Day Five: A Great Day for Photography
Started the day finishing up editing an event photography set from a National Children’s Museum gig. After laptop jockeying it was off for our morning coffee and drive around Cannery Row. Morning coffee by the way was Pete’s at La Strada… After two times attempting Pete’s in the Monterey area, I can official say that I hate it. From my post on my personal blog, I had these fairly harsh comments at the time, “I am also looking forward to getting some better espresso somewhere tomorrow, cause today was weak city. Monterey for some reason thinks that a triple espresso is like 2 ounces. Peet’s Coffee can go home cause I don’t want to play with them anymore. The first whiff of the shots had a distinct Indian Food flavor. Needless to say, not that happy about that. Blech! I would say that it is keeping me up, but I think that is the result of eating some wonderful fudge from a carayze candy store we stopped by in touristy downtown. SUGAR!” So yeah, not my fave, but apparently I liked the fudge. Now back to travel!
They sure do pump John Steinbeck around Monterey, especially around Cannery Row. I wish we had had more time to delve deeper into the history of the town, but we had one main agenda, the Aquarium! Our trip last fall to Seattle and to the Seattle Aquarium got my sea buds (the sea version of taste buds) tingling for what has always been touted as the premiere aquarium in the US of A. It did not disappoint. We lasted 7 hours within its watery walls and enjoyed every minute of it. Lots of photo challenges come about in Aquariums and Zoos with the glass between you and the subject, but that just means you have to be patient, look for the shot with the least reflections, and give it some nice contrast later when you get it home to the computer. This usually helps in cutting the murky low contrast effect of a secondary panel of glass in the shot.
Lunch at the Aquarium was pretty solid with a sweet potato burger filling the tank for the rest of the journey. And even though I have been a vegetarian for 6 years now, I found the level they were pushing sustainable seafood very commendable. If I ate fish this would absolutely be the way to go.
Dinner after the aquarium was at Tillie Gort’s Cafe, which has apparently been around since the sixties. In a mass of seafood restaurants, this place shined like a beacon of truth. Lots of veg and vegan options. I would gladly eat there again. Time for sunset pics…
Monterey on the ocean is really where it is at. The main town is kinda whatever. But take a walk along the rocky, colorful beaches and the terrain opens up as a haven for end of the day bliss. For instance, the shot below. My favorite sunset shot I have taken so far in my life. Although it could have benefited from a smaller aperture and a tripod, it still rocks my world for a handheld snap. I wish I could send a personal gift basket to that seagull on the rock because it deserves a prize. It was here that we also got some glorious rainbow shots and some quality portraits, again with the Lumiquest Softbox III. If you’re going to take portraits on vacation of 1-3 people, this is the way to go. Trust me.
After the photo shoot is was back to the hotel to rest, relax, look at all of the photos up until that point, and prepare for Carmel and the drive to San Fransisco. Lots to talk about there, but I’ll leave you with the photos in the meantime…