It’s a blob, it’s a lump…IT’S A SEA LION!!!!
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.
the rock…
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 
glowing golden…
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!!!!!
chillin’ at crissy…
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!
sailin’ off the dock of the bay…
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!!!!!!!!!!!!
golden gate in the golden light…
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!
onward, northward…
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!
If you’re going to San Francisco…
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!!!!
gliding grace…
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!
surfacing at sunset…
The grand finale in the “People Series”!!! Once again, a shot of my lovely sister. Everything just sort of lined up perfectly in this shot…her pushing out of the water, the sunset, the sliver of sunlight highlighting the edges of her silhouette, and (my favorite) the sun glinting in the small drops of water falling from her arm. This was taken about 200 feet out in the water at Playa Norte, Isla Mujeres, Mexico (see previous Isla posts for me going on and on and on about the gorgeous water there and how you can walk out about 300 feet…uh oh…I’m going on and on again…).
I don’t think there’s much to say about this photo, except that I think my sister should scrap her career and become a model. Perk of this: she could visit locales such as Isla Mujeres more often. Perk of this for me: perhaps I’d be able to tag along for a vacation when my brain is totally fried from my clinical rotations!!
I hope everyone enjoyed the People Series. I’ll post more shots of people as they come along, but until then, back to random photo posting!
Oh, yes. I almost forgot. The picture was taken with the amazing Canon G7. Contrast fixed in Photoshop CS3. That’s it. No airbrushing needed on this model!
gone fishing…
He’s a man with a mission: to catch his fill of fish! And second to last photo in the “People Series”!! I took this shot down in Puerto Morelos, Mexico while admiring the view from the dock. It was quite a site to see. It was a bit after lunch and many of the fishermen were headed back out to sea for the afternoon catch. One minute all the boats were lined up along the shore, the next, they were zooming off into the distance. I like this photo because its very tranquil with the gradations of blue in the water, but also because I think it shows off just how small people are compared with the vast sea. Whenever I look at this photo, I get a sense of serene isolation and a refreshing dose of perspective.
Of course, the photo was taken with the Canon G7. I adjusted the contrast in Photoshop and also converted the image to an HDR image. Enjoy!!
playing on the “playa”…
Second in my series of people photography!! Now, I know I said that the Mexico series was done with, but, surprise! More Puerto Morelos pics! Were these strategically saved for this series or did I just forget to put them with the other series? You’ll never know. Anyhoo, its fun to photograph kids doing their kid-ly things. They always seem so completely absorbed in what they are doing and bring such a fun, carefree-because-they-don’t-have-bills-to-pay feeling to the photo. I find that looking at pictures like this always makes me remember how much I liked to do (blank) when I was (blank) years old, long before medical school sort of owned my soul.
So, this boy and girl were playing in the sand on the shore by the Puerto Morelos pier in Puerto Morelos, Mexico. They are in front of the original lighthouse that was transformed into the Leaning Lighthouse of Puerto by Hurricane Wilma. Since it’s more or less non-functional now, there is a new lighthouse a bit further back from the shore. It is much taller and, personally, if I were a sailor, I’d be glad Wilma killed the old short lighthouse so that I could guide myself home with the more modern upgraded model.
The photo was taken with the Canon Powershot G7. I used Adobe Photoshop CS3 to adjust the contrast a bit and to bring out the slightly sepia tones in the picture to help create a more nostalgic feel and to highlight the angle of the sun.
surf’s up…
So, this photo is the first in a series I will be posting featuring people as subjects. I’m excited, as I usually do landscapes/macro/anything-but-people!
I took this photo while at the Jersey Shore over the summer with my boyfriend (see previous post for more another product of that trip). Avalon Beach was lovely, fairly empty with lovely water. I love to body surf, so I was quite content. Some areas had larger waves that surfers were taking full advantage of. I was lucky enough to snap this shot, right as the surfer hit the top of the wave. It wasn’t until I looked at the larger image of the photo on my computer that I realized he was also touching the top of the wave. Cool stuff.
So, anyhoo, this shot was taken with the Canon Powershot G7. Contrast was fixed with Adobe Photoshop CS3.
Surf’s up!!
mermaid…
Well, here’s a change of pace. I usually photograph things, places, and my cats…but….omigosh! Its a person!!! My sister and I were having a bit of fun in Playa del Carmen, Mexico a couple of years ago by staging a teensy “America’s Next Top Model”-esque photo shoot out in the water. Naturally, she looked gorgeous. And she’s ready for her close-up now…or at least to have her photo on my blog! You go, pretty sister!
Taken with an Olympus Stylus 820. The photo was played with a bit in Adobe Photoshop CS3 to add a glow, fix contrast, and create a sepia tone. It was then converted into an HDR photo. Enjoy!!!!
hasta luego, mexico…
Well, I do believe that this is the last photo I’ll be posting from Mexico…time to move on (until it is the dark, cold, middle of winter and I find it imperative to post something warm and sunny). This photo is a shot of Playa Norte’s crystal clear water at sunset (hence the yummy pink cast on the sand!). Playa Norte on Isla Mujeres, Mexico is such a gorgeous place–truly what comes to my mind when I picture a tropical paradise. I hope you have enjoyed traveling to Mexico with me through my photos. Stay tuned!
Why, of course it was taken with the Canon Powershot G7. Contrast was fixed using Adobe Photoshop CS3.
tempting tranquility…
So this little slice of heaven was taken at Playa Norte on Isla Mujeres, Mexico. Have I mentioned how much I loooooove Isla?? I did? Oh, yes. That’s right. I found it impossible to drink in all of the serene shades of blue so I snapped tons of photos to help me in that quest at a later time.
I love the blue gradient in this photo…from the turquoise of the water all the way up to the sky’s blue hue, with an interspersing of fluffy white clouds!
To help you slip into this tranquil moment, picture the breeze gently blowing, waves softly crashing on the soft white sand, and the bathtub-temperature water enveloping your increasingly relaxed body. Ah, there you go. Now you’re there.
Yup. Taken with the trusty Canon Powershot G7.
radiance…
Alright. I’m not going to say much about this photo, except that it is one of my favorite shots from my trip to Mexico this summer. It was sunrise at our hotel (Ocean Coral and Turquesa) and the sheer serenity of the world in front of me was breathtaking. Luckily, the (amazing) Canon G7 has a fun little feature that lets you select only one color in your photo to show through the black and white. Well, I found the perfect shade of sunrise and photographed away!!! This shot is pretty much straight from the camera!!! Only needed a smidge of contrast fixing. I recommend using this picture for a 5 minute mental vacation…it definitely works for me!! Enjoy and bon voyage!!
bunches of boats…
“Twelve little boats, sitting in a row
Each colorful one with a rope in tow.
Docked for the day and dark starry night
Ready to depart at dawn’s first golden light.”
Okay, okay, perhaps its a cheesy little poem, but whatever. I’m in an artsy mood. I even arranged “Streets of Philadelphia” for SATB a cappella on Sunday with the boyfriend. Photos and poems and songs, oh my!!
Anyhoo, this photo was taken with the amazing Canon G7 next to the fishing pier in Puerto Morelos, Mexico (right in front of the old lighthouse). All of the boats were moored for the night and I was stunned by how much colorful character they all had. That translated to a boat photoshoot! To help you create a better mental image of the Puerto Morelos fishing pier, if you faced the pier (looking out to the ocean), these boats were to the left and the previously-posted pelican was to the right! Alright, here’s the pier:
The boat photo was cropped to remove the gargantuan dead fish that was on the beach and was then post-processed to an HDR photo! Enjoy!!!!!!
Who can? PELI-CAN!!!…
This little photo was taken from the Puerto Morelos (Mexico) pier. Apparently there is ALWAYS a pelican on that specific pole. Seriously. I’ve heard this mentioned on numerous travel blogs…he (she?) even shows up in lots of pictures in Google!! My theory is that he’s (she’s?) just a bird trying to catch his (her?) big beak…er…break… in these hard times. You know, just trying to get his (her?) picture out there and hopefully be scouted by a top bird modeling agency. I mean, look at those wings!! And that arch in his (her?) neck! So perfect!
Now, in all seriousness…oh, heck. How can one be serious when making a post devoted to pelicans? Is it just me, or do you find yourself a bit giggly when you think about those birds? Okay, maybe its just me. Anyhoo, I played around with the tint in Photoshop and decided that sepia (rather than color) suited the photo quite well. Precisely the feel I was aiming for. And I think it brings out his (her?) features wonderfully and thus increases his (her?) chances of getting that big break. C’mon America’s Next Top Pelican, this is your bird. Oh…yes…of course it was taken with the trusty Canon Powershot G7!!
tequila sunrise…
This seaside sunrise panoramic was the fruit of my efforts to arise before sunrise after a week of fun in the sun in Mexico (no small feat, especially when bedtime was 2am!!! Darn DeGrassi reruns in Mexico that hooked my entire family!!). I can’t truly convey with words how tranquil and silent the sunrise was…no vacationers on the beach yet, no playing in the pool…just the sun, sea, and the lapping waves. Simply stunning.
This photo was taken at the beach of the Ocean Coral and Turquesa Resort in Puerto Morelos, Mexico. I merged two sequential photos into one panoramic image using Adobe Photoshop CS3. The panel was originally 7 photos long, but that caused a large curvature in the image…plus one of the images contained a gentleman strolling the beach in a Speedo, with all his glory bathed in morning rays. Yup. The panorama was reduced to the two panels that I thought came the closest to doing the sunrise justice. Obviously, taken with the Canon Powershot G7. Contrast and color saturation enhanced in Photoshop to make the photos look as much like the original sunrise as possible!! Enjoy!!
on a distant sandy shore…
Ahhh…yes. You can almost hear the gentle waves lapping on the sand. The beach in front of our resort (Ocean Coral and Turquesa) was simply gorgeous. The only bad thing about the beach was that the red flag was flying everyday…i.e. swim at your own risk. I came, I swam, I learned why the flag was red. There was…stuff…in the water. The bits of seaweed? Nah, I could look past those. The biting, stinging things in the seaweed? OUCH. Lets just say that I don’t particularly enjoy the simultaneous feelings of fire and tiny knives in my legs. Naturally, this was a very unfortunate situation for this self-proclaimed beach bum/water baby. This was precisely the reason for repeat treks to the idyllic waters of Isla Mujeres. No problems there, other than it being so gorgeous that I never wanted to leave.
Water complaints aside, the beach was still beautiful. The palapas provided ample shade and the chaise lounges were oh-so-comfy. It pays to upgrade to VIP status at this place. Did I mention that this stretch of beach was completely reserved for VIP guests only? Oh, I didn’t? It was heaven. The beach was the perfect setting for water-gazing, people watching, and sunrise photography. So, stay tuned for more photos of my trip to Mexico!
Almost forgot! Taken with the handy-dandy Canon Powershot G7. But you already guessed that, didn’t you? I used the awesome color-select setting on the camera to capture a bit of the sand color to add some interest to the black and white. Contrast fixed and enhanced using a touch of pseudo-HDR in the Dynamic-Photo HDR program.
sailing…
“…Takes me away
To where I’ve always heard it could be
Just a dream and the wind to carry me
And soon I will be free
It’s not far down to paradise
At least it’s not for me
And if the wind is right you can sail away
And find tranquility
The canvas can do miracles
Just you wait and see
Believe me
Sailing
Takes me away
To where I’ve always heard it could be
Just a dream and the wind to carry me
And soon I will be free”
Yup, couldn’t resist. Just had to throw in those lyrics with this picture! So, this sunset shot was taken, well, at sunset, on Isla Mujeres, Mexico. Have I mentioned before how gorgeous that island is? Yes? Oh, ok.
Sunsets from Playa Norte are simply stunning. One of the few places in the Mayan Riviera that you can see the sun set over the ocean. Beautiful.
Taken with the trusty Canon Powershot G7! Stay tuned for more glimpses of Mexico (just bear with me with this period of scanty posting…med school’s a bit crazy!)
Tulum, HDR style!
This is the HDR version of a previously posted picture (yay alliteration!). For more information regarding HDR, please read the immediately previous post. For the original image of the Tulum cliff-scape, just scroll down the page. It is important to note that this is pseudo-HDR, produced from the original 8-bit image. This is what causes the slight graininess that is most noticeable in the sky. However, it is an excellent example of how HDRi enhances colors and detail while suppressing shadows. Enjoy!
Photographer’s note: I will be visiting Mexico once more this summer, so stay tuned for more great Tulum and Playa del Carmen shots in mid-July!
Tulum, Mexico
This image was taken while “misbehaving” in Tulum, Mexico. There is a rope near the edge of the cliff so that happy-go-lucky tourists don’t accidentally walk off the edge, because dead tourists don’t bring in much revenue. Crawling under the rope and dangling a leg over the edge of the cliff so as to support myself (think tripod) on a rock below, I took this shot with a plain ol’ 35mm camera and 400ISO film. The negative was then digitally scanned and the colors balanced using Adobe Photoshop.
*Photographer’s note: Tulum is an absolutely amazingly beautiful place! I highly recommend that anyone visiting Mexico venture out to the site to view the ruins and breathtaking vistas.
