tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317721543167612882024-03-05T14:39:04.779-08:00evilkorova.comKorovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766389330043349969noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831772154316761288.post-39061224571477993852016-01-08T09:13:00.001-08:002016-01-09T14:31:07.823-08:002016 Bake #1: Banana BreadI love banana bread so it's a good choice for bake number one. My only real baking experience is the two muffins I made last month and pancakes and waffles.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The players of the recipe. The beer is for me, not the bread.</td></tr>
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The recipe source is Alton Brown's <i>I'm Just Here For More Food</i>. This will likely be the source used for most of the recipes this year. What I love about the book is Alton's focus on teaching you the "methods"of baking. Banana Bread follows his "muffin method" so it really wasn't much different from making muffins.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everything combined into 4 bowls, ready for the final mix!</td></tr>
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As far as the ingredients go, the recipe called for "almond extract" which I've never used before but we had on hand already. I was excited to see what it would add to the final properties. The recipe also called for a relatively small amount of oat flour in addition to the all-purpose flour. Alton never explains the purpose of the oat flour so I'm not sure if it helps keep it together, adds flavor, or what. For the first time I bake each recipe, I think I will try to stay as true to the recipe as possible. I checked my pantry and no oat flour... and no sugar! So a trip to the store was in order...<br />
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Turns out oat flour is expensive for a product that I'm not sure how much use it is going to get in my pantry. I decided to buy rolled oats since we are more likely to use rolled oats than oat flour and I gave them a spin through the food processor.<br />
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The final product tastes pretty good and it looks decent enough. I'm actually quite happy with it. It tastes like banana bread, doesn't fall apart, has a nice crust, and it's moist inside. So overall I think I did alright.<br />
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Below are my notes on the bake. I don't think any of them are major and some may not matter at all.<br />
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<ul>
<li>I may have over-mixed. I try really hard not to over mix and it's easily the part of baking I struggle with the most.</li>
<li>I'm not sure how high it should have risen. I feel like it didn't rise enough. This may be a result of over mixing. If you look at the profile the bottom seems dense and the top is more of what I was expecting with the pockets. Overall it's not bad and it's not dense either. </li>
<li>Not enough banana. I mean it's there and you can taste it but I need more bananas. We had 3 overripe bananas but I guess they were a little on the small side. So I need to be more aware of that for future bakes. The recipe said 3-4 bananas, and 3 small ones do not cut it.</li>
<li>The almond extract is very strong. It tastes good but I don't think it's balanced well. Maybe if I had more bananas this wouldn't be an issue, I can't say for sure. It could also be the brand I used. I may dial it down a tad next time.</li>
<li>Like I wrote above, I'm not entirely sure what the oat flour does. I don't think it adds flavor. How could it? I just taste almond :). Maybe it helps add structure? I guess I won't really know until I omit it next time.</li>
<li>Baking said 50-60 minutes or until it reaches 210F. I checked it at 50 and it was 192F, at 55 it was 197, and at 60 it had reached 202F, but the outside was getting a little dark and a toothpick came out clean so I yanked it. Not sure if that had any effect on the final product. I do think the crust on it is fantastic and nice and crunchy, so I don't think I over baked it.</li>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breakfast this morning</td></tr>
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I really enjoyed the process and I like the final product enough to keep eating it. I like having a good bread or muffin with my coffee in the mornings.<br />
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I'd bake it again perhaps with small modifications and compare.<br />
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On to the next bake!Korovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766389330043349969noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831772154316761288.post-33574115707877205952016-01-07T15:17:00.000-08:002016-01-07T15:46:59.223-08:00Here we go again?This blog is a shrine to failed projects.<br />
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My wife and I have always been into "food" shows and we have also enjoyed the occasional reality show. We like reality shows that seem less interested in creating drama and more interested in awarding contestant skill. So food reality shows are an easy watch for us. In fact food shows have fueled our enjoyment of cooking and provided us with a library of books by Jamie Oliver, Alton Brown, etc.<br />
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Last year we started watching a baking reality show. Nearly every single item produced in the show is something I wished I could eat. I love breads and pastries, but baking is something I've never really done unless you count store bought cookies that come in a tube that you just lay out on a sheet.<br />
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Baking has always scared me because it seemed like it was hard to get right, hard to be consistent with, and hard to play around with without screwing up the formula.<br />
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Then I thought about it some more.<br />
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When I cook, I use as much precision as possible and try to keep the fewest amount of new variables every time I do it. I weigh all my ingredients and I use a laser thermometer to make sure my pancakes cook at <i>exactly</i> 350F on a gas stove. Hell, I right now I even weigh my coffee and water every morning. In grams. The more I thought about this, the more baking seemed to make sense for me. In fact baking might even be more up my alley than regular cooking. It seems like baking rewards precision. I like precision.<br />
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I might be wrong. I might hate baking... but I want to try it.<br />
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So the natural place to start was Alton Brown's <i>I'm Just Here For More Food,</i> a sequel to <i>I'm Just Here For The Food</i>. I've read the first book, but I've never cracked open the second one. My wife even forgot we owned it. I think we just bought it for completion purposes. Why did I never read it? Because it is entirely about baking.<br />
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I've made the first recipe from Alton's book: Old Fashioned Muffins. I've made them twice actually. They were not without their flaws, but they proved to me that I think I can do this. Looking at what to cook next I decided it would be fun to try a new bake every week. It just happened to be the end of 2015 so I had the idea of trying to do 52 bakes this year.<br />
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It was suggested that I blog about them. Except that...<br />
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This blog is a shrine to failed projects.<br />
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This blog is likely to stay a shrine to failed projects and this one may fail too. Oh well. I don't give a shit. :)<br />
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Here are the rules:<br />
1- I'm not going to confine myself to rules or set myself up for failure. If this turns into only 51 bakes, oh well. Oops! I'd rather keep baking than feel like I messed up my challenge to myself.<br />
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So we'll try it out and see where it goes. Ready, set, bake!Korovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766389330043349969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831772154316761288.post-56331595988667086212013-03-29T20:32:00.001-07:002013-03-29T20:32:49.145-07:00Iceland<p>Just got back from Iceland! It was a pretty amazing trip.</p>
<p><a title="View 'Band Photo' on Flickr.com" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/8593076585"><img style="float: right;" title="Band Photo" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8237/8593076585_ce43c8544c_m.jpg" alt="Band Photo" width="240" height="160" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>Quick aside, project 365 died. I was too behind on uploading and then missed a day by accident. But regardless I'm going to keep taking photos and see if I can find a new edge.</p>
<p>For Iceland I rarely took off my 28mm lens which puts me at 44.8mm on a crop body (Rebel T1i) which is pretty close to an actual 50. It was so bright outside I was getting speeds higher than 1/100 sec at f/22!! </p>
<p>The 28mm was a xmas gift from my wife and it's quickly becoming my favorite lens. Having a fixed has really forced me to think about composition and to walk around my subject if I don't like the framing instead of just zooming in and out.</p>
<p>While I didn't have 1 photo I thought was spectacular, here are some of my favorite pics from Iceland:</p>
<p><a title="View 'Time to Leave' on Flickr.com" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/8593071775"><img title="Time to Leave" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8246/8593071775_31e274b3f4_t.jpg" alt="Time to Leave" width="100" height="67" border="0" /></a> <a title="View 'Þingvellir' on Flickr.com" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/8594173248"><img title="Þingvellir" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8378/8594173248_2d7f585f82_t.jpg" alt="Þingvellir" width="100" height="67" border="0" /></a> <a title="View ':)' on Flickr.com" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/8594170522"><img title=":)" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8246/8594170522_bba9aac465_t.jpg" alt=":)" width="67" height="100" border="0" /></a></p>Korovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766389330043349969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831772154316761288.post-38397805120953627732013-01-13T20:35:00.001-08:002013-01-13T20:35:51.545-08:00Project 365: 13 Days In<p>Well a successful start to having a photo a day but a slightly disappointing time I think.</p>
<p>The major focus of the first 13 days is to try to get into the habit of taking photos every day. I tried really hard to not just go out for a "365 photoshoot" but to take photos throughout the day. </p>
<p>As expected, work days are the toughest and I rely more on my phone for them. When I get home it's already too dark for any sort of outdoor photo. </p>
<p>My biggest hope to get through the weekdays is to assign a weekly theme to focus on. My first weekly theme was "introductions" to sort of ease into the whole thing, So I took photos of myself, my camera, my cats, etc.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a title="View 'Day 1 - Self Portrait' on Flickr.com" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/8335632674"><img title="Day 1 - Self Portrait" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8356/8335632674_d1dd312c6f_t.jpg" alt="Day 1 - Self Portrait" width="100" height="67" border="0" /></a> <a title="View 'Day 2 - The Camera' on Flickr.com" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/8339869323"><img title="Day 2 - The Camera" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8360/8339869323_a9d39a2776_t.jpg" alt="Day 2 - The Camera" width="100" height="67" border="0" /></a> <a title="View 'Day 5 - Tube Cat' on Flickr.com" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/8356871768"><img title="Day 5 - Tube Cat" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8212/8356871768_f414767a8a_t.jpg" alt="Day 5 - Tube Cat" width="100" height="67" border="0" /></a> <a title="View 'Day 6 - Cat Number Two' on Flickr.com" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/8355809757"><img title="Day 6 - Cat Number Two" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8328/8355809757_37e875f6e8_t.jpg" alt="Day 6 - Cat Number Two" width="100" height="67" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>The theme for week 2 quickly became iPhone photos as I tried to play around with how to creatively take photos with the phone. It produced some interesting results, especially with KitCam and its selective focus and fake "tilt shift" lenses:</p>
<p><a title="View 'Day 7 - Commute' on Flickr.com" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/8359886261"><img title="Day 7 - Commute" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8184/8359886261_921f6934af_t.jpg" alt="Day 7 - Commute" width="100" height="75" border="0" /></a> <a title="View 'Day - 8 I Have A Messy Desk' on Flickr.com" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/8367382223"><img title="Day - 8 I Have A Messy Desk" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8082/8367382223_9b4c03bfef_t.jpg" alt="Day - 8 I Have A Messy Desk" width="100" height="100" border="0" /></a> <a title="View 'Day 10 - Snow' on Flickr.com" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/8368151669"><img title="Day 10 - Snow" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8048/8368151669_cfecc835f4_t.jpg" alt="Day 10 - Snow" width="100" height="75" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>My theme for week 3 will be "bokeh" since I received my lensbaby aperture pack 2. That should hopefully turn out pretty interesting. Possible plans for week 4 include something that can be done around the house (dark outdoors) maybe a day each of something I own or photos from the perspective of the cat.</p>Korovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766389330043349969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831772154316761288.post-14451523375961554562012-12-19T17:51:00.001-08:002012-12-19T17:51:39.597-08:00Project 365: Reboot<p>So… Lets go this going again :)</p>
<p>I'm inspired to start anew at the beginning 2013, 3 years after the failure of my last 365 project. Life kind of swept me away and I allowed myself to get really busy. While I never stopped talking photos after the 365 failure, the difference was that I was learning something nearly every day and pushing myself to go to new places. </p>
<p>Time seemingly slows down for those 3 months in 2009 and in a busy and chaotic world, I feel that's important.</p>
<p>If I'm going to start again, I must realize what I did wrong and what my challenges were that I can overcome them again. I will state them here.</p>
<p>Goal: By Jan 1st 2014 I should have 365 photos, one for every day of the year. For the days I went somewhere or did something unique the photos should reflect this. For the days –most days– where I go from home to work to home again, a new strategy will be necessary to avoid filler and burning myself out.</p>
<p>Here is my strategy:</p>
<p>1- Simplify. Don't overcomplicate things.<br />2- I have 2 cats now. Don't fill it up with cats. I fear this time around I will have a 365 photos of cats.<br />3- I will not lock myself down to thought-out, artsy, well-exposed, or otherwise great looking photos from an SLR. But I must also resist always going to the phone for a quick filler pic. <br />4- Experiment. Be scientific about things. Shoot something 90 different ways and with different lenses. Learn and re-learn my equipment.<br />5- Try something new. Collect photos and ideas from other sources and keep notes.<br />6- Simplify. Don't take it too seriously. Fill it up with cats if I have to… ;)</p>
<p>Wish me luck.</p>Korovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766389330043349969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831772154316761288.post-85148864897413062802009-11-08T17:27:00.001-08:002009-11-08T17:30:11.291-08:00365 Project Update - Month 2<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/4006814703" title="View '37 (1012)' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2614/4006814703_9af3f0afef_m.jpg" alt="37 (1012)" style="float: right" width="240" height="160" /></a>Month two was even harder than month one. There were many days that I just phoned it in and I struggled to take photos on some weekdays. It would be 10pm at night and I would still have no clue on what to take a photo of.<br /><br />So I came up with an idea to theme my weekday photos and try to tie them together. I had a week of just dinners and a week where the subject was soft glowing light. Hopefully this should help me. I think I need to stay focused and make sure I'm not doing this as a chore but to represent my year as well as try new techniques and learn my camera.<br /><br />I am happy to say that I am using my camera's manual mode more and more. There are times where I just don't like how the camera meters the light and I need more control. Even in Av mode I will use exposure lock more now than ever before.<br /><br />Like last update, I went through and picked three of the photos I really like but did not include because another photo won out that day. This is kind of cheating, I know, but oh well :). I find ritually going back over a months worth of photos to find overlooked gems is encouraging and inspires me to do better.<br /><br />The rejected photos:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/4088110238" title="View 'Rejected-' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2500/4088110238_e7e5b77bf1_t.jpg" alt="Rejected-" width="100" height="67" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/4087352809" title="View 'Rejected--2' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2721/4087352809_76a154c21e_t.jpg" alt="Rejected--2" width="67" height="100" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/4088114612" title="View 'Rejected--3' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2695/4088114612_f5fe64d223_t.jpg" alt="Rejected--3" width="100" height="67" /></a>Korovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766389330043349969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831772154316761288.post-38336185664780480482009-11-02T09:13:00.001-08:002009-11-02T19:43:59.940-08:00Alum Rock Park<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/4067388904" title="View 'IMG_1018' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3490/4067388904_a6b8712a8e_m.jpg" alt="IMG_1018" style="float: right;" width="240" height="180" /></a>Did some light mountain biking yesterday at Alum Rock Park, one of the oldest (if not the oldest?) city park in the valley. It's fairly big in size and provides a decent amount of trail. It was really easy to get to which is good because even with the time change we were getting a late start. Plus everything seemed to be going wrong that morning, including someone stealing my bagel at the coffee shop. I'm surprised the bikes didn't fall off the Amigo.<br /><br />We started at the parking lot just outside the gates and went up the main bike trail (marked Bicycle Path on the signs) that goes the length of the park. Donna's head started hurting so we stopped at the visitor center playground area for a rest and took some time to take some photos for my 365 project.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/4066639421" title="View 'IMG_1024' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2641/4066639421_c3c7471340_m.jpg" alt="IMG_1024" style="float: left;" width="180" height="240" /></a>Donna not feeling up to it, I left my pack with her and continued along the main path until the end where it's open to horses and hikers only. Lots of old stone bridges line the trail and I almost regretted leaving my SLR with Donna (almost :), I still had my powershot). There is also a bunch of remains of old hot spring baths.<br /><br />It's a pretty level trail, it's a very gradual uphill going in and a fun downhill going back. On a warm sunday the trail from the parking lot to the visitor center is pretty crowded so we had to take it slow on the way back or risk running into children :).<br /><br />I would have liked to explore the other trails but we'll have to go back.<br /><br />Click for Route:<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=efrotkaudowxminw" title="GPSies - Coyote Creek"><img src="http://gpsies.com/images/linkus.png" alt="click for gps track" style="border: 0px none ;" /></a></div>Korovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766389330043349969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831772154316761288.post-28338966447045162622009-10-06T20:48:00.001-07:002009-10-06T20:54:52.769-07:00365 Project - One month down.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3948601381" title="View '18 (0923)' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2627/3948601381_b3c44cec10_m.jpg" alt="18 (0923)" style="float: right" width="240" height="160" /></a>My Amigo is in the shop. I'm really thirsty for mountain biking, but it will have to wait until I can get my car back. My 365 Project (dubbed "thirty-one") has now gone on for 1 month and has kept me busy. It's cool to see the last month in photos and I feel like it's definitely helping me learn more about what I can do with my camera.<br /><br />Some days (most days?) I really struggle coming up with a new photo and one or two of those days I think I've really phoned it in. I can't imagine what will happen when I run out of things inside my apartment to photograph. I need to take my camera everywhere I go, I suppose.<br /><br />Other days I take so many photos that it becomes hard to choose just one. So I decided since it's been one month from when I started this thing I would create a flickr "reject" set and choose three of my favorite photos that didn't make it in.<br /><br />The first two of these three were taken on the very first day. I had about 4 or 5 photos I just could not choose between. I may have even chosen the wrong one :). I really liked this piece of machinery. I can't remember what the machine was anymore though:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3989281510" title="View 'Rejected-2' on Flickr.com"><div style="text-align:center;"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2536/3989281510_51433c8793.jpg" alt="Rejected-2" border="0" width="400" height="266" /></div></a><br /><br />This photo looks good in color or duo-tone, but I like the contrast just a little bit better in the one without color. I'll probably say differently tomorrow:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3989281330" title="View 'Rejected-1' on Flickr.com"><div style="text-align:center;"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2474/3989281330_14a07f59d8.jpg" alt="Rejected-1" border="0" width="266" height="400" /></div></a><br /><br />And last is a photo that I completely overlooked until today. The day I took this photo I put 4 photos to choose from side by side on my monitor and this was not one of them:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3989281712" title="View 'Rejected-3' on Flickr.com"><div style="text-align:center;"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2625/3989281712_7a94e04cbf.jpg" alt="Rejected-3" border="0" width="450" height="150" /></div></a><br /><br />Korovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766389330043349969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831772154316761288.post-10429831722556684802009-10-01T10:13:00.001-07:002009-10-01T10:35:26.200-07:00San Jose State Normal School Tower Hall<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3970792488" title="View 'tower hall-2' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3433/3970792488_27c0bd25e6_m.jpg" alt="tower hall-2" style="float: right" width="240" height="160" /></a>Been a crazy busy September, full of wedding venue visits, busy with work, etc. Haven't been able to get out much at all. Plus my Amigo needs some work done on him before I dare take him mountain biking. <br /><br />September was also the month I started my 365 photo project. I'll post an update on that after 30 full days. It has really got me reading and thinking a lot about photography. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3970021189" title="View 'tower hall-3' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2650/3970021189_57a9450a08_m.jpg" alt="tower hall-3" style="float: left" width="240" height="160" /></a>A quick background about me and photography: I love photography but have never really tried it until recently. I am especially a big fan of industrial and architectural photography (still or motion) from the early days of cameras. I love watching Edison's earliest films on the streets of New York. <br /><br />In Manhattan about 4 years ago I purchased the book New York Changing: Revisiting Berenice Abbott's New York. It's a stunning photography book where the author recreates the setting of the 1930s photographs almost exactly and shows them side by side. He had figured out the exact perspective, the time of day, and even used the same camera so you can focus only on what has changed. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3970020843" title="View 'tower hall-1' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3507/3970020843_273f013967_m.jpg" alt="tower hall-1" style="float: right" width="240" height="160" /></a>While I could never do it with the same precision, recreating old photographs seems like a great way to study perception and the difference between "zooming" in using greater focal length vs actually stepping forward.<br /><br />I wandered through the SJ Library's digital archive of their California Room looking for photos of San Jose and SJSU. I came across a circa 1915 photo of Tower Hall. I believe his would have been less than 10 years after it was constructed to replace the old building. Last Sunday I decided to shoot the building with every lens I had and also try to recreate the old photograph. Here are my results:<br /><br /><a href="http://content.scu.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/svhocdm&CISOPTR=1422&CISOBOX=1&REC=20"><div style="text-align:center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEght3SKEOOTuqKIdjh8L-Cvk2Xr93-5R9XS5CuD-AO-4nuPRoFrd53OibKvQnKY4wjy-gSbarxzwviu7eJ4rWMsWxjslRqrWM8BnzjmiB5yueflsSafMZ_l0UvXfL904zjU2HY8qOS5RZgl/?imgmax=800" alt="towerhall-thumb.jpg" border="0" width="240" height="153" /></div></a><br><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3970792820" title="View 'tower hall-4' on Flickr.com"><div style="text-align:center;"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3493/3970792820_2dc8a6fc57_m.jpg" alt="tower hall-4" border="0" width="240" height="148" /></div></a><br /><br />Obviously I didn't get it exact. I should have stepped more to the left and angled the camera more to the right and I was around 5 minutes too late for shadows. But I think it was a decent enough first attempt and a good learning experience.Korovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766389330043349969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831772154316761288.post-19715546276545578312009-09-06T21:03:00.001-07:002009-09-07T17:16:52.292-07:00365 Photo Project...aka "project thirty-one"<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3895442796" title="View '1 (0906)' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2444/3895442796_35c8b8e603_m.jpg" alt="1 (0906)" style="float: right" width="240" height="160" /></a>Today I have started my 365 photo project. Many people seem to do these to document their year and use their camera more. I decided it was a good idea to learn my camera and force myself to get out there and take some photos. When I run out of ideas, hopefully I won't quit and it'll force me to be more creative.<br /><br />The project starts today, on my thirty-first birthday and goes until my next birthday. I had a couple weeks to ponder this idea and I decided not to limit myself too much with rules. Since the idea is to try to become a better photographer, most of the exposures will be from my dSLR, but a point-and-shoot or cell phone will work in a pinch. When I'm done I hope to have a years worth of photos that kind of document my life. <br /><br />They won't all be abstract like today's photo–which is from a set of photos I took at Kelley Park. I might photograph someone I met, a meal I really liked, things around my apartment, self portraits, etc.. I can also use it to test out photography techniques and such too. If I think of an idea or see a photo I would like to try to copy, I try to write it down.<br /><br />There's a flickr set called "thirty-one" on my flickr photostream where I will upload them and the most recent photo will show up in the sidebar here. I will try to upload them once a day after I take them, but it might end up being every couple days.Korovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766389330043349969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831772154316761288.post-29495952379521075692009-08-28T09:09:00.001-07:002009-09-06T21:45:54.749-07:00Point Reyes<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3864264874" title="View 'reyes-1' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3503/3864264874_71280aa145_m.jpg" alt="reyes-1" style="float: right" width="160" height="240" /></a>This post should catch me all up :). Over this last weekend I did a two night backpacking trip in Point Reyes with Donna. August has been a crazy month of camping and backpacking and all the preparations in between. Great way to end the summer.<br /><br />This would be Donna's second time backpacking. Her first trip was only 1.2 miles in, downhill, but with a ton of insects and generally not a very good experience (post 'Eaten Alive by Lions'). Lucky for me she was willing to give it a second try in a cooler coastal setting, but 4.6 miles to camp.<br /><br />Taking off for Glen Camp at just before 5pm from the visitor center parking lot, the sun was still very hot. It was shady most of the way, but not breezy enough to keep from overheating. The first 1.5 miles is a very gradual uphill and then 1.5 miles of almost level downhill. <br /><br />Three miles in the Glen Trail splits off and goes uphill steep. It was a little hard on the legs and the going was slow but I took comfort in the fact it was going to be nothing like the uphill I experienced in the Ventana Wilderness the weekend before. Plus hiking out from camp would be much more enjoyable than in.<br /><br />We got to our camp with about 1 hour of daylight left to set up and cook. The campground has 12 sites, a water spout, and a pit toilet. There is a picnic table at each site, which was nice. Our camp was on a hill overlooking most of the other sites and surrounded by bush for a little privacy. It looked like one of the best sites there.<br /><br />During the night we could feel the moisture in the air and I was either cold or very hot, there was no happy medium. We woke up to a ton of fog around us and in the trees. The fog never cleared during the trip, which made it a sort of strange fantasy land. We took off for a hike after 9 AM but the fog made it feel like it was hours earlier. <br /><br />The photo at the top was taken during this trip. There is no color processing done to it and you can see what I mean by fantasy land. The hike took us to the coast and the area known as "Arch Rock" which you can supposedly get down to and walk through. It was near high tide and if there was any beach area it was now under water. We managed to climb down to the arch but the water was very violent moving through it and we could not get very close.<br /><br />Determined to get to a beach we set off on another trail north, hoping the beach on my map was actually accessible. We were in luck. It was a small beach and very private. Nobody else was around. I took the opportunity to set up a tripod with the camera, turn it to auto fire, and propose to Donna on the beach. <br /><br />I wasn't sure it would work out because moments after I set up, the tide came in and decided to try to help me level the sand around the tripod.<br /><br />The entire weekend was perfect. Although the moisture in the air meant drying anything was near impossible, it kept us nice and cool. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3864274836" title="View 'reyes-4' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2609/3864274836_849a2d0bae_t.jpg" alt="reyes-4" width="100" height="67" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3864269184" title="View 'reyes-2' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2575/3864269184_f02c575655_t.jpg" alt="reyes-2" width="100" height="67" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3864272340" title="View 'reyes-3' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2590/3864272340_56f92a37e6_t.jpg" alt="reyes-3" width="100" height="67" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3863493635" title="View 'reyes-5' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2493/3863493635_bf74fe06e0_t.jpg" alt="reyes-5" width="100" height="67" /></a><br /><br />oh and she said yes. :)Korovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766389330043349969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831772154316761288.post-75913028077346997362009-08-26T18:21:00.001-07:002009-08-26T18:30:36.605-07:00Pine Valley<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3859416777" title="View 'IMG_0678' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2536/3859416777_52da26a4dd_m.jpg" alt="IMG_0678" style="float: right" width="180" height="240" /></a>August 14-15th. Overnight backpacking trip I did with some friends. I think the idea was supposed to be just to try out backpacking and get out for a little while. We looked at the Ventana Wilderness for some possible short destinations and my printed map recommended Pine Valley as a popular trip so we agreed on that.<br /><br />It was a pleasant enough trip overall. The trailhead was up a well maintained dirt road, and I always love driving on dirt roads in my Amigo, which we managed to get 4 guys and 4 backpacks into.<br /><br />The trail itself is very exposed. There is a little to no shade the entire way. It follows a ridge which offers spectacular views of the wilderness around you. Most of the trees we passed were damaged by fire and dead. The trail into the campsite is nearly completely downhill and we knew that it was going to be a harder hike out, but I'm not sure we know just how much harder.<br /><br />The campsite itself had a few people already there and visitors before us definitely didn't follow the "pack it out" philosophy. I guess it can be expected on a "popular destination". We managed to find a decent enough spot to set up camp and with plenty of daylight left we decided to continue down Pine Creek to the falls. They were less than a mile away so it shouldn't be too bad to get to, we thought.<br /><br />Well the trail to the falls pretty much follows the river and requires a lot of scooting around on your butt or using your hands. It is debatable whether or not it is faster just to rock hop your way down the river. It was certainly more fun, until I tried to scoot down a slick rock, slipped and ended up on a water slide adventure that landed me in what I thought was a very small pool, maybe 2-3 feet in diameter.<br /><br />I was fully expecting to find more rock a foot under the water I was sliding towards and I braced for impact. My feet went in, followed by my legs, my waist, and I nearly disappeared myself. I'm not quite sure if i ever touched the bottom or not, as I quickly pulled myself out, completely soaked up to my neck. The casualties in my pockets included a few jolly ranchers, a half eaten odwalla bar, and my company cell phone. Luckily the map, gps, and camera in my pockets were all waterproof.<br /><br />The next morning we hiked out. Slowly. Check the elevation data in the GPS track below and you'll see how much fun we had. Add to that the facts that it was VERY hot, humid, I was pretty miserable from an allergy attack, and I had never ran out of water before in my life, so naturally this was to be the first time.<br /><br />Despite the hell I went through to get back to the Amigo, I would do it again. This time with allergy medication.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3860201796" title="View 'IMG_0673' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2671/3860201796_b1e3c6463b_t.jpg" alt="IMG_0673" width="100" height="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3859415833" title="View 'IMG_0676' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2642/3859415833_9199e30d0f_t.jpg" alt="IMG_0676" width="75" height="100" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3859418265" title="View 'IMG_0699' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3525/3859418265_ffc641425d_t.jpg" alt="IMG_0699" width="75" height="100" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3860205196" title="View 'IMG_0720' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2539/3860205196_03a8c98170_t.jpg" alt="IMG_0720" width="100" height="75" /></a><br /><br />Click for Route:<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=rzccasrgbrdgzvdn" title="GPSies - Coyote Creek"><img src="http://gpsies.com/images/linkus.png" alt="click for gps track" style="border: 0px" /></a></div> <br /><br />Korovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766389330043349969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831772154316761288.post-47294053650724012312009-08-25T15:17:00.001-07:002009-08-27T22:53:13.344-07:00Southern Utah<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3863529585" title="View 'utah-9' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2526/3863529585_6073774abe_m.jpg" alt="utah-9" style="float: right" width="160" height="240" /></a>July 31st to August 9th. Little late on the update, as it's been a busy month and took forever to go through all the photos (I'm still not done). Flew back to the SLC for my friend Nick's wedding and then we spent seven days camping in southern Utah. It was an awesome trip but much too short. I think I could spend months in southern Utah and not be satisfied. <br /><br />I took hundreds of photos with two cameras, including my new Canon D10 which I had purchased as a camera that can be abused and be used in the water. I picked out 13 of my "keepers" and made a flickr set. The photo to the right might be my favorite one, its hard to choose. Most of the picks were from Bryce because it's very photogenic and the colors stand out really well on their own. I did the trip without a tripod (except a gorilla pod) and it finally convinced me I cannot keep hand-holding landscape shots, and need to give high priority to a packable tripod.<br /><br />We spent 4 nights just outside the town of Escalante, in the petrified forest state park camp, and then 3 nights in a camground in Zion National Park in what might be the longest time I've spent living out of a tent in recent memory (there might have been some scout trips that were longer.)<br /><br />It was a helluva trip with quite a bit of hiking. Hikes in the Escalante area included Calf Creek falls (the "utah-3" photo on the flickr set was during this hike) and the petrified forest loops. Most of the time it was insanely hot in the Escalante area, until the clouds and some light rain came in after our 3rd night.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3864317994" title="ma'am"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2437/3864317994_5936214792_m.jpg" alt="utah-12" style="float: left" width="240" height="160" /></a>The original plan was to transfer camp to Bryce Canyon National Park, but we decided since it was close enough to our Escalante spot–which was uncrowded and had showers–that we'd just stay there and shuttle to the Park. At Bryce we combined the Navajo Loop hike with the Peekaboo Loop hike into a sort of figure-eight so we'd only have to hike down into the canyons once. It was a very scenic hike and all the Bryce photos in the flickr set came from this hike (6 to 11). It was so scenic we were probably spending too much time taking photos and had to pick up the pace to make it out of there in good time.<br /><br />The only other hike we did in the Bryce area was the short Mossy Cave hike. Despite not living up to it's name, it was a good hike and included some more waterfall play.<br /><br />Packing up camp(in the rain), we moved on to Zion National Park, the entire reason we planned the trip. We managed to secure a backcountry permit for hiking the zion canyon narrows from top to bottom, a 16 mile hike through–as the name implies–narrow river canyons. It starts out crossing the river what feels like a hundred times and the last three miles are so narrow, with 1200 canyon feet walls on both sides of you, and nowhere to hide from a flash flood. At this point you are no longer crossing the river but wading through the river, sometimes waist deep, and over slick polished rocks.<br /><br />I've done the hike before with my father about 10 years before (maybe to the day) and he describes the last three miles as "amazing and beautiful but walking on wet bowling balls never ends and you just become annoyed" and that still seems true to me too. It's a wonderful hike and I'd do it every year if I could. This time the water was much higher than it was 10 years ago and there was some spots where swimming was necessary.<br /><br />Donna is turning out to be an amazing sport when it comes to following me around and trying out some of my hobbies and this is by far the most adventurous thing I have put her through. She was quite shaky with all the slippery river wading and crossings and we had to take our time with them, but she was getting it down towards the end.<br /><br />It was a near-perfect trip and I wish i could do it all over again. It was a much needed vacation from work and much better than spending it at a resort or in a hotel. I can't think of many things I'd rather do than spend a week in a tent in the Colorado Plateau. I've been to Zion a few times already and it still meets my expectations and beats any of the other amazing places I've visited this year, and that includes Big Sur.<br /><br /><center><object width="400" height="300"> <param name="flashvars" value="offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2F14270175%40N05%2Fsets%2F72157622015823133%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2F14270175%40N05%2Fsets%2F72157622015823133%2F&set_id=72157622015823133&jump_to="></param> <param name="movie" value="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649"></param> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649" allowFullScreen="true" flashvars="offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2F14270175%40N05%2Fsets%2F72157622015823133%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2F14270175%40N05%2Fsets%2F72157622015823133%2F&set_id=72157622015823133&jump_to=" width="400" height="300"></embed></object></center><br /><br />Calf Creek Falls:<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=yhwqctgtbgexsjor" title="GPSies - Coyote Creek"><img src="http://gpsies.com/images/linkus.png" alt="click for gps track" style="border: 0px" /></a></div><br />Navajo and Peekaboo Loops:<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=waienceugepoilof" title="GPSies - Coyote Creek"><img src="http://gpsies.com/images/linkus.png" alt="click for gps track" style="border: 0px" /></a></div>Korovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766389330043349969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831772154316761288.post-10369553639724368102009-08-24T14:53:00.001-07:002009-08-24T14:53:37.755-07:00August Craziness<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS9vRmHlLMOIcLmXxRy01symSwakSZabL9dlcNzkQp4HqXwgZTXdUho_fqsvmEuSf4uQYgdFQeRbLuDOhT7SI6OK3nINCh-Mkvjoc-xQwAYpr9-qg3s5F6RIOE9QhHbVpeGVt8QxieZLLN/?imgmax=800" alt="beach.jpg" style="float: right" width="240" height="160" />Late on updates this month. It's been a crazy month, with a 10 day trip to Utah on July 31st, and then two backpacking trips. One of which I got engaged on. :) Hopefully there will be updates soon.Korovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766389330043349969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831772154316761288.post-73752146939590813292009-07-14T09:59:00.001-07:002009-07-14T10:01:46.710-07:00Big Sur<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3718869807" title="View 'bigsur-44' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2428/3718869807_30174ab611_m.jpg" alt="bigsur-44" style="float: right" width="240" height="160" /></a>Did a little car camping in Big Sur over the weekend. It was pretty fun and easily one of the best places I've ever been. It is certainly my favorite place in California so far. I can't believe it took me 3 years to get there.<br /><br />I have a flickr photo set of my favorite photos. Still learning the best settings to use when, but I have yet to use auto or even program mode on my camera in a while now. It gets a little discouraging when a photo taken with mine or my girlfriend's Elph looks just as good or better though. Processing RAW photos properly without spending a lot of time is still a challenge.<br /><br /><center><object width="400" height="300"> <param name="flashvars" value="offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2F14270175%40N05%2Fsets%2F72157621421383666%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2F14270175%40N05%2Fsets%2F72157621421383666%2F&set_id=72157621421383666&jump_to="></param> <param name="movie" value="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649"></param> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649" allowFullScreen="true" flashvars="offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2F14270175%40N05%2Fsets%2F72157621421383666%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2F14270175%40N05%2Fsets%2F72157621421383666%2F&set_id=72157621421383666&jump_to=" width="400" height="300"></embed></object></center>Korovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766389330043349969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831772154316761288.post-29690234604291197352009-07-08T09:17:00.001-07:002009-07-08T09:30:15.844-07:002 New Lenses<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3699627377" title="View 'test-22' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2442/3699627377_42776ec644_m.jpg" alt="test-22" style="float: right" width="240" height="160" /></a>In the last week I've doubled the amount of lenses I own. When I bought my dSLR in December as a Christmas gift to myself :), I expected it to become a limited hobby. Turns out every time I go out for a photo shoot I come back disappointed in one aspect or another and end up buying another piece of equipment.<br /><br />My kit lens (18-55) and my telephoto zoom (55-250) have served me well since then but I have added a fast (but extremely fragile and cheap) Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 prime and my girlfriend surprised me with a gift of a Canon EF-S 10-22mm wide-angle zooms lens.<br /><br />By no end do I claim to know what I'm doing when it comes to photography, as I am just starting out. The geek in me quickly takes the new prime lens, shoots a bunch of photos at various apertures, and then compares the EXIF data. Here is a flickr set of my test shots with both lenses. Check them out in the slideshow or click to go to flickr and read the captions:<br /><br /><center><object width="400" height="300"> <param name="flashvars" value="offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2F14270175%40N05%2Fsets%2F72157620987647099%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2F14270175%40N05%2Fsets%2F72157620987647099%2F&set_id=72157620987647099&jump_to="></param> <param name="movie" value="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649"></param> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649" allowFullScreen="true" flashvars="offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2F14270175%40N05%2Fsets%2F72157620987647099%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2F14270175%40N05%2Fsets%2F72157620987647099%2F&set_id=72157620987647099&jump_to=" width="400" height="300"></embed></object></center>Korovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766389330043349969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831772154316761288.post-62394163943799537352009-07-07T09:30:00.001-07:002009-07-07T09:31:15.804-07:00Wilder Ranch Bluff Trails<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3697504165" title="View 'Wilder Ranch-165' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2520/3697504165_9a84f15c24_m.jpg" alt="Wilder Ranch-165" style="float: right" width="240" height="160" /></a>With the day off on Friday we decided to head to Wilder Ranch for some coastal biking. I had mapped out a trail starting from the parking lot to the coast, along the coast for a few miles, and then back inland to a supposed tunnel that takes you across highway 1.<br /><br />The temperature was near perfect while riding and the coastline was beautiful. It's an easy trail that would be perfect for anyone. We ended up going 14.25 miles total, but if I was to ride this again I would turn around near the last beach unless I am in need of more exercise.<br /><br />The trail is supposed to go down to the first beach and then back up to the bluffs on the other side unless there is high tide. You can see a photo of a nice couple taking their bikes down (Sorry guys I forgot your names. Duffy? So I hope you find this photo of you below somehow :) ). Unfortunately we soon found out that a large puddle was preventing us from getting to the trail on the other side. A hiker would have no problems, but getting the bike across looked messy and wet.<br /><br />We took our bikes down anyways for photos, and then came backup the path we came. The detour added a couple miles to the trip.<br /><br />Some of the trail was extremely grassy, to the point you had just keep spinning the tires. My chain picked up a lot of grass which you can see in the photo.<br /><br />I had my kit lens and a new wide-angle lens for photos but I had skimped on a tripod and my telephoto lens and regretted both. I had my gorilla-pod but no real trees or rocks to attach it to. I would have really liked to have a lightweight full size tripod for some sharper shots.<br /><br />It was a wonderful day which ended in a trip to Santa Cruz for a beer and shopping. I picked up some wonderful new flip-flops to replace my $7 Tevas I bought in 2005. <br /><br />I will post some more photos when I finally wade through them all and pick my favorites.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3697504527" title="View 'Wilder Ranch-9' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2455/3697504527_bcc30a7050_s.jpg" alt="Wilder Ranch-9" width="75" height="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3696324243" title="View 'IMG_2150' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2479/3696324243_7e63f2a874_s.jpg" alt="IMG_2150" width="75" height="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3696323845" title="View 'IMG_2145' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2636/3696323845_b2b5abbbc2_s.jpg" alt="IMG_2145" width="75" height="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3697132636" title="View 'IMG_2151' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3501/3697132636_f8225ae693_s.jpg" alt="IMG_2151" width="75" height="75" /></a><br /><br />Click for Route:<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=gbeeadkhunbjeuvv" title="GPSies - Coyote Creek"><img src="http://gpsies.com/images/linkus.png" alt="click for gps track" style="border: 0px" /></a></div>Korovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766389330043349969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831772154316761288.post-68149636547241468652009-06-26T10:05:00.001-07:002009-06-26T10:05:40.445-07:00Angel Island<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3662971486" title="View 'Inner Road' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3632/3662971486_0e4fd6ba8c_m.jpg" alt="Inner Road" style="float: right" width="240" height="160" /></a>Sunday we took our bikes to Angel Island for a ride just under 10 miles long. We left early morning to drive to Tiburon and then caught the ferry to the island. <br /><br />We took the perimeter (paved) road around clockwise so we could hop onto the inner road early in the trip. It was a decent climb to a dirt fire road that loops around the inner part of the island. After completing that loop we dropped back down to the perimeter road and completed that.<br /><br />This is easily one of the most scenic bike rides I've done. No matter where you were on the trail there was a view of the bay. The weather was perfect. It was a great day. There was a few tourists there but they all pretty much stayed on the perimeter road.<br /><br />We took our time on the trails and took a ton of photos. By the time we got back to Tiburon the tourist rush was gone and getting a shady patio seat at a restaurant there was extremely easy. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3662179471" title="View 'View of Bay' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2449/3662179471_a68ebe687f_t.jpg" alt="View of Bay" width="100" height="67" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3662971914" title="View 'Old Building' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3606/3662971914_a14a241718_t.jpg" alt="Old Building" width="67" height="100" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3662169755" title="View 'Tiburon' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3409/3662169755_3a746d83ff_t.jpg" alt="Tiburon" width="100" height="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3662970704" title="View 'Harbor' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3349/3662970704_757b399bf1_t.jpg" alt="Harbor" width="100" height="75" /></a><br /><br />Click for Route:<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=xacyudhazsbvvaka" title="GPSies - Coyote Creek"><img src="http://gpsies.com/images/linkus.png" alt="click for gps track" style="border: 0px" /></a></div>Korovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766389330043349969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831772154316761288.post-3485514950359744642009-06-19T09:17:00.001-07:002009-06-19T09:19:08.628-07:00Coyote Creek Parkway: Uphill both ways.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3641572576" title="View 'IMG_1974' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3417/3641572576_6dc0fb3755_m.jpg" alt="IMG_1974" style="float: right" width="240" height="180" /></a>In an effort to get out during the week, we attempted the Coyote Creek trail after work last night. This time we went a total of 25.5 miles. Still 5 miles (round trip) short of the end, but we had to make it back by sunset. The return trip should have been a slight downhill but with a head wind it actually took off almost 2 mph, making it feel as if it was uphill in both directions.<br /><br />It's a nice parkway with lots of shade. The new parts for us were mostly in old ranch land and preserved areas and very pretty. There are even rest stops along the way. We made use of one just after turning around so we could get a bite to eat. The only thing that would make this trail better is if it was single track :).<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3641573634" title="View 'IMG_1992' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3194/3641573634_05e8dab1e6_t.jpg" alt="IMG_1992" width="100" height="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3641573300" title="View 'IMG_1991' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3306/3641573300_81d04e24d2_t.jpg" alt="IMG_1991" width="100" height="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3641572142" title="View 'IMG_1972' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3386/3641572142_452539fbb7_t.jpg" alt="IMG_1972" width="100" height="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3641573002" title="View 'IMG_1984' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3314/3641573002_0da069e37e_t.jpg" alt="IMG_1984" width="100" height="75" /></a><br /><br />Click for Route:<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=vqcueiqzohwhjyvt" title="GPSies - Coyote Creek"><img src="http://gpsies.com/images/linkus.png" alt="click for gps track" style="border: 0px" /></a></div>Korovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766389330043349969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831772154316761288.post-68058556066043299842009-06-14T21:46:00.001-07:002009-06-14T21:52:40.295-07:00Waddell Creek: Revisited<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3627156537" title="View 'IMG_1927' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3415/3627156537_d164e61b64_m.jpg" alt="IMG_1927" style="float: right" width="240" height="180" /></a>I said I would go back to Waddell Creek and today I did :). This time we had plenty of time to do the whole trail. It's a fun track, very shady, and the creek is always nearby. An awesome area.<br /><br />There are no long uphills or downhills and nothing too technical. There are some short steep sections that are challenging to climb and a blast to go down, but any of them can be walked up or down depending on skill level. The creek was a little high, but fordable. Although you can walk your bike on a footbridge if it wasn't.<br /><br />It was a great and sunny day. The trailhead is at the coast (see previous blog entry about the area) so we planned on a beach picnic at the end of our 11.8 mile (round trip) workout. Jalapeño cheddar sandwiches on the beach make for a nice reward :).<br /><br />My GPS is on it's last breath it seems. The X-axis on the stick no longer functions, making it extremely difficult to navigate the menus (and impossible to save and then start a new track). So a new GPS may be in order.<br /><br />The large redwoods and other trees made it really difficult to get an accurate GPS track, but I uploaded it anyways.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3627156775" title="View 'IMG_1937' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3167/3627156775_60794d54f9_t.jpg" alt="IMG_1937" width="75" height="100" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3627968548" title="View 'IMG_1939' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2456/3627968548_8b498a207a_t.jpg" alt="IMG_1939" width="100" height="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3627157313" title="View 'IMG_1959' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3339/3627157313_8a9a42dc1e_t.jpg" alt="IMG_1959" width="100" height="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3627157577" title="View 'IMG_1962' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3399/3627157577_1b855a513a_t.jpg" alt="IMG_1962" width="100" height="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3627969290" title="View 'IMG_1964' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2461/3627969290_26fd7aacfa_t.jpg" alt="IMG_1964" width="100" height="75" /></a><br /><br />Click for Route:<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=ecjkrrxiqtmiablx" title="GPSies - Coyote Creek"><img src="http://gpsies.com/images/linkus.png" alt="click for gps track" style="border: 0px" /></a></div>Korovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766389330043349969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831772154316761288.post-1962566558408489052009-06-07T20:41:00.000-07:002009-06-11T10:27:43.817-07:00Muddy Buddy (updated)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKOYNlETCxho25CVJiQhZpUfDKKX3jZeejgeYc8KrUULXi1bmOpVZpc_lswCZfGOKtL7kZDsmq1fsw2U7y5V6K3teioTpqvvHaLNPE4i1diTqWRmTNYoWULkEWBsDYYYgwlYR3TovNG6Bo/s1600-h/muddybuddy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKOYNlETCxho25CVJiQhZpUfDKKX3jZeejgeYc8KrUULXi1bmOpVZpc_lswCZfGOKtL7kZDsmq1fsw2U7y5V6K3teioTpqvvHaLNPE4i1diTqWRmTNYoWULkEWBsDYYYgwlYR3TovNG6Bo/s320/muddybuddy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344797087634012402" border="0" /></a>Donna and I did Muddy Buddy today as "Team Chewy". It was a pretty fun running and mountain bike biathlon/obstacle course. First leg was just a grueling uphill for me on the bike and made for a miserable run on the second leg, but things picked up from there. Highlights were the cargo net climb up to the inflatable slide, the fast–but dangerous apparently, there was a guy on a stretcher–downhill on leg 3, and of course the mud pit at the end.<br /><br />Didn't bring the camera but did get a photo of my bathtub during cleanup :). Hopefully they post results and more photos soon.<br /><br />Update 6/11: Here's a photo from the event:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgopkrWqyLfbIKQMNGgKDxJSLQIr9MZYGIoOS562CLIU19r9lKtvit5FyQZfM0dD6jrxbRiUdJqBRkHGds0RziXpH5eOulYUOgf11Nk62T0KLXgS2eByq1hKTHRPZHK437dB896te9TyJZ1/s1600-h/muddybuddy.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 113px; height: 75px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgopkrWqyLfbIKQMNGgKDxJSLQIr9MZYGIoOS562CLIU19r9lKtvit5FyQZfM0dD6jrxbRiUdJqBRkHGds0RziXpH5eOulYUOgf11Nk62T0KLXgS2eByq1hKTHRPZHK437dB896te9TyJZ1/s200/muddybuddy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346122878030094642" border="0" /></a>Korovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766389330043349969noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831772154316761288.post-59542238249112982452009-06-03T09:24:00.001-07:002009-06-03T09:39:00.105-07:00Fanime 09Over memorial day weekend I took about 400 photos at Fanime. Mostly Lolita fashion related. It took me a while but I finally got around to sorting through them and finding some of my favorites. I violated quite a few rules of photography, but it was a learning experience =P<br /><br />Here are some highlights but there are a few more on my flickr page:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3591606670" title="View 'Fanime 09-315' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3604/3591606670_b98152bac9_t.jpg" alt="Fanime 09-315" width="100" height="67" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3590798689" title="View 'Fanime 09-344' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2466/3590798689_2d8b0c77c5_t.jpg" alt="Fanime 09-344" width="67" height="100" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3591601180" title="View 'Fanime 09-176' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3326/3591601180_a3cdc61729_t.jpg" alt="Fanime 09-176" width="67" height="100" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3590799009" title="View 'Fanime 09-357' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3385/3590799009_a81032e60a_t.jpg" alt="Fanime 09-357" width="67" height="100" /></a>Korovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766389330043349969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831772154316761288.post-10905733968315443092009-05-27T18:03:00.001-07:002009-05-27T18:03:56.666-07:00Waddell Creek<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3571969738" title="View 'Waddell Creek' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3352/3571969738_af631e952a_m.jpg" alt="Waddell Creek" style="float: right" width="240" height="180" /></a>Monday we went to do some afternoon biking in Pescadero County Park but missed our turn-off and next thing you know we're out of the mountains and on the coast. So instead we went south along the coast until we got to Big Basin and did part of the skyline to the sea trail. <br /><br />I took a GPS track but we didn't go all the way and I would like to take the complete track. So we'll be back. Five miles of it are opened to bikes, we did just over three before turning back and driving down to Santa Cruz.<br /><br />It ended up being a wonderful day for a scenic drive.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3571162619" title="View 'Waddell Creek' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3573/3571162619_622675f27d_t.jpg" alt="Waddell Creek" width="100" height="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3571162827" title="View 'Skyline to the Sea Trail' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3310/3571162827_b428f0ed0b_t.jpg" alt="Skyline to the Sea Trail" width="100" height="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3571969558" title="View 'Skyline to the Sea Trail' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3574/3571969558_f51abede99_t.jpg" alt="Skyline to the Sea Trail" width="75" height="100" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3571163477" title="View 'Waddell Beach' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3594/3571163477_5cd19b803e_t.jpg" alt="Waddell Beach" width="100" height="75" /></a>Korovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766389330043349969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831772154316761288.post-78683395516469528672009-05-18T20:50:00.001-07:002009-05-18T21:34:41.567-07:00Eaten Alive at Lion's Spring<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3541358008" title="View 'The Trail In' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2418/3541358008_e039c32b75_m.jpg" alt="The Trail In" style="float: right;" height="180" width="240" /></a>Went on a quick over-night backpacking trip in Henry W Coe State Park over the weekend. I haven't backpacked in 8 years and Donna has never been camping, let alone hike-in camping. We had lots of new equipment to test out.<br /><br />We wanted to get into the Frog Lake site but it was already taken so we settled with a very close site called Lion's Spring. It was only 1.2 miles in, the last half of it on a very faint trail down into small canyon and through lots of tall grass. Unfortunately that meant ticks and I had to pull one off when we got to our site.<br /><br />The site is on an incline except for a very small section for a tent. The incline and trees made us feel very closed in, like camping on the side of a hill. It was cozy and secluded, but there was nowhere to walk to except down or up. The spring is supposedly year round and it was trickling nearby. Knowing we had water was nice and I drank our water liberally and re-filled (filtered of course) from the spring.<br /><br />As we got there the flies came out and there was too many of them. Later on the mosquitos came out in droves. Their collective buzzing was amazingly loud. I opted for a sweatshirt even in the heat just to keep them off my arms. We spent the entire night in the tent, only coming out to cook dinner.<br /><br />Sunday was even hotter than Saturday and almost just as many mosquitos. We ate breakfast, packed up, and got out of there as fast as possible. Donna ended up with 20+ bites (big ones too) and I just got a small collection on each elbow (guess I missed a spot with the repellent).<br /><br />Doesn't really sound like a good trip but in reality it was just nice to get away, despite the fact we were confined to the tent and had a miserable time with bugs. Henry Coe is very dry and very hot and I will avoid the place now that summer is almost here. Maybe in the fall and next spring I'll be back for more backpacking.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3541360550" title="View 'Henry Coe' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3545/3541360550_2a1337d474_t.jpg" alt="Henry Coe" height="75" width="100" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3541360004" title="View 'Henry Coe' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2338/3541360004_b21e09cb43_t.jpg" alt="Henry Coe" height="75" width="100" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3540551725" title="View 'Campsite' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2362/3540551725_facbe56ed9_t.jpg" alt="Campsite" height="67" width="100" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3541358508" title="View 'Friend' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3359/3541358508_6fc2e10015_t.jpg" alt="Friend" height="72" width="100" /></a><br /><br />I can still see mosquitos when I close my eyes.Korovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766389330043349969noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831772154316761288.post-61690145316923904762009-05-10T22:38:00.001-07:002009-05-11T13:46:00.117-07:00Quicksilver Almaden Park<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3520487983" title="View 'IMG_1857' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3603/3520487983_86b752dc05_m.jpg" alt="IMG_1857" style="float: right;" height="180" width="240" /></a>Been pretty rainy here which has been ruining some of my trip chances. We made it to Arastadero two weeks ago but it was pretty uneventful other than my girlfriend's first real off-pavement adventure. It was a short trip (4-5 miles) but good experience for Donna.<br /><br />This week I decided to go to Quiksilver Alamaden State Park which is fairly close to home in the hills south of San Jose. Back in February I had attempted to bike here but it ended in embarrassment. The problem with Quicksilver is to get to the trails you have to climb up a few hundred feet and I pushed myself too hard from the Mockingbird parking lot for the first ride of the year.<br /><br />So I decided this time to start from the Hacienda parking lot and planned a loop route just over 11 miles long. It was a hot day and there is little shade so I was glad to get an early start.<br /><br />The climb up was rough but not nearly as bad as the Mockingbird entrance or the Joseph D. Grant loop last month–which was just brutal. I told myself I would not get off the bike until a half-mile up and then as I hit the half-mile I realized I might be able to actually make it up. In the end it was a 1.25 mile 400 feet climb. Not a bad grade.<br /><br />Once up into the park I took Randol Trail which was very nicely shaded–the only shade I got that day–and very flat. It was a much needed rest on the legs and an enjoyable trail. Just after 5 miles it joins the Mine Hill trail at Guadalupe Reservoir. I took a quick break here to take some photos and I could see to my left that I had a big climb ahead of me to the top of the park.<br /><br />The Mine Hill trail goes up, and up, and up. Every time I looked down at my GPS to check the elevation I was sure I was near the top. At 1,300 feet I thought there couldn't be much more, but it turned into 1,400 feet which then turned into 1,500 feet, and finally as my legs turned to jelly I topped out at 1,650 feet on the Castillero trail. There was a bail-out a mile back or so if you keep following the Mine Hill trail, but I was committed to the track I drew.<br /><br />I took a break at the old Rotary Furnace for a few bites to eat. I was very glad to be done with climbing although I had mapped out a leg off the main loop that goes to an old cemetery, unfortunately: downhill. A glutton for punishment I decided to go through with it and ride the cemetery trail and as I went down I knew that was probably a mistake. The cemetery is old,and overgrown with no markings on any of the graves. It wasn't the photo-op I had hoped for (old cemeteries always look better in my head.)<br /><br />Trying to get back up to the trail was just too much and I ended up walking the bike. My legs could stand no more. The remaining 2 miles back to the car took me only about 10 minutes of riding as I rocketed down and out of the park.<br /><br />The fast, weaving downhill was a great reward for all the work. Check the GPSies link below for the elevation data, this route is mostly uphill and would be hell to try in reverse (although a long relaxing downhill would be fun.) Quicksilver would be a fun playground for bikes if it didn't have so much elevation change, there is only one flat trail in the whole park. It's littered with old mining structures and shafts which are cool to see.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3520488303" title="View 'IMG_1858' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3545/3520488303_b9f011a8a4_t.jpg" alt="IMG_1858" border="0" height="75" width="100" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3520487553" title="View 'IMG_1041' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3594/3520487553_4b2defebeb_t.jpg" alt="IMG_1041" border="0" height="67" width="100" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3521298044" title="View 'IMG_1855' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3548/3521298044_5e0e8efb9e_t.jpg" alt="IMG_1855" border="0" height="75" width="100" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14270175@N05/3521297320" title="View 'IMG_1034' on Flickr.com"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3367/3521297320_5c1b66de3c_t.jpg" alt="IMG_1034" border="0" height="67" width="100" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Click for Route:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=ykcckszwbwoebfos" title="GPSies - Quicksilver Loop"><img src="http://gpsies.com/images/linkus.png" alt="GPSies - Quicksilver Loop" style="border:0px" /></a></div>Korovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766389330043349969noreply@blogger.com0