Ocean Sunset – Carlsbad, Ca.

After spending the month of September unpacking (yes, we have a lot of stuff), my wife and I took an R&R and spent last week at the beach in San Diego County. We had a place in Carlsbad where we stayed with a fabulous ocean view. I have attached two shots I took of two separate sunsets.

Carlsbad Sunset 1

Carlsbad Sunset 2

The lighting obviously is different between 1 and 2 with the first sunset captured as the sun emerged from behind a cloud versus the second sunset which was taken as dusk had settled in and the last sliver of the sun was ready to slip below the horizon

Having lived and raised our family in San Diego County for 24 years, we spent the week catching up with old friends, former co-workers and employees. My sister and her husband also live in the county, so was great spending time with them. It dawned on us that we did have an ocean view from our house (albeit 3.5 miles inland), but nothing compares to having the ocean at your door step so to speak. Was fun sleeping at night listening the sound of the surf and getting up each morning with surfers flocking to the beach to catch some waves before starting their day.

We left almost 6 years ago and have been back a couple of times for family functions with my sister, but it just felt calming being back in the “hood” where we had lived so long. I will be sharing a number of shots from that week over the next few.

For those of you geographically curious, you probably know San Diego lies south of Los Angeles (120 miles) and is adjacent to the Mexican border. What you may not know is that it’s the 8th largest city in the United States and the 2nd largest city in California. That last fact surprises most people as they assume San Francisco is. The Bay Area surpasses the metropolitan area of San Diego by a long shot, but San Francisco (the city of) doesn’t encompass the population you would think. The county itself follows the Pacific Coastline on the west and includes a mountain range on the east. The city proper encompasses a large portion of the county but there are numerous towns along the coastline going north to Camp Pendelton such as Del Mar, Solana Beach, Encinitas, Carlsbad and Oceanside and then inland along the northern tier.

One more fun fact: San Diego Bay is the site of the first European setting foot on what is now known as the West Coast of The United States.

Thoughts?

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What Am I Seeing? Three Very Different Black and White Photographs

This week I wanted to take a look at three very different black and white photographs and tell you what I see.

As I have mentioned in my posts, I shoot everything in Raw format which means I shoot digitally capturing tremendous detail. It does take up memory and believe me my portfolio and archives have their own hard drive because of it. The reason I shoot with that much definition is that it allows me to “play’ with the end picture more.

The first picture is a cityscape of downtown Seattle with the Space Needle featured front and center. What do I see? I see the downtown towers and Space Needle sharply defined…very bold straight edges. I see the architecture dominating the capture because of that factor. As an additional element, I see the sharp contrast of the cloud formations from the high level clouds to the puffy cumulous in the background.  I see an architectural statement of Seattle with the subtle element of weather which Seattle is known for.

Seattle Skyline In B&W 

From a cityscape to a farm. What do I see? I see a mood created from an abandoned farm highlighted by showing it in black and white. I see barren tree branches and collapsing buildings that have a lonely element with no life. The black and white presentation allows this mood to be front and center without getting distracted by pops of color.

“Abandoned Farm”

From the farm to Old Point Loma Lighthouse sitting on the entrance to San Diego Bay in Cabrillo National Monument. What do I see? I see the top of a lighthouse where the simple architecture of the structure points your eye upward to the light. I see what is a deep blue sky not taking center stage because the presentation in black and white makes it a supporting gray backdrop to the white structure and the intricate architecture of the top of the lighthouse.

“Pt Loma Lighthouse”

Thoughts?

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Carlsbad, California – Coastal Sunset

Carlsbad, California is located in North San Diego County – north of the city of San Diego proper.  It sits along the coastline and the village center is just blocks from the beach. This particular setting is just south of the village center where there is a walkway along the coast just above the beach (notice the fence as it lines the walkway above the beach). To get down to the beach there are long stairs scattered periodically for access. I have a number of art prints done in various styles from this setting. What I wanted to feature today was this particular print I did using more subtle earth tones instead of bright vibrant colors. It creates a different visual experience and supports a more relaxed mood with the setting sun. I used the same technique I talked about last week (impasto) to create the thick bold brush strokes.

“Sunset Over the Pacific” 

Thoughts?

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Bright Colors – Abstract Watercolor – Hot Air Balloons

This week I’m featuring three of my hot air balloons. The technique I used creating these three art prints was an abstract approach. I used the sketching to define the subject matter of the balloons and then filled them with bright colors. Not being one who every stayed in the lines when it came to art, I let the bright colors bleed into each other, creating an abstract look.

 

“Inflated”

We are all attracted to hot air balloons rising and floating in the air. The serenity of the scene as one looks skyward and sees these bright colored balloons quietly drifting through the sky. What drew my eye when my wife and I did the adventure in San Diego, was the prep work of getting them inflated and launched. To me there was an incredible beauty watching these large bags of color transformed into what we see drifting across the sky.

 

“Bright Colored Balloons”

As the balloons slowly fill with hot air, they go from laying flat on the ground to slowly rising and when you see the different stages of inflation with a group of balloons together…it really is a beautiful sight.

 

“Three Balloons”

Thoughts?

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Pacific Ocean Summer Sunsets – Featured Art Prints

Pacific Sunset

Coastal Sunset

The featured pictures are of a summer sunset over the Pacific Ocean in San Diego County. They are scenes that were captured just minutes apart as the coloring of the clouds changed moment to moment. In these captures, I came back and digitally soften them up just slightly with a very subtle watercolor technique. They still retain the detail of a photograph, but with a barely perceptible softening.

The setting is Northern San Diego County on a hill about three miles from the coast. This was the view from our house and on this particular evening the color of the sky was so vivid and bright, I immediately grabbed my camera. On the second picture you see a dark spot in the sky that looks like it shouldn’t be there. I have the ability to clear that out, but I was curious as to what it was. I magnified that portion of the print and discovered it was a commercial airliner flying the coastal flight pattern between San Diego proper (to the south) and Los Angeles (to the north) or points further north. Because of this I decided to leave the “spot” in.  Thoughts?

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Evening Sunset Along The Walk – Featured Art Print

Evening Sunset Along the Walk

Evening Sunset Along the Walk is a wall art print I created using an abstract watercolor technique of an evening sunset along the walkway. This technique uses abstract shapes and bold colors to create a clean modern look.

The setting is Carlsbad, California along the coast highway. Carlsbad is located in the northern part of San Diego County and is a popular beach town. In this particular area, there is a sidewalk up on the bluff overlooking the beach and surf of the Pacific Ocean. It’s a great place to take a sunset stroll and enjoy the cool ocean breeze. In this print, the sun is just getting ready to dip into the ocean for the night. The setting is beautiful with not only the sunset, but also the palm trees in the foreground of this print. Thoughts?

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Bright Orange Tropical Sunset – Featured Art Print

Bright Orange Tropical Sunset