A Photo a Day by Bill Heller

Monterey Photos
 
Saturday, August 18, 2007

Wispy Jelly

 I was in the mood for something a little different today when I was looking through some older images. I realized that none of my jelly photos from our last trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium made it to the Photo of the Day so it is time to fix that.

Of course, as with most photos, the lighting makes all the difference. Without it this guy would be virtually invisible. However unlike most of the photos on my site that are artificially lit I can't take credit for the lighting on this one. The Aquarium has a wonderful display that is designed to perfectly light the critters so you can appreciate their delicate beauty.

 
Monday, July 30, 2007

Dolphins in the Evening

 The hound decided that we should take our walks in the evening on this trip. Apparently the early morning walks while we are out of town have lost their shine. Can't say I am unhappy about that, especially when I get nice images like this.

 
Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Shoreline Access

 One of the many beautiful images that are a result of an early morning hound walk during our last trip to Monterey. As I have said before, that was not really my idea of a relaxing trip but the hound sure can sniff out a good photo opportunity!

 
Friday, January 26, 2007

On The Ocean Floor

 This is another shot from our recent visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was a fun trip, but it is quite a crowded place. If you don't like pushy people you should probably prepare yourself for a rough day. Personally, I think it is time to take my camera SCUBA diving and leave the crowds behind!

 
Sunday, January 21, 2007

Still Sleeping

 When normal people go on vacation they sleep in. Then you have me and my hound dog. Miss hound seems to like to get up early when we are in a different place. Maybe because she knows that is when I get some of my best pictures. Or, maybe she's excited to go out and smell what there is to smell. (She has long since sniffed all there is to sniff at home.) At any rate, she woofs and since she has me wrapped around her cute little paw, we get up and go out. When this started I was not very happy about it, but I have learned that there will usually be a number of beautiful images that reveal themselves during our morning constitutional.

I would write more, but Zoe is sitting by the door right now. She is trying to remind me there is more to life than sitting in front of the strange glowing, humming box.

 
Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Curiosity

 If you only see the Otter take a closer look. In the water you can see the reflection of a small boy that just loved the playful otters. This otter seems to be taking a break from his antics to show a little curiosity in the strange creatures on the other side of the glass. The moment only lasted a second, then it was back to play time!

 
Monday, December 25, 2006

Frohe Weihnachten! Natale allegro! Merry Christmas!

 This is an amazing little restaurant where we had a wonderful Christmas dinner today. The first thing that called our attention to this it was the Maitre D'. As we got out of our car the first night we were in Carmel he came over to the wall under the lamp post and howled at Zoe. He was very excited to see her, he explained in a German accent that he had grown up with hounds just like her. He then asked us if we were ready for dinner and told us that he had a patio where Zoe would be welcome.

We were not ready for dinner then, but he left a real impression on us. Any place that was that friendly to our hound had to be ok.

It was a good assumption, the waiters were very friendly and the food was absolutely delicious. A perfect Christmas memory! We will be back again for sure!

 
Sunday, December 24, 2006

Dolphins at Sunrise

 This morning The Hound decided it was time to implement her morning vacation walks. This one was particularly early as you can see. She must know I love the morning light, but I am unlikely to see it without a little prodding.

 
Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Monterey Rose

 Could be an "American Pillar" rose, but it has more separation of the colors along the veins. Could be "Laughter Lines", the color matches, but it has less petals than the photos we found of them.

Either way, it is another in a line of amazing roses from the Monterey area.

 
Tuesday, December 6, 2005

Playing with Dolphins

 I'm not totally sure if she was reaching up to hug the dolphin, or she was imagining it jumping through her arms. I think it was the latter. Either way, I can thank my hound dog for the opportunity to capture this scene. I would have slept in if not for the fact that she was in the mood for an uncharacteristic early morning walk.

 
Sunday, November 27, 2005

Monterey Bay Sunrise

 The morning fog on the other side of the bay really made this image interesting. This is another image that I have to credit to the hound. I would normally have been sound asleep while this opportunity was passing me by right outside! And, as I post this now she is rolling over on the couch behind me and sighing, reminding me that at 4:30am it is waaaaay past time to hit the sack.

 
Tuesday, June 7, 2005

Monterey Garden Stairs

 This is a shot from a nice garden in the middle of Monterey. They are in the process of trying to revitalize the gardens and so far it looks like they are doing a good job.

 
Friday, May 13, 2005

Morning Rock Rose

 Another variety of rock rose, growing around Monterey. This particular variety is a hybrid of two European species. It is supposed to do better here but as far as I could tell they were all very happy.

 
Friday, April 29, 2005

Sea Tree Mallow

 At first I thought this was a variety of Hibiscus [Hibiscus syriacus] called a "Russian Violet". But on a recent trip to Home Depot my friend found a plant for sale that helped us identify this beauty. It is a Sea Tree Mallow [Lavatera maritima].

This is another shot from my last morning Basset walk in Monterey. I was wandering around looking for well backlit flowers. Which worked out well as long as they were in the same general direction of the good smells.

After spending all day yesterday rebuilding my system from a hard drive failure I am missing my vacation even more!

 
Wednesday, April 27, 2005

Monterey Rock Rose

 This flower was from a morning Basset walk in Monterey. These bushes line many of the streets in the cannery district of Monterey where we were staying. There are several different varieties of them and I will have photos of the others in the coming days.

I just scanned a few more rolls of film from my recent trip to Monterey. It is a slow process. I am a bit fanatical about getting detail out of the slides. So I push my scanner to the limit and I only get about 40 scans on a DVD. But I think it is worth it. I catalog the images on my computer and when I am ready to make a print for a show I do not have to go find the slide and scan it again. (I am much more organized in cyberspace than real space) :-)

Incidentally, this is one of the main reasons I still don't use a digital camera for "real" photography. To get a camera that would come close to the resolution that I can get from film and a scanner would cost $8000. (that still would not compare to the bit depth, the number of colors. Which is what allows me to pull detail from the shadows) And really, I would rather have an $80 camera with me everywhere than an $8000 camera wrapped in bubble wrap at home.

The other reason I stick with film is I really like the film feel. I am planning on renting some of the new digitals in the near future just to keep up on what they can do and see if they are getting close. But I have not seen anything convincing so far. I also like to be able to encourage people to get into photography if they are interested. Most people think it takes a huge investment. But it is more an investment in time and love.

 
Saturday, April 23, 2005

Monterey Garden Path

 After stopping at the Monterey Museum of Art we looked around the garden across the street. Apparently Monterey is in the process of restoring many of these small gardens throughout the city. From this view it is hard to believe this is in a very busy part of downtown Monterey.

 
Saturday, April 16, 2005

El Estero Lake

 We have been tinkering with Pastels a bit, and this was one of the locations we thought we might try to paint with them. But, as vacations always do, this week went by way too fast and we never took that much time sitting in one place. So we took lots of pictures for reference.

Of course, painting from photos is nothing short of heresy these days, as the art-fad-du-jour is "Plein Air" art (painting on location.) But I have always been more interested in the end result. I guess I have always loved art but not "Artists" (well not the snooty ones anyway.) :-D IMHO, if anyone tells you a particular way is the "WRONG WAY" or "THE ONLY WAY" they are showing their lack of imagination.

We always pass this lake on the way into Monterey. It is in a great little park. There is something for everyone including paddle-boats and a large playground called "Dennis the Menace Playground". In fact the granite pedestal that Zoe is standing on in yesterday's photo is part of a series of polished stones that get progressively taller as you walk around the lake.

 
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-Bill Heller

 
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