View allAll Photos Tagged losaltos
I guess this could be my first autumn photo. I haven't done a bona fide "naturey crap" photo in a while, so here's one--an antidote to the previous graphic image.
Iris remains hidden underground through the long months of autumn and winter. Now she has surfaced to dominate the scene. She will glow in the sunlight for a few short weeks, then will return to slumber until the spring rains awaken her to brighten our days again.
Happy Fence Friday everyone.
Los Altos CA
Thank you for visiting - ❤ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, get beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.
We sometimes go hiking at nearby Rancho San Antonio in Cupertino, California. On the way there is a farm called Deer Hollow Farm. I spotted these cattle/pig stairs, used to load the animals onto wagons/trucks in the old days. Nature is slowly reclaiming the contraption.
I processed a balanced HDR photo from a RAW exposure.
-- © Peter Thoeny, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, HDR, 1 RAW exposure, NEX-6, _DSC5591_hdr1bal1e
Throwing shade is a weird expression that I don't quite get. But here it was only fitting that our tallest rider threw some shade that I took advantage of to snap a photo. Another Wednesday Night Ride photo. #202 I think. I think I've taken three or four project 366 photos from right around this same spot, on separate Wednesday evenings.
Hidden Villa is a gem of an organic farm and wilderness area located on the upper Adobe Creek watershed at the base of Black Mountain in Los Altos Hills. The foothills here are part of the Santa Cruz Mountain Range and are interestingly just a stones throw from Silicon Valley.
Here, spring time was running rampant at the farm, with a nice mix of cultivated flowers and indigenous flora. The farm is part of a nonprofit educational organization that teaches programs on environmental and multicultural awareness. My kind of place--great spot to spend a morning in spring time and the new baby animals are to die for.
Los Altos CA
Pentax 645 // Ektar 100
Probably the normal 75mm lens
Dawn at Los Trancos Woods off of Page Mill Road in Los Altos area, San Mateo County, California
This isn't my home, but it is beautifully humble. Winter returns to California tonight with heavy rain and gusty winds in the forecast. I'm maxing out on the color in preparation.
Los Altos CA
We went to the Los Altos Arts & Wine Festival in downtown Los Altos, California. Many vendors had their art for sale on display. This booth had hand crafted iron statues. I took this bokeh shot with a vintage projector lens.
I processed a balanced, a paintery, and a photographic HDR photo from a RAW exposure, blended them selectively, and carefully adjusted the color balance and curves. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.
Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.
-- ƒ/2.8, 100 mm, 1/1250 sec, ISO 100, Sony A7 II, Rodenstock Splendar 100mm f/2.8, HDR, 1 RAW exposure, _DSC8522_hdr1bal1pai5pho1g.jpg
-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography
We went to the Los Altos Arts & Wine Festival in downtown Los Altos, California. Many vendors had their art for sale on display. This booth had hand crafted earring on display.
I processed a balanced and a photographic HDR photo from a RAW exposure, blended them selectively, and carefully adjusted the color balance and curves. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.
Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.
-- ƒ/2.8, 100 mm, 1/500 sec, ISO 100, Sony A7 II, Rodenstock Splendar 100mm f/2.8, HDR, 1 RAW exposure, _DSC8517_hdr1bal1pho1g.jpg
-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography
The Swiss club local to the Silicon Valley had an event in Los Alto California to celebrate the First of August, the Swiss Independence Day. Traditional food and a lantern parade for the kids in the park with redwoods made for a nice evening.
I processed a balanced and a photographic HDR photo from a RAW exposure, blended them, carefully adjusted the color balance and curves, and desaturated the image. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.
Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.
-- ƒ/0.95, 50 mm, 1/350 sec, ISO 3200, Sony A7 II, Canon 50mm f0.95 "Dream Lens", HDR, 1 RAW exposure, _DSC9395_hdr1bal1pho1i.jpg
-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography
Adobe Creek flows through the Los Altos Hills on its way to San Francisco Bay. A nice shady place to relax on a summer's day. Especially if you like the smell of Bay Trees.
Los Altos CA
This was an outtake of the photo below, which I posted back in May.
If you remember, this was taken in the noodle aisle of a local Asian supermarket. My daughter is advertising one of her favorite Japanese snacks. Happy happy happy!
Thank you for visiting - ❤ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.
The Swiss National Holiday is celebrated on August first. The Peninsula Swiss Club organized a family event in a local park in Los Altos, California. After dark we had a procession with lanterns. Boys were fascinated with the flame of a candle.
I processed a balanced HDR photo from a RAW exposure, selectively desaturated the image, added some sepia, and carefully adjusted the curves.
-- © Peter Thoeny, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, HDR, 1 RAW exposure, NEX-6, _DSC8012_hdr1bal1j.jpg
"My bokeh is better than your bokeh."
My daughter hamming it up in the noodle aisle of a nearby Asian supermarket when I had to pick up crabs for Friday night's dinner. Would you believe that I went through different aisles to get the best-colored bokeh? I tried the wine aisle but didn't like the greens/reds. The noodle aisle definitely had the best colors! =)
We did a quick Mother's Day hike. This thistle was at the halfway point. Looks half the way to its goal of spreading its seeds as well. Part of this album of mostly wildflower photos. 129/366.
A young spring lamb enjoys the sunlight as it moseys along. Cute little whippersnapper me thinks.
Happy Fence Friday everyone.
Los Altos Hills CA
a new hike from the Ruhys Trailhead, I'd never noticed before; a clutch of dry leaves mixed in with all the green foliage
We went to the Los Altos Arts & Wine Festival in downtown Los Altos, California. Many vendors had their art for sale on display.
I processed a balanced, a photographic, and a paintery HDR photo from a RAW exposure, blended them selectively, carefully adjusted the color balance and curves, and desaturated the image. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.
Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.
-- ƒ/2.8, 100 mm, 1/640 sec, ISO 100, Sony A7 II, Rodenstock Splendar 100mm f/2.8, HDR, 1 RAW exposure, _DSC8536_hdr1bal1pho1pai5g.jpg
-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography
Steamed egg custard is one of my most favorite Japanese dishes. This particular one at Akane Japanese Restaurant in Los Altos consists of shiitake mushrooms, spinach, gingko seeds, chicken, eel, and shrimp. Although this was very good, the best one I've had so far was at Kaygetsu in Menlo Park.
Every December we celebrate Samichlaus. The local Swiss club organizes an event for families with kids in Los Altos, California. December 6 is Samichlaus day in Switzerland. The Swiss version of Santa Claus is benevolent and brings gifts to kids. His counterpart is Schmutzli. Based on an old tradition, Samichlaus and Schmutzli go from house to house to visit kids. In our event we first eat Swiss style brunch, sing some traditional Swiss songs, then family by family, kids walk over to the Christmas tree to exchange some words with Samichlaus, and to receive a gift.
I processed a photographic and a balanced HDR photos from a JPG exposure, merged them selectively, and carefully adjusted the color balance and curves. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.
Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.
-- ƒ/1.2, 50 mm, 1/200, 1/800 sec, ISO 100, Sony A7 II, Canon 50mm f0.95 "Dream Lens", HDR, 1 JPG exposure, _DSC2421_hdrj1pho1bal1b.jpg
-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography
Every December we celebrate Samichlaus. The local Swiss club organizes an event for families with kids in Los Altos, California. December 6 is Samichlaus day in Switzerland. The Swiss version of Santa Claus is benevolent and brings gifts to kids. His counterpart is Schmutzli. Based on an old tradition, Samichlaus and Schmutzli go from house to house to visit kids. In our event we first eat Swiss style brunch, sing some traditional Swiss songs, then family by family, kids walk over to the Christmas tree to exchange some words with Samichlaus, and to receive a gift.
I processed a photographic and a balanced HDR photos from a RAW exposure, merged them selectively, and carefully adjusted the color balance and curves. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.
Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.
-- ƒ/2.0, 50 mm, 1/90, 1/800 sec, ISO 100, Sony A7 II, Canon 50mm f0.95 "Dream Lens", HDR, 1 RAW exposure, _DSC2499_hdr1bal1pho1h.jpg
-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography
Earlier this year, my son and I went to video-tape the private space collection of Steve Jurvetson at Future Ventures: bit.ly/3wt0MtW. I took some photos after the video session.
Besides human made space artifacts, Steve also collects extraterrestrial objects. He has Moon rocks, Mars rocks, and rare meteorites originating from many places in our solar system. This iron meteorite has a unique pattern that cannot form on Earth. I love this pattern! The captured area is about 7.5 inches / 20 cm across.
From the placard: SEYMCHAN METEORITE SLICE, Stony-iron Pallasite - PMG, Magadan District, Russia. This slice of a Seymchan meteorite shows the crystalline pattern of the alloys that comprise the meteorite, known as the Widmanstätten pattern, a 3D matrix that could not form in Earth's gravity. This unique “fingerprint" serves as a diagnostic in the identification of iron meteorites. Only 1% of all meteorites are pallasites.
I processed a photographic, a balanced, and a realistic HDR photo from a RAW exposure, blended them selectively, and carefully adjusted the color balance and curves. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.
Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.
-- ƒ/4.0, 50 mm, 1/320 sec, ISO 200, Sony A6000, SEL-50F18, HDR, 1 RAW exposure, _DSC7361_hdr1pho1bal1rea1f.jpg
-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography
Today my son and I went to see our rocket launch buddy Steve Jurvetson at Future Ventures in Los Altos, California. He turned his venture capital office into a space museum, which more than doubled in size since I took a video a year ago. Today I took take two, I'll post the video later on YouTube.
Besides space artifacts from Gemini to Apollo to SpaceX, Steve also collects rocks from outer space. I am holding a Mars rock in my hand! How cool is that?
How did it get to Earth? A big meteor crashes into Mars, which jettisons rocks into space. Some fall back onto Mars, some orbit around the sun. And this rock got caught by the gravity of Earth and hit the ground. Imagine the odds of this happening! This rock is more rare than diamonds.
How can they verify that this rock is really from Mars? Mars rovers analyzed rocks, and sent the data back to Earth. Each celestial object has a typical signature of elemental and isotopic composition, and this rock is a match for Mars. In addition, Mars landers and rovers measured the composition of gases in the atmosphere. This rock has gases trapped in tiny holes, which match the atmosphere of Mars.
See Steve's notes on his Mars rock: flic.kr/p/Dyq6AX
I processed a photographic and a realistic HDR photo from a RAW exposure, blended them, and carefully adjusted the color balance and curves. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.
Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.
-- ƒ/4.0, 50 mm, 1/25 sec, ISO 200, Sony A6000, SEL-50F18, HDR, 1 RAW exposure, _DSC7375_hdr1pho1rea1c.jpg
-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography
The historic Duveneck House (1929), now part of a working organic ranch and nonprofit educational organization whose mission is to teach programs on environmental and multicultural awareness. A great place to rediscover an older side of California.
Los Altos Hills CA
In March I went to the the Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, California. It was for a book release event. Mark Tuschman presented his new book Together We Rise: Immigrants in America. Powerful stories of immigrants filled the room in striking monochrome prints.
I processed a balanced, a photographic, and a paintery HDR photo from two RAW exposures, blended them selectively, and carefully adjusted the color balance and curves. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.
Thank you for visiting - ♡ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.
-- ƒ/7.1, 16 mm, 1/13, 1/50 sec, ISO 3200, Sony A6400, SEL-P1650, HDR, 2 RAW exposures, _DSC5537_9_hdr2bal1pho1pai1a.jpg
-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2024 Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography
The only certain thing in life, is that we all will be changed by the whimsies of time. There is beauty in that.
Hidden Villa Farm, Los Altos CA
Safeway located at 160 First St. in Los Altos,CA. This store which opened on January 3rd 1968 is showing signs of age leading to the plans for a potentail rebuild of the store. The mostly conservative residents of Los Altos have expressed many specific details so the store does not become too big and possibly detour residents from the longtime businesses in Downtown Los Altos. So far Safeway has presented a few plans which have not faired well with residents. For the time it seems like this store will stay but a goal is to have something completed by 2011. A lot of towns have been very particular of how Safeway should rebuild their aging stores. With so many special exceptions Safeway could just pull out of the area altogether but the store is still profitable and thus not worthy of closing.
Burlingame has been debating with Safeway on a new store for more than twenty-five years...
Oakland, Berkeley, and Albany have also not been able to come to terms with Safeway wanting to demolish and rebuild stores on College Ave, Rockridge, Solano Ave. and Shattuck Ave.
For now Safeway might as well continue operating these stores since more people favor there older stores instead of the plans to build new ones.
Inside...