Here we have *yet another* shot from gorgeous and oh-so-photogenic Avalon, Catalina Island. The yachts in the harbor!! Don’t you wish you could chase down the Pacific horizon in one of these? :-)
Of course, taken with the Canon Powershot G12. Slight sepia tone added in Photoshop CS5…I love how the filter enhances the vibe of the photo!
Stay tuned for more!
So, its been a month-and-a-half! Oh my goodness! Where has the time gone?!? Here is a much delayed post! From the same hilltop that the previous photo was taken from, there is a white cross located just on the edge of the cliff, overlooking the Pacific. What a lovely and serene spot…there was even a little tree swing up there!
Stay tuned for another view from the top of Avalon on Catalina Island!
Short n’ sweet post today! The view of Avalon on Catalina Island from atop the hillside! Such a quaint little town.
Sorry for the long delay between posts! Residency has been keeping me quite busy lately!
Ahhhh…the California sun setting behind a palm tree. With a lens flare. Does it get more quintessential than this?
Taken at the Descanso Beach Club on Catalina Island, CA (and yes, for you Bachelor/Bachelorette fans, the show did a date here a few seasons back).
A little relaxation after zip lining between mountains and landing on the beach!!!!! Click here to see photos of the zip line!
All I have to say is, good Lord, that was the single most exhilarating thing I’ve ever done in my life. During the longest zip, that spans the two mountains, you are 300 feet above the valley below. Lets just say, taking the step off of the deck into nothing so that the “zip” could begin was the most difficult step I’ve ever taken in my life. You literally just walk off the deck into the thin air and…whooosh!…are whisked off over the valley at 45mph! This photo gives a good representation of that step.
Hehe…and here’s me in my “zip” gear:
Note the expanse of ocean in the background. Needless to say, the tour gave the best view of the island itself, valley flora & fauna, and the ocean from high above. Great facts and tidbits about the island and its animals/plants from the tour guides. Did you know that while the school on the island does not have Snow Days, they do have Bison Days, for when the buffalo randomly venture out of the mountains/island interior and roam the town? And that they were left there after a 1924 movie and now have a full-on colony on the island? Note for ladies: do not zip line in tiny shorts. Trust me, you’re gonna want full-coverage walking shorts or capris with that harness at those speeds.
Ahhhh…California. I cannot wait to go back.
Click to see the town better (but please don’t steal the image)!
And now we are approaching the final leg of our California adventure…Catalina Island! This is the view of the town of Avalon on Catalina Island, as seen from the ferry that hails from Long Beach, California. And the excitement of exploring a Channel Island starts to build…
Of course taken with the Canon G12! From atop the ferry! Crossing the Pacific! Stay tuned for more Catalina Island!
So, remember that last post? About the adventuresome trek up and over the mountains on what appeared to be little more than a paved goat path? And remember how Jay is super great about halting the car whenever I would squeal “photo!!”? Well, alas. That goat path winding up and up the mountain afforded beautiful views…like this one! Its sort of like a different type of Sunset Boulevard, a very abstract interpretation of “a sunset boulevard.”
Picture it: You’re up on a mountain, overlooking the wild Southern California coast, with the Pacific waves crashing below and not a sole on the road. You gaze ever-so-slightly northward and your face is gently met with the warm setting rays of the golden sun, dipping below the horizon. The colors are hues you’ve only ever dreamed of and the mountain-scape is silhouetted against the star of the show that is gracefully bowing out for the night. As the fading light touches the foggy haze hanging over the ocean, an other-worldly glow fills the foreground of your sight. Deep blue-purple fades into blazing orange, and you watch as your beacon of the day slips away to give way to a moonlit night. It is just you, the sky, the mountains, and the sea.
Ok…now look at the photo? Decent attempt at trying to summarize a photo and all it embodies in less than a thousand words? Read it again for a brief mental vacation and relaxing “guided imagery” moment!
Of course, taken with the Canon Powershot G12.
Ahh, yes. The Pacific Coast Highway. The PCH. Highway 1. Oh, how I love thee. Except when you get occluded by a landslide forcing me to backtrack 10 miles and take a detour over a mountain in a PRIUS. A one-lane, no guardrails sort of road spiraling up the mountainside kind of road. With the occasional car hurtling around a blind bend at you, forcing the little Prius to carefully navigate between the “road” and falling off the edge of the mountain. At dusk. With no GPS. In a Prius, which just isn’t a mountain-climbing sort of vehicle (thank goodness, though, for the ability to take the sucker out of “eco” mode and put it into full-on power-engine mode…an ability that was quite needed in San Francisco as well). Through a military base (Fort Hunter Liggett), which greeted us with warnings of “live fire” and two tanks at the entrance. Driving through the base gave us a lovely view of soldiers practicing their “tactics” at night. Oh…and did I mention that the detour took, oh, 3 HOURS? And we still had to get to LA/Long Beach that evening to check into the Queen Mary??? Awesome hotel, complete with all of the vintage fixings. Too bad we got in at 3am, bleary-eyed, and had to leave 3 hours later to catch the 8am ferry to Catalina Island. Can we say traveling by the seat of our pants? At least it was a fun adventure!!
Alas, misfortune does bring opportunities! Holy good view of the Pacific Coast Highway at sunset, clinging to the edge of, well, the country. Basically, the Prius rounded one corner of the mountain road, I spied this vista, and yelled for Jay to stop the car so I could snap a photo. That was how much of our vacation went :-)
To me, this photo just says “classic America”. I love it. :-)
Canon G12, of course.
Moving away from Big Sur along Highway 1 South brings us to Lime Kiln State Park near Fort Hunter Liggett. Majestic, deserted coastline…absolutely stunning. I love how the almost-sunset light gives an illuminated quality to the water and waves.
And…about 5 miles later, our trip down the coast abruptly stopped due to a landslide that closed down the highway. Stay tuned for the ensuing adventure and photos from atop the mountains!
EEEEeeeee!!!!!!!!! Its my favorite photo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! McWay Falls at the Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park in Big Sur, California! So gorgeous. It seriously seemed like a dreamscape. I mean, really. A waterfall crashing onto a beach with turquoise waters and crashing waves, with glorious flora all around? PARADISE!! It is a very easy place to get to…a short walk (maybe 0.5 mile?) along a very level trail and…BAM! you are struck with this view. This is the “other side” of the trail view that I mentioned in my previous post.
And now, I will stop typing. Because sometimes a picture truly is worth a thousand words, and no matter how much I write, it just won’t say all that this photo has to tell.
Stay tuned for some upcoming close-ups of the features of McWay Falls!
So, from this point forward in our journey down the California coast, we start into some of my favorite photos EVER. The coastline became just stunning around Monterrey/Big Sur areas on Highway 1. Especially Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park in Big Sur. Seriously. Go there. Its incredible. I rather like the view shown in this post’s photo…but wait until the next post. Its like a dreamscape. OMIGOSH. I’m so excited for the next post. I’ve seriously been just waiting to post it since I started this California series and ITS ALMOST TIME!!!!
So, this photo was taken from the walking trail that takes you out to McWay Falls in the Park. This is the view from the “other side”. Not to be taken lightly. I would have been satisfied with just this view!!! But just you wait…
And the little specks on the beach is a flock of seagulls. Oh, and if you’d like to imagine the soundtrack that went along with this wondrous nature view, it went something like this: “CRAZY LOUD OCEAN WAVES. INSANE WIND NOISE. SEA LION HOWLING.” Ah, yes. Nature.
Taken with the Canon Powershot G12. Minor exposure fixes in Photoshop CS5.
The Bixby Bridge!!! I just loved the way it spans the mountains and overlooks the coastline! Have I mentioned that I love the Pacific Coast Highway (a.k.a. Highway 1)?!?!
I used the Canon Powershot G12 for this one, with a wide-angle lens attached. Enjoy! Stay tuned for more!
Goodness! Its been almost a month since I’ve posted!!!! Why does October, my favorite month, always slip by so quickly? Birthdays and residency and crisp sunny weather and residency and warm chai lattes and residency and a trip to NYC (before the storm, luckily!) and residency and much needed vacation week…and residency. Well, today is the last day of my rotation this month and I have the day off! Woohoo!!! Hence, I be postin’. I figure I should seize the opportunity before I start the ICU and a research project in November. Adios, light of day.
Anyhoo, NYC was AMAZING. Awesome Manhattan hotel, got to see the Naked Cowboy in Times Square, found the spot of the last scene (favorite scene ever) of my favorite movie ever (You’ve Got Mail), got to play out the last scene and take a pic (! dream come true!), and got to see ANNE!!!!!!!!!! BEST PART OF THE TRIP!!! Aaaand got to go to Coney Island Beach on the way home just so I could see a beach before retreating back to the ‘burgh (seriously, how did I get so lucky to have a man who not only accepts my beach obsession but wholeheartedly encourages it????). Some photos of NYC/beach will be coming but not too many of the city as the weather was just NOT good for shutterbuggin’.
On that note, NYC, you will pull through this disaster beautifully, just as you’ve conquered every obstacle in the past! You weathered the storm and will shine even brighter than before. And, Anne, so glad you’re safe and sound!
Now. On to the posted photo! Its about time, eh? Took this one from our little red Prius while driving down Highway 1. Lovely coast in the foreground (can you find the rock arch?) with the Bixby Bridge spanning the mountains in the background! :-) Yes, we came around the corner of the mountain, I squeaked about the bridge, subsequently missed the shot, so Jay promptly turned our eco-mobile around, I took the photo, and we then continued on our journey (towards great memories and hundreds of more photos). Oh, Jay. Beaches and photography. A girl should be so lucky.
And, a quick shot of one of the views out of the Prius…
–click the photo to open in a new window–
Ladies and gentlemen: Lake Sonoma! It was an afterthought of a trip, but so glad we went! We were heading down to San Francisco from Santa Rosa and had heard talk of a glorious lake atop the mountains in Sonoma. Of course we were game! After a beautiful drive through Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma (see previous post!) we ascended into the hills and mountains and were greeted by a breathtaking view. There were several wooden structures that you could climb up into to get an even better vantage point on the surroundings, but I found a great spot to capture a panoramic shot of the landscape. It was just so lovely up there! And there’s more lake than would even fit in the photo!
Of course, taken with the Canon Powershot G12. Stay tuned for more Calfornia! And after California…on to St. John, USVI!
Wine Country!!! I actually meant to post this towards the beginning of my California series (as we traveled from Santa Rosa to San Francisco via Sonoma), but totally forgot! This is a shot of a vineyard that we passed while driving through Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma. Simply gorgeous. It felt like driving through Italy (or at least what I imagine that would be like!)
And the wine was pretty darn good, too!! Stay tuned for a Special Sonoma Shot coming soon!
And we all know what camera this photo was taken with. I refuse to actually say it this time. It was The-Camera-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named.
Chinatown Laundry!!! So, if you go slightly off the main drag in Chinatown, you come upon the buildings that people live in…and a you get a much better feel of the essence of Chinatown. I loved all of the colorful laundry that was hanging out to dry. And so many of the pieces were very ethnic! It may be odd…I’ve taken lots of “laundry out to dry” photos in my travels…but I feel like these photos tend to capture a culture in some of the best ways. They show everyday life. Regardless of how different people and cultures may seem to be, we are all so similar at a fundamental level. We all do laundry. We all laugh when we’re happy. We all smile. We all fall in love. We all feel an astounding array of emotions and incorporate our experiences into our very being.
Alright. Enough of the waxing philosophical. I found the most amazing little restaurant in Chinatown. Hole in the wall kind of place, really, but with the best food ever. It was down a side street. I’m now convinced that the further you go away from the “touristy” places and the worse the restaurant looks from the outside, the better the food is. I had the beef with scallions and eggs. Oh. My. God. The beef was pan-fried most of the way and then coated in the egg and all tossed into a pan so that the beef was coated in egg and there were also delicious bits of scrambled egg. All of this was mixed with very fresh scallions that were just waved over the heat and piled on top of delicious brown rice. I’ve tried to replicate it and am slowly getting closer, but I just can’t wait for the day that I can return to San Francisco and eat to my heart’s content. Mmmmm. By the way, the key to well-seasoned, crispy beef is a bit of soy sauce and coat the beef in a corn starch slurry before pan-frying. Mmmmmm.
Of course, taken with the Canon Powershot G12. Contrast fixed a smidge in Photoshop CS5 because that alley had some seriously funky light going on.s
So, here we have a very rusty ship resting in the San Francisco Bay. Not much to say about it, except that it had a slightly eerie quality at sunset. You can almost picture it in its hey-day, sailing on the open Pacific, sails billowing and sailors rushing about their on-deck duties…but now it just bobs in the bay, completely abandoned.
Taken with the Canon Powershot G12.
As the sun set on our last day in San Francisco, I snapped a last shot of the Golden Gate Bridge with the Marin Headlands in the backdrop and a wave heading for the Presidio in the foreground. Oh, how I didn’t want to leave San Francisco!!! Such an amazing city with so much more to explore! I truly cannot wait to return!
Although, as we left the Presidio and the bridge behind, we returned to In-n-Out for a delicious wharf-side burger dinner! Yes, in a city with myriad dining possibilities, we had both of our dinners at In-N-Out. It was just so good!!!! Its all about the “hidden menu”. That’s where “animal style” lives. And, all that walking and hill-climbing definitely cancels out a double animal-style burger with a side of animal-style fries and a large lemonade, right? Right?!?!? :-) Oh well. Happy tummy, happy girl.
Top two San Francisco foods: In-N-Out burgers/fries and the delicious beef/scallion/egg dish from Chinatown! OMG…that was sooooo good. I keep trying to find a replica here at home, but so far have been unsuccessful :-( But, my attempt at making was probably the closest to the original that I’ve yet encountered! Huzzah!
Alright. Enough the food talk. Its making me hungry. I’m on my Trauma Surgery rotation right now so food is a precious commodity. I covered 90 patients last night. That leaves no time for grub. But it was fun!
That said, postings might be few and far between for the month of August. I have 14 hour days and average 1 day off for every 7. But, I promise to post when I get a chance!!!
One final note: GO TEAM USA!!!!!!!!!!!! OLYMPICS 2012! I think it is amazing that even with the amount of international turmoil these days, the entire world can come together and play nicely for 2 weeks. And it is an honor to watch it and the level of sportsmanship displayed every day. I love the Olympics and everything they respresent. USA! USA! USA!!
((Yes, it was taken with the G12. And yes, I promised that a previous post contained the last Golden Gate Bridge shot. I lied. Sorry. But this is the last! I think! ))
Setting: Alamo Square, San Francisco.
Time: An impossibly clear and sunny, crisp afternoon in May.
Players: Liz, Jay, the Canon Powershot G12, and a very patient flowering tree subject.
Off to the ER in a few hours, so I’m keeping it short and sweet today! Also, my computer has slowed to a snail’s pace & is running ungodly hot and thus needs an emergency virus scan. So, quick post and on to saving the computer!
So, here we have a shot of the building-clad hills of San Francisco with a tiny glimpse of the Bay Bridge in the background! This photo was taken from a street that Lombard Street intersects with. Those are some seriously exact directions, eh? And, have I mentioned that it was an absolute hoot to drive down the curvy portion of Lombard Street??? So much fun!!!! What’s not so fun: attempting to ascend Lombard Street in a Prius. When a street is so steep that steps need to be cut into the sidewalk, it should serve as a warning sign that someone driving a Prius may not wish to attempt the hill. Ah, yes, many fun adventures that truly tested the limits of our little red Prius were had on this California trip. And you know its always good when a bus coming at your stop-sign-intersection that technically has the right-of-way waves you frantically to just go through the stop sign without stopping. Kinda sad, really, that it looked like the little automobile was having such obvious difficulties. Note to anyone attempting a big hill in a Prius: TAKE IT OUT OF ECO MODE…PUT IT INTO POWER MODE. You don’t have a prayer if you’re still driving in the hybrid mode!!!!! Good times.
So, anyhoo, Lombard Street was great fun. And exploring it led us to some great vantage points of the city. Sadly, upon returning to our little red Prius after taking this photo, we found that someone had stolen our GPS (which we needed for our drive down the coast!) in the whole 8-minute span that we were away from the car. Oh well. S**t happens. Turns out we didn’t need the GPS and got many great photos down the coast to prove it! So, thief, if you are reading this post: you may have taken our GPS, but you didn’t steal our fun!! :)
Of course, this shot was taken with the Canon Powershot G12. Stay tuned for more California photos and eventually shots of the scenic Virgin Islands!!!!!!!!!
Adios, y’all. I’m getting back to my lovely day off from the ER! :)
Aaaaand….I’m back! I’m going to apologize now for the delays that may happen between posts in the future. I have officially started my emergency medicine residency now and free time (to be used for things other than sleeping and eating) will be a bit more difficult to come by. :-)
So, today we have another photo taken from Alamo Square in San Francisco! 42 windows in all, categorized into three distinct groupings. I thought the black and white tones brought out the visual interest in the photo waaaaaay better than in color (which was basically gray). I hope you think so too!
Of course, taken with the Canon Powershot G12.
Stay tuned for yet more California photos…and soon some photos from the US Virgin Islands!
I’m baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!!! :-) Hello again, world! Now that I’m back, I can tell everyone where I was: PARADISE!, also known as St. John, USVI. Didn’t exactly want to previously announce to world that I was leaving on vacation, but I’m happy to say I’m back with a camera full of photos! But, everyone will have to wait for those since we’ve still got a lot of California to see! Oh, maybe I’ll throw everyone a bone and stick one St. John photo in at some point, but I promise Paradise Pics will my next series.
Now, on to this photo! Its the lovely Painted Ladies of San Francisco. Alamo Square is surrounded by lots of beautifully painted Victorian houses, but this stretch is obviously the most famous. Alamo Square is also a wonderful little park set up on a hill to relax in for a spell and provides a great view of the houses of San Fran and the city buildings below.
Taken with the Canon G12. And, I have to admit, a teeny bit of Photoshop CS5 happened here. Some dude was seriously sleeping in the grass between me and my subject and despite my best efforts at waiting for him to wake up and move his tushie, he never did wake up (hopefully he woke up at some point!). Thus, I removed him from my photo. That’ll show him what happens when you get in the way of my photography…I erase you! Mwahahahahaha! :-)
On another note, I’d like to announce that after 6 years, Jay is no longer my boyfriend…HE’S MY FIANCE NOW!!! WOOHOO! Now we’re gonna be super-nerd MARRIED couple. :-) The proposal took place on top of the Castle on St. John at sunset with the Virgin Islands in the background! :-)
And, now for the artsy-fartsy ring photo, complete with shallow depth-of-field:
Yippee! Love you Jay! Now you’re stuck with the Shutterbug FOREVER! :-)
Tons of them!!! Pier 39 near Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco is home to a very happy clan of sea lions that get to while their days away in the California sun (and fog). Apparently, the sea lions had left for several years but recently returned and re-took over the pier. Welcome home, pinniped fishermen, welcome home.
Of course, this photo was taken with the Canon Powershot G12. Stay tuned for more! Fair warning: I’m super busy right now enjoying post-graduation life, so it will probably be a couple of weeks until my next post.
That said, I would like to officially introduce you to “Elizabeth Iannone, M.D.”!!!!! Woohoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Graduated medical school on May 11th! Finally, after only 22 years of school (hehe). Watch out world, because here comes Dr. Shutterbug.
Alcatraz, in Black and White. Captures the haunting aspect of the island prison.
Alcatraz, in color. With a seagull!
Alrighty, folks. If you don’t like this post, I’m going to be forced to send you to Alcatraz and throw away the key! Just kidding, just kidding. These photos are pretty self-explanatory. I unfortunately did not get a chance to visit the prison in my 2-day stay (although I did manage to visit In-n-Out Burger twice…priorities, my friends. ”Animal Style” burger and fries is seriously like crack. Crack that you can’t get on the East Coast). But, hey! I have to leave something to do on my return trip (hmmm…lunch at In-n-Out on the way to Alcatraz? The burger joint is close to from where the tours leave!)
So, which of these photos do you prefer? I think I’m leaning towards the black and white version…kind of a throwback to when the prison was in use and accentuates the eeriness of the place. And if you’re thinking that the photo was taken with the tilt-shift technique…it wasn’t! I know, it looks like it was, but its just a plain ol’ shot from Pier 39 across the bay. Guess I lucked out for the bonus effect. As for the color image, c’mon…that seagull could not have been in a better spot if I could have glued him to the sky! :)
So, please vote in my little poll:
Oh! I almost forgot to state the obvious: all photos taken with the Canon Powershot G12. Forget that newfangled G1X that just came out…I love my G12 (and my lenses/underwater housing won’t fit the new version…a very expensive reason to stick with the G12!). Stay tuned for more of California!
And yes, I mentioned an underwater housing for the G12. A gracious Christmas present from my family for use in my upcoming trip to St. John, USVI!!! Eeeeeek!!!! SO EXCITED!!!! Can’t wait to share those photos…but first, I need to get there 
Ok, ok. I promise. This is the last shot of the Golden Gate Bridge that I’ll post. However, I’m not going to make any solid promises as I certainly hope to get some more shots in the future since I absolutely loved California and am dying to go back! Not to mention, I am still utterly flabbergasted at how the beach bum in me did not know that on the other side of the Presidio lies a beautiful beach where the bay meets the Pacific with a gorgeous view of the bridge. HOW DID I MISS THIS???????? GAAAHHHH!!!!! Oh well. Live and learn, as they say. To salvage my beach bum rep, I’ll have you know that I mapped out all of the best beaches to stop at on our drive towards Long Beach from San Francisco :-)
So enough of the I-can’t-believe-I-missed-this-beach ranting and back to the photo. This one was fun to take. Jay and I hiked up the hill by the bridge and I used one of the wooden poles along the footpath as a makeshift tripod so that I could get a true HDR shot of the bridge. I set up the exposure bracketing in my G12 and let ‘er rip (or snap, as the case may be). It took a couple of tries since the wind kept rocking the camera, but this one turned out pretty darn clear. I love how the “Golden” in the bridge is really accentuated and there is even a golden cast thrown down onto the bay below. :-)
Stay tuned for more San Francisco shots and photos from my journey down the coast!
And, a little teaser for everyone: I have an upcoming trip to St. John, USVI, so keep your eyes peeled for what I expect to be fabulous shots! I mean, how can one take a bad photo in such an idyllic location? Woohoo!!!!!! BEACH!!!!!
Well, here’s another Golden Gate Bridge photo! This time, we are pulling back a bit from the bridge to capture the full bridge span, some of the Marin headlands, San Francisco Bay, and the beach flora at Crissy Field/Park. Wow! That’s a lot of stuff! I love how the beach flora unexpectedly takes center stage in a Bridge shot. :-) Why be ordinary? ;-) Anyhoo, I hope you enjoy the rich beach colors and brilliant blue sky as much as I did in person!
Of course, taken with the Canon Powershot G12 with a wide-angle lens attached (it seriously was the only way to get that whole darn bridge in a picture!). Contrast touched-up in Photoshop CS5.
Stay tuned for more of California through my eyes and lens!
Ok, folks! It is Match Day, the day in a medical student’s life where the big magic computer in the sky matches us with a residency program and we find out where we will spend the next 3+ years of our lives honing our skills as “real” doctors! And….I MATCHED AT MY TOP CHOICE PROGRAM!!!!!!!!!!!! I will be one of the newest Emergency Medicine residents at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center! I am beyond excited right now and so thrilled to start on this next leg of my journey. :-) WOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! And congratulations to all my med school buddies on their respective matches…we’ve all worked so hard for this and we rocked it! Special shout-out to Dr. Dan and Dr. Heather…your programs are lucky to have you guys and the world is lucky that it is going to have such an amazing ER doc and pediatrician!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok, with that said, on to the photo. Golden Gate Bridge (mostly silhouetted) at sunset with a sailboat on the Bay (presumably headed out to sea, if I’m judging correctly from the direction of its sail). And that’s about it for the photo! Today is all about Match Day joy (the culmination of 8 years of hard work) with a nifty photo thrown in.
Of course, taken with the Canon Powershot G12. Enjoy and stay tuned!!!!!!!!!!!!
So, in keeping with the Golden Gate Bridge theme, here’s another (and I’m sure there’ll be a couple more as well…)! Pretty self-explanatory. This is a shot of the infrastructure of the Bridge, specifically the beginning of the bridge over the Presidio. It was nicely silhouetted against the sky, so of course I couldn’t resist some taking a few snapshots :-)
Taken with the Canon Powershot G7 and cropped to give a neat square feel. C’mon…I gotta change up the shapes every now and then! Enjoy and stay tuned!
Sorry it has been so long since my last post! Residency interviews are all over now, just waiting to learn my fate on Match Day! I must say, interviewing for residency is one of the most exhausting experiences ever…a different city every week, sometimes multiple ones in a week…its like a 2-month long business trip! Funny how quickly it was over, though. Just like the licensing exams, it was one of the big med school milestones that you see off in the distance and think, “Gosh, I will never be able to do that!” and before you know it, BOOM!, not only did you make it, but you survived, enjoyed it, and kicked some serious interview butt in the process! So, now that it is smooth-sailing until, well, residency starts, here is a post! Oh, and fingers crossed for Match Day!
Well, a lot of explanation is definitely not needed for this one: The Golden Gate Bridge in all its glory, bathed in the golden light of sunset! This shot was basically the product of Jay and I walking a very long way along the beach to the bridge, trying to get there before sunset and eek out every photo possible (which, incidentally, is particularly difficult when I realize that every 100 ft closer I get to the bridge makes the photos 100% better and I stop 100 times in 100 different spots to take 100 photos). :-)
So, this photo was captured with my glorious Canon Powershot G12, with a wide-angle lens attached. Let me just say…if you go to California, bring a wide-angle lens because you will want to capture every possible inch of the stunning vistas there!
Apparently, WordPress has added a “poll” feature since I last posted, so why not take it for a spin? HAVE AT IT, FOLKS…and stay tuned for more posts!
We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming…for a quick trip from the West Coast over to the East Coast. West Virginia, to be exact. ”Wild and Wonderful,” as they say. So, I realized that I forgot to post a couple of photos from my Blackwater Falls State Park last year (and I can’t believe this photo is one of them, as it’s one of my favorite photos!). So, ladies and gents, here you have it: a snap-shot of the Upper Elakala Falls. Absolutely beautiful location. You walk across the falls on the bridge in the picture, then follow the trail. If you’re daring like Jay and I, you then off-road yourselves and climb down the slippery dirt and wet rocks to get to a place closer to the falls to take a picture and then prop up your tripod with rocks, jam one of the legs deep in the soil, and use the camera timer so as not to disturb the shot but then slip and fall as you back away from the camera too quickly (again, so as not to disturb the shot). :-) I used a wide-open shutter and neutral density filter to get this one. It was crazy-tricky, as the sun was just starting to fade for the day and it was hard to find a balance between the shutter time and the use of the filter. But…I got it! Taken with the Canon Powershot G12 with the built-in neutral density filter. Specs (just because it took so stinkin’ long to get them right!): f/5.6, exposure 10secs, ISO 80. Enjoy! I do believe I have one or two more from WV, but stay tuned to find out if they get posted next or if we jet back to the California coast!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!
The skinny on this post: Happy Cows Come from California. ‘Nuff said. Eat cheese, drink milk, and be merry.
Taken with the Canon Powershot G12 on our way up to Santa Rosa, CA via Highway 1. Indeed, the hills are alive, with the sound of…cows.
I don’t know about you, but I think that these cows look like some of the happiest cows I have ever seen. How could you not be happy when you live in such beautiful sun-drenched scenery? This reminds me of a mildly related, brief poem by a dear friend of mine:
I wish I were a glowworm
For they are never glum.
How can you be unhappy
When the sun shines out your bum?
I found it! I really did! The hills from the famed Windows XP “Bliss” background!!! As we were driving up the Pacific Coast towards Santa Rosa on Highway 1, I decided to snap some photos from the car. As the highway curved inland a bit, I remember saying how it looked like we were driving through a Windows XP desktop! Well, when I looked at my photos later on, this one in particular looked a lot like the “Bliss” wallpaper. Upon taking my query to trusty Google, I was directed to the all-knowing Wikipedia…which informed me that I had, in fact, been in general vicinity of where the photograph for XP’s “Bliss” was taken!! Score one for awesome chance photography!!!!!!
Of course, taken with the Canon Powershot G12, and edited in Adobe Photoshop CS5 to remove one stray cow in the photo that looked more like a spot of schmutz on the computer screen than an actual cow.
Stay tuned for more photos from my time in California!
So, after leaving sunny Sausalito and a lovely lunch behind, we hopped in our Prius and took the Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 1) all the way up to Santa Rosa. Let me just say, this was one of the best things I have EVER done. The winding road (very, very, very sharply winding road) clinging to the cliffside, wind in my hair, great music blasting on the radio…what more could a girl ask for? A cute guy in the driver’s seat? Check! Suffice it to say that around nearly every curve I would squeak with joy and say how gorgeous the view was! Fortunately, Jay was quite amenable to stopping as soon as I would yell, “I have to take a picture!”…how lucky am I? So, there are lots and lots of photographs heading north on the PCH (and later, lots and lots of photos going south on the PCH). So many wonderful memories created in that 4 hour drive!
This portion of the trip checked several things off of my bucket list: drive Highway 1, see the Pacific, dip toes in the Pacific, and take in a rocky coastline.
This photo was taken somewhere between San Fran and Santa Rosa…and is of the aptly named “Hole Rock.” Beautiful, eh? I would just like to mention how insanely windy it was from atop that cliff and that this was one of the few shots that was not blurred by a blowing camera! Of course, taken with the Canon Powershot G12.
Stay tuned for more snapshots from my California escapades!
Wow…I can’t believe its been a month and a half since my last post!!!! So much going on! I’m officially in the thick of my fourth (and last!) year of med school. Rotations have been keeping me super-busy, as well as studying for the USMLE Step 2….and working on residency applications! So, its 11:30 on a Saturday night and I’m missing my photoblog and I actually have a few spare minutes to post a post!
So, back to the California trip series of photos! This shot was taken from our lunch table at Bar Bocce in Sausalito (right across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco) the day we arrived in California. Not a bad view to enjoy with a bite, eh? A nice leisurely lunch to fortify ourselves for what would become an amazing (and mildly frightening) drive up the Pacific Coast Highway to Santa Rosa!!!
By the way, did I mention that I didn’t realize we were driving across the Golden Gate Bridge until we were halfway across in our rented red Prius (what else would we drive in California? A Corvette convertible? Yup, had that booked for our trip until we realized that the trunk would hold ONE carry-on suitcase…so not-compatible with a week-long trip encompassing about three climates.)…at which point I started squealing with glee (which I did quite a lot on this trip). Sorry, Jay. You didn’t need to hear out of your right ear, did you? Nah…you can be a great pharmacist with one ear.
So, obviously the photo was taken with the Canon Powershot G12. I officially was on vacation with my two loves: el boyfriendo and the camera (shall I name it Cameron?).
Stay tuned for more (hopefully more frequent) posts…I have so much to share!!!
My photo/micrograph of crystallized glutamine made it into a science web-video! Its the first picture after the introduction! Check out the link –> Science in Seconds (will open in a new tab)
Click here for my original post of this photograph –> Original Glutamine Post! (will open in a new tab)
I almost forgot to post this one first!!! Obviously, we had to fly over the Rocky Mountains to get to California, but I was beyond excited about this. See, getting to see a “rocky” mountain (as opposed to the “softer” Appalachians out East) was one of the things on my “Must Eventually Accomplish/See In Life” list. What better way to start a trip than to tick off an item on that bucket list?? Little did I know that it would be the first of many tick-marks made on this trip!
A little info on the photo: Taken at 37,000 feet with the maximum zoom on the Canon G12. I used Adobe Photoshop CS5 to make the photo black and white to bring out all of the detail in the mountains. A very excellent few hours of flying: sandwiched between a view of the Rockies and a boyfriend who thought my continuous excited squeals about seeing them were endearing and not annoying.
Well, world…I finally did it! I crossed the USA to the other coast!!! Think of it as East meets West…coast, that is. My friend from med school was getting married in Santa Rosa (shout-out to the happy couple!), so Jay and I figured, heck, if we’re going that far away, we might as well make a vacation out of it!!! Thus ensued a week of fun in the sun!
Our amazing itinerary was as follows:
Land in San Francisco (got to see the Rockies & Yosemite from the plane!)–> eat lunch in Sausalito–> drive up the Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 1) to Santa Rosa–> Wedding!–>Trek to Sonoma Lake in Napa Valley plus some wine tasting in the Napa Valley –>Drive to San Francisco–> Sight-see!!! Take Photos!!! Quality BF-GF time!!!–> Drive to Pillar Point Beach to collect sea glass–> Drive south on Hwy 1 to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park in Big Sur (stay tuned for the amazing views from here)–> Continue on Hwy 1 until encounter massive landslide–> take 4 hour detour through a military base at the top of a mountain range (via a one lane road clinging to the edge of the mountain…without a guardrail)–> finally arrive in Long Beach, CA and stay on the Queen Mary for the night (!)–>Ferry to Avalon, Catalina Island!!–> ZIPLINE 500 feet above ground between mountain summits (!)–> beach–> LAX–> Home (got to see the Grand Canyon from the plane!)
Soooooo much fun!! I’ll try to post photos in the approximate order that I took them so I can slowly tell the story of my travels This one is out of order, though, as I will be posting a photo of the Rockies (so excited to finally see real “rocky” mountains, not the worn (but pretty) tree-covered mountains of the East).
Can’t wait to share my trip and photos with you! I truly believe it is impossible to take a bad photo in California!
Quick story behind this photo: En route to Sausalito, I realized that we were driving across the Golden Gate Bridge. After many squeals of excitement that may have left Jay partially deaf in the right ear, I started snapping photos like a mad woman. Luckily I got a nice skyline shot. The Bay Bridge is at the left-most edge of the photo. Naturally, there was a ton of fog in the Bay, so I adjusted the contrast in Photoshop CS5 to sharpen up the photo. Taken with the Canon Powershot G12!
ENJOY AND STAY TUNED!!!!
Well, folks, we all grow and change over time…and it was about time that my photoblog name grew up as well! Fear not, nothing else has changed. Just the name. And what’s in a name? Isn’t that which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet?
So this photo was taken in Canaan, West Virginia during a horseback ride through the mountains. Jay and I planned a lovely day of horseback riding followed by waterfall hunting and hiking in Blackwater Falls State Park. The ride was lovely–it was a cool day, but the sun was warm on our backs as our trusty steeds followed along on well-worn trails in the mountains and meadows. As I was riding, I saw this tree all by itself and knew I just had to take a photo…even if I was on a moving horse. I one-handedly wrangled my camera out of the saddle-bag, pointed, and shot…and fortunately was able to get a nice photo, stay on the horse, and have the horse stay on the trail. Hooray for multitasking!
Anyhoo, when I looked at the photo later on, I decided that it was just entirely too brown…leafless tree with a backdrop of brown grass and brown mountains. So, I changed the photo to black and white and hand-colorized it in Photoshop CS5. I added in a vignette blur and desaturated the tree by hand to really make it pop. All in all, after spending entirely too much time fiddling with a photo, I’m pretty happy with the results. It still has that slightly cool, forlorn feel of approaching winter, but a little added interest.
Taken with the Canon Powershot G12!! 
) Stay tuned for more West Virginia trip photos!
So, here is another shot from my trip to Blackwater Falls State Park in West Virginia last October. If you look closely at the bottom of the valley, you can see the river meandering through the mountains. As you can probably tell from how tiny the river looks, this lookout point (Lindy Point) is quite high up. Now, I’m not afraid of heights, but stepping out to the edge of these rocks to take a picture in the ferocious wind was a bit unnerving, even for me! But, a good photograph is totally worth a bit of risk, right? One of my favorite things in this photo is the intensity of the autumn leaves still clinging to the trees on the mountainside more protected from the wind.
By the way, the freshness of the air in this wild and wonderful was simply incredible. Maybe I only noticed it because of my city-girl lungs, but holy cow. It was gooooooood. I think you can appreciate a little of the clean air in the clarity of photo. I seriously couldn’t stop taking super deep breaths just so I could enjoy the pure, clean air! Did I mention that this park is literally in The Middle of Nowhere, WV?
Of course…get ready for it…taken with the Canon Powershot G12 (and contrast fixed in Adobe Photoshop CS5)!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, folks, I upgraded (both things!)! That little puppy is INCREDIBLE (and by puppy, I mean camera, not a reference to my family’s dog Lexie, a white Siberian Husky-German Shepherd mix, who at 3 years of age is still a giant puppy). Amazing image quality, HD video, swiveling LCD screen, fun effects, and so many dedicated wheels for manual photography (including a front thumb wheel that you can dedicate to whatever function you’d like) that the camera literally turns into an SLR if you want it to! Stay tuned for more G12 photos, including some more at Blackwater using some of the SLR magic of the G12!!!
My thoughts and prayers go out to those in Japan devastated by the earthquake and tsunami.
…a great song by Sting. 
So, this photo. Modernized Holland? Nope! Presque Isle State Park on Lake Erie! Who would’ve thunk it? So, I was relaxing in the sand when I noticed the windmill (wind direction/speed monitoring thingie?) behind me. Naturally, I grabbed my camera. Thus began my mission to get a stinkin’ photo of the thing without the blades blurring! I can’t even begin to express how many photos of this darn windmill I took!!! Luckily, I was satisfied with the minimal blur in this one and fortunately, it also had what I felt to be the most pleasing angle for the windmill jutting into the photo.
Taken with the G7. Obviously. Contrast fixed in Photoshop.
Enjoy. I hope it…”blows”…you away.
“…Round, like a circle in a spiral
Like a wheel within a wheel.
Never ending or beginning,
On an ever spinning wheel
Like a snowball down a mountain
Or a carnival balloon
Like a carousel that’s turning
Running rings around the moonLike a clock whose hands are sweeping
Past the minutes on it’s face
And the world is like an apple
Whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind…”
Ok, ok…I know: its about time I posted Part 2 of Small Sandy Stonehenge! So, here it is. Taken at Presque Isle State Park in Erie, PA. Gorgeous beach. Lovely daytrip with my mom. Enjoy the photo. Short & sweet.
Taken with the Canon G7. Contrast fixed in Photoshop CS3.
Here’s my new look for 2011! Hope you like it as much as I do! And check out my new page of photography quotes, which will slowly grow as the year wears on.
P.S. Shout-out to the boyfriend for snapping the photo that was cropped into the header of the page. Great shot, Jay! And yes, that is me wearing my camera bag in the photo. And that cliff was very high up. And there was no “guardrail”…we hiked outside of the guardrail to climb onto the ledge. Smart? Probably not. Exhilarating? Definitely. Windy? Like all get-out.
Taken at Blackwater Falls State Park in West Virginia! What a wonderful day of extreme hiking and waterfall hunting! More photos to follow!
Uncropped version, to give Jay credit for great composition:
–Click images for larger versions–
Well, it may be a bit after the holidays, but I completely forgot to post this in a more timely manner!!
A few weeks ago, I got an email from my PI at my old lab that I worked at in undergrad saying that one of the images I took on the scanning electron microscope (SEM) was being used for one of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s (UPMC) holiday cards! Obviously, I was floored! So, here it is: the holiday card featuring my SEM image of “Dog Vomit Mold.” No joke. That’s the name of it. Scientific name: Fuligo septica. I scraped it off the mulch in front of my brother’s house years ago, processed it for SEM, and took pictures! Mmmmm….nothing says happy holidays quite like dog vomit mold. At least the image is colored blue so they sort of look like snowflakes!
Hope everyone is starting 2011 on the right foot! Happy New Year!
P.S. Stay tuned for a few more relics from my undergrad research days…and more photography!
I’m baaaaaack!!! Oh my gosh…I can’t believe its been 1.5 months since I’ve posted!! Rotations and other things have just kept me so busy lately that my photoblog got shoved to the back burner. But, its officially Winter Break now, so here I am!!!
To help ward off the winter chills, here a warm and glowing sunset shot taken from Presque Isle on Lake Erie during the warmest days of summer! I shot this one during a much-needed daytrip with my mom. We stayed for sunset (both to see the sights and to justify another round of fudge milkshakes at Sara’s Camground, as our previous round happened only a few hours prior) and the seagulls were extremely active. They kept rising up in flocks off of the breakwaters offshore and streaking across the sunset as silhouettes. Gorgeous.
I cannot even begin to tell you how many photos I snapped of the seagulls at sunset. The number is a bit obscene. But it was just so pretty! With such vibrant colors!! I couldn’t help myself!!! Luckily, its not like I’m wasting film!
So, enjoy the photo and warm yourselves up a bit! And if you’re ever on Presque Isle, visit the diner at Sara’s Campground right at the park entrance: Best. Milkshakes. Ever.
(Of course, taken with the Canon G7. Contrast improved in Adobe Photoshop CS3.)
Happy Holidays!!!
So, I know I promised “Sandy Stonehenge Part 2,” but I’ve been so antsy to post this photo for quite a while. Why not build a little anticipation for the second stonehenge with this picture?
I took this shot back in Philadelphia during one of my riverside jogs-turned-photo-excursion. These little white flowers were blooming everywhere on the ground by the Schuylkill River. They were lovely on their own, but I couldn’t resist the temptation to add in a “midnight filter” in Photoshop to really make them into something special. I love the bit of a fairy-tale glow that they now have!
Taken with the Canon G7 and “made extra-special” with Photoshop CS3 & the Midnight Filter.
Stay tuned to for Part 2 of Stonehenge!
Its an itty-bitty Stonehenge! A small, sandy stonescape!
Over the summer, my mom and I took a girls’ Saturday day-trip up to Erie to chill out on the beach at Presque Isle. What a lovely day! Towards the end of the day, my overly-relaxed brain apparently regressed to that of a 3-year-old and I built a tiny Stonehenge in the sand. Then my brain snapped back to photog-mode and I realized that, heck, my small and sandy Stonehenge looked pretty neat up close! Thus, this picture was born.
Of course, it was taken with the Canon G7. Slight sepia tone and contrast fiddling were done in Adobe Photoshop CS5 (yes, you read that correctly…I now have the immense pleasure of using CS5!!).
Stayed tuned for the second part of this itty-bitty Stonehenge series!
P.S.A. Time (and, no, I don’t mean “prostate-specific antigen”): TIME TO GET YOUR FLU SHOT, PEOPLE! I GOT MINE TODAY…NOW GO GET YOURS!
Ok! All together now: “I believe I can fly. I believe I can touch the sky!!!”
So, here we have a seagull gliding above the Jersey Shore. Avalon, to be exact. Snapped during a lovely day at the beach. Of course, taken with the Canon G7.
And that’s all folks. Short and sweet this time. Check back soon for more posts!
Manhattan. Such a small little island. So many big buildings! This is one of the views of Manhattan from the approximate middle of the Brooklyn Bridge that I snapped during the much-longer-than-I-expected-a-bridge-could-ever-possibly-be walk. I went with the black and white version of this shot because it just seemed so much more…New York City. I’m also totally excited that you can see the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building all in one shot! Whoopee!
I took this shot last summer during my trip to NYC with the boyfriend, the future Dr. Heather, and her future hubby (congrats, guys!). Lets play guess the camera! Yup! Canon Powershot G7! Stay tuned for more posts!
P.S. Sorry for the few and far between postings lately…rotations have just been eating up my time. And my precious free time is usually not spent on the computer posting pics (sadly, most of it is spent studying, eating, or sleeping). Ah, the life of a med student. Essentially paying to work everyday with borrowed money. Gotta love it.
This lovely lady is Anika, one of my family’s “fuzzies.” She is quite fond of being photographed–to the point of pushing other cats out of the way when she sees the camera come out (no joke!). For those of you wondering, she is a purebred Siberian cat and has such a lovely disposition!
This photo was taken, of course, with the Canon Powershot G7. When I looked at the picture on my computer, I noticed that the screen door she is behind gave a canvas-like quality to the photo, so I just played with the contrast a smidge in Adobe Photoshop CS3 and added a sepia filter to give it more of a “painted” feel. Then I had a bit more fun and tried a blue filter on her:
And I just couldn’t decide which to post, so here are both! Feel free to vote in the comments section for the one you like best!
P.S. Sorry for the delays between posts! Third year just keeps me so stinkin’ busy!
One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from
anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.So I said to the Lord,
“You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you,
you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most, you have not been there for me?”The Lord replied,
“The times when you have seen only one set of footprints in the sand,
is when I carried you.”“Footprints in the Sand”, by Mary Stevenson
I took this picture up at Lake Erie during the Great Mom/Daughter Saturday Trip of 2010. We were walking along the water’s edge when I saw these 2 lone footprints in the sand. No prints leading up to them, no prints extending from them. It instantly reminded me of the poem above. The prints looked oh-so-human, but their isolation on the sand had a slightly divine quality. Besides, the setting sun had cast the loveliest light upon them, so I simply couldn’t resist snapping the shot. Obviously, taken with the Canon G7. Small contrast adjustments made with Photoshop CS3 to bring out the depth of the prints.
Enjoy…and stay tuned!
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