes of the skyscrapers down below. Seemingly, this place is becoming a boomtown.
I took this on Tuesday when I was on my way home from work. There was this low hanging clouds and all the sudden a full rainbow appeared in front of me. As you can see, there is also a slight hint of a double rainbow. I had to take this shot through my driver side window with my phone when my car was stationary at the traffic stop. If I had gotten out of my car, I could have taken the full rainbow in one shot.
Explore #444, February 18th, 2023
This is an interesting site dedicated to the Estonian victims of brutality under the Soviet Union regime. I was taken aback by the unique cultural identity of Estonia. Everything related to the Bolshiviks has largely disappeared, not even a sculpture or statue that I have come across. After spending a couple of days in Tallinn, I really like its charm. The country has a lot to offer.
Without a doubt, one of the cities where the best vermouths are made is Reus (Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain).
Obviously, there are other brands and other cities, but choosing a vermouth from Reus is undoubtedly a guarantee of good flavor and aroma.
HISTORY: The first record of a similar precedent was by Hippocrates, the famous physician and philosopher of ancient Greece, who macerated wormwood flowers and dittany leaves in wine and obtained what in the Middle Ages was called "Hippocratic wine" or, simply, "herb wine."
While these preparations were very common throughout Europe as a method of preserving wine to delay signs of oxidation, it was not until the late 18th century that it became known as vermouth, when Antonio Benedetto Carpano began marketing his wine preparation with approximately 30 botanicals in the city of Turin, at that time part of the Duchy of Savoy.
Vermouth arrived in Spain in the late 19th century under the influence of various Italian entrepreneurs and producers, settling primarily in the wine-producing regions of Catalonia.
The arrival of this fortified wine will give rise to the recognition of the Catalan region (especially Barcelona and Reus), as well as its true origin in Madrid, as the birthplace of Spanish vermouth, with Perucchi being the first vermouth produced in Spain. (Source: Wikipedia)
Photo taken at the "La Cruz Blanca" brewery on Doctor Esquerdo Street in Madrid, Spain.
LOS MEJORES VERMUTS, 2025
Sin duda, una de las ciudades donde se hacen los mejores vermuts es Reus, (Tarragona, Cataluña, España).
Evidente hay otras marcas y otras ciudades, pero apostar por un vermut de Reus, es sin duda una garantía de buen sabor y aroma.
HISTORIA: El primer registro de un antecedente similar fue por Hipócrates, célebre médico y filósofo de la antigua Grecia quien puso a macerar en vino flores de ajenjo y hojas de díctamo y obtuvo lo que en la Edad Media fue llamado «vino hipocrático» o, sencillamente, «vino de hierbas».
Si bien estas preparaciones fueron muy habituales en toda Europa como un método para conservar el vino para que demore en presentar signos de oxidación, fue a fines del siglo XVIII que se empezó a conocer como vermouth, siendo Antonio Benedetto Carpano quien comenzó a comercializar su preparación de vino con un aproximado de 30 botánicos en la ciudad de Turin, por ese momento parte del Ducado de Saboya.
La llegada del vermouth a España se produce a finales del siglo XIX por influencia de distintos empresarios y productores italianos, asentándose sobre todo en las regiones vitivinícolas de Cataluña.
Por la entrada de este vino fortificado vendrá la consideración de la región catalana (sobre todo Barcelona y Reus) así como su verdadero inicio en Madrid, como cuna del vermut español, siendo Perucchi el primer vermut producido en España. (Fuente: Wikipedia)
Foto hecha en la cervecería "La Cruz Blanca" en la calle Doctor Esquerdo de Madrid, España.
We drove to Red Rock Canyon today but didn't expect the place was so windy and cold. I quickly took this photo with my phone and got back into my car.
There were quite a few of these stores in Kusadasi not only carrying watches but women handbags too. We were taken aback by such honesty and humor. In fact, we went into one of the handbag stores and my wife couldn't tell the difference from the original genuine handbags. I guess that's probably the reason why Turkey is still not a member of EU.
Our last trip to Yosemite was in February this year. My friend and I have brought about hiking in our discussion recently. It reminded me of this tranquil scene when I stopped to catch my breath. The moss of this tree with the snowy cathedral peaks just caught my attention. I will definitely go back this coming November.
It wouldn't do the lake any justice if I didn't take a pano with my phone at this spot. Other than, Crater Lake in Oregon, this lake has the most deep blue color I have ever seen. Its color gradually changes to torqoise closer to the shores. As soon as we hiked down to the shore, my wife said to me, "There is no better place on Earth!" She has now developed a deep affection of this lake. We shall go back before this Summer is over.
When I was at Loretto Chapel in Sante Fe, I saw this tree dangling with rosaries in the courtyard. As it turned out, visitors from around the world came here and adorned the tree with their rosaries in memory of their loved ones who had passed away . It was a beautiful sight under the morning light.
Found this mushroom on the ground with its underneath flipped up. The fissures looked intriguing to me. There were others with orange color tops too. Made me think I should go check out the parks in Oakland Hills
There were a few strong displays of blossom at Keukenhof yesterday and this was one of them. We killed half of our day there and were not disappointed despite our late arrival
We made our first flight since COVID to Hawaii today. As soon as we got out of Honolulu international airport, we looked for a place to grab a quick bite. Found this 604 restaurant near Pearl Harbor. This is the view in front of us when we sit down.
Looks like Shasta County is blooming right now. It was a gorgeous day today.
Explore #128, July 6th, 2019
I arrived at this section of the Donner Summit Tunnel when all the sudden, I spotted this big head on the rocky wall staring at me. That really gave me a creep. Regardless, this historic tunnel is a perfect place for photographers who love urban decay. I did enjoy my time exploring there.