Chevy's View

Chevy's View
Originally uploaded by Anthony L. Solis.

As I was working on this photo, the thought of taking some of the wonderful color out came to me. The paint and rust on this truck is fantastic, but I thought I'd try something different for me. Normally, I over-saturate everything because I like boldness and contrast. In this photo, I took out 75% of the original color, then re-saturated it about 30%. The final touch was to add a warm color cast by using the soft light blending mode at about 40%. I may still post the full-color version, but let me know what you think about this.

Wolfe Ranch

Wolfe Ranch
Originally uploaded by Anthony L. Solis.

The Wolfe Ranch is located in Arches National Park, at the beginning of the hiking trail to Delicate Arch. The Ranch was settled in the late 1800's by John Wesley Wolfe and his son. John moved west from Ohio looking for a drier climate, due to a nagging leg injury he received in the Civil War. John choose a tract of 100 acres of land along Salt Wash for its water and grassland - enough for a few cattle.

Old Chevy

Old Chevy
Originally uploaded by Anthony L. Solis.

I took this at Julie's parents' house in Colorado. It's her truck that someday she may fix up.

Morning Glory

Morning Glory
Originally uploaded by Anthony L. Solis.

My first true HDR from multiple exposures. I was finally able to make it look as good or better than it did the morning I shot this.

Tsunami Bomb

Tsunami Bomb
Originally uploaded by Anthony L. Solis.

This, along with all of my Boardwalk shots from this day, were supposed to be night shots. The photos I did get, like this one, were meant only for composition practice. The thing is, the Boardwalk closed at 8 p.m. (it usually closes at 11 in the summer), so I was not able to get the shots I wanted.

The sun was facing the front of the Tsunami ride as it set and the result is the lights of the ride, which were off, were lit by the sun.

What looks to be a bad crop on my part is really done on purpose. The Ferris Wheel has a light directly in front of it which prevents a lot of good angles from being used. Shame on you Boardwalk people for putting a light there and forcing a bad crop on my photo.

Curve

Curve
Originally uploaded by Anthony L. Solis.

I love happy accidents. I don't even remember taking this shot, but I was pretty glad I did when I got home. This is the Log Ride at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. I had just taken a random picture of this while waiting for the sun to go down a little more.

This image is cropped down from the full frame, which looks like your typical bad ride shot. I like not being able to tell what it is. I also adjusted the white balance drastically to give an almost tritone quality.

Park Closed

Park Closed
Originally uploaded by Anthony L. Solis.

This, along with all of my Boardwalk shots from this day, were supposed to be night shots. The photos I did get, like this one, were meant only for composition practice. The thing is, the Boardwalk closed at 8 p.m. (it usually closes at 11 in the summer), so I was not able to get the shots I wanted.

This shot of the Giant Dipper roller coaster was taken as I was being hearded out of the park. If the park didn't close down at 8, I never would have seen this shot. I'mm surprised it is as sharp as it is since I was walking and shooting at the same time.

Three Corners

Three Corners
Originally uploaded by Anthony L. Solis.

This is the corner of Water Street, Front Street and Pacific Avenue in downtown Santa Cruz. I was taking shots of Holy Cross church and wandered over to the mission to see if I could get a shot there. Instead, I found a field that overlooked downtown with one small problem ... there was a chain-linked fence that blocked the best angles. This shot was achieved by putting my tripod on a tree stump and shooting over the fence and around a tree.

Clock Tower

Clock Tower
Originally uploaded by Anthony L. Solis.

My intent was to get a picture of the clock tower in Santa Cruz, but the trees were blocking it from the only angle I could get it. Still, I'm pretty happy with this as I think the trees add something, though I'm not sure what.

Holy Hues

Holy Hues
Originally uploaded by Anthony L. Solis.

I was on the hunt for some sodium vapor lights and their green hue, but those are few and far between in Santa Cruz. This is Holy Cross church and it is not lit by sodium vapors either -- the true light here is nearly measured for daylight. But I still wanted that sodium vapor glow, so I faked it.

I did a poor-boy's HDR by using a layer blending mode, then tweeked the curves and "ta-da," instant sodium vapor lights.

Wailin Banjo

IMG_0128
Originally uploaded by Anthony L. Solis.

Part of what I love about Santa Cruz is the fact on any given day, you can find a whole crew of characters playing music downtown. These guys where really good and the banjo player had the best expressions on his face.

No new posts for a while

There will not be many (if any) photos posted for at least a week because I'm an idiot. You see, I have auto bill pay set on my phone bill, but I forgot to update my account with my new ATM card. So my phone, which is only used for my DSL line, was disconnected and my DSL won't be back up for a while. I know, I know ... I'm an idiot. Maybe I'll just work on updating this site in the time being.

Anonymous Rider

Anonymous Rider
Originally uploaded by Anthony L. Solis.

This falls under the catagory "you never know unless you try." I took a few frames of this man, who was riding in a 50-mile endurance race in Northern Santa Cruz County, but the sun was slightly behind him, so to get his face exposed, the rest of the image was too bright. I decided to expose for his hat and see what happened.

What I like is the fact that you see a few lines and instantly know what the photo is. What I wish is that his face was turned the other way so I could get a few highlights on it.

I did post process this, adjusting the curve to deepen the shadows, but I also PhotoShopped it. His T-shirt said "Falcons" on it that stood out a lot. It didn't really seem "cowboy" too me, so I cloned it out.

Forget Me Not

Forget Me Not
Originally uploaded by Anthony L. Solis.

I didn't know it when I took the shot, but this is one of my girlfriend's favorite wildflowers.

A Feeling Evoked

The amazing thing about this shot is the time it was taken. 7:48 a.m. What's more amazing is that I had been up for 2.5 hours already.

End of the Wharf BW

End of the Wharf BW
Originally uploaded by Anthony L. Solis.

I really like this photo in color, but I think it lends itself to a duotone as well.

Wave of the Future

Wave of the Future
Originally uploaded by Anthony L. Solis.

I have no idea what this bus was for, but I thought it looked cool.