Point Reyes

This weekend Thom and I rented a car for a day and got the hell out of the city.  We drove up north, to go visit the Point Reyes Lighthouse.  I'm embarrassed to say that in the three years that we've lived in San Francisco, both Thom and I have not made the trip to the most western point of the peninsula.  Some day trips seem obligatory and placed on that proverbial bucket-list.  Muir Woods, Napa & Sonoma, Tomales Bay, Santa Cruz, Half Moon Bay and Monterrey are just a few in that list.  Point Reyes has been there for a while and I'm glad that we finally got a chance to go see the area.  It's funny because we've been up in that area twice before on the other side of Tomales Bay.  There, I've raved about the amazing oysters and bay views but I can't believe how much more we've missed out on the other side of that bay. 

Our car ride was interesting in the fact that the landscape continually changed.  Right after crossing that iconic Golden Gate Bridge, we were set to view some of the most changing and dynamic landscapes that Northern California offers.  All roads are deemed cautionary squiggles on yellow sign posts throughout the trip and we viewed everything from giant red woods, marshy swamps, vast green pastures and deep, dense foggy hillsides.

When we finally got to the lighthouse, the fog was so thick you couldn't see more than 20 feet in front of us.  All vehicles had to park at Drakes beach across the way and we took a shuttle bus to the lighthouse itself.  The ride was nice enough, minus the unsettling worst-case scenario thoughts that came to mind as the mega bus took sharp turns around narrow and steep ledges.

When we finally arrived, we descended the quarter-mile walk towards the end point and caught glimpses of the ocean through the fog.  At one point, the fog seemed to burn off a bit and we were able to see clearly below.  A friendly docent was nearby and spotted a migrating whale just off of the coast.  Thom and I kept a keen lookout for whales but alas, between the fog and our untrained eyes, we just couldn't spot any.  I really wanted to see one and I think, in my hopes, I zealously exclaimed to see a whale just below.  It turned out it was just a whale-shaped current. :(

We stopped back at Drakes Beach for a picnic lunch.  There, the weather was warmer and the fog had burned off from the south.  We were able to take in the coastal views and just relax.

I'm not sure if the Point Reyes Park has gone through recent renovations and changes, but the facilities we encountered were all newish and clean.  The rangers and docents were all very friendly and knowledgeable and there seemed to be plenty of parking.  Despite having to pay the mandatory $5 shuttle ticket to and from the lighthouse, I felt that the money was being put to good use.  There are plenty of trails to roam around and take in great views from.  Not only are there whale migrations that you can see come through this time of year but also sea lions.  (We missed that stop on our way back but having seen, heard, and smelled them at Pier 39, I didn't think we were missing all too much.)  All in all, I was really impressed with the park.

It's hard to drive through Point Reyes and not see all the cows.  The park has a series of ranches given names from the letters of the alphabet.  We were told that the entire park was once owned by a law firm that leased out the land to various dairy farmers from all over the world.  Irish, Italian, and English farmers would raise cows next to each other and create some of the world's best butters, cheeses, and dairy products.  So of course, we made a stop at Point Reyes Station on our way back.  We walked along the main street and up to Cowgirl Creamery.  After tasting some cheeses and marveling over others, we walked away with some sharp cheddar and triple cream.

All in all, today made for a great trip and a nice drive outside of familiar settings.  Point Reyes offers so much and more.  I know that we'll be making repeat trips back up there if not for seeing happy free-roaming cows and windy coastal views but for the delicious oysters and newly discovered cheeses.  :)

Wet Plate Workshop

 

This past weekend I had the excited opportunity to take a wet plate class at Rayko.  The whole workshop was intense, too short, and all too addicting.  I can really understand why tintypes have gotten so much buzz as of lately.  When you see one in person, they are more than what is viewed online or in print.  There's more dimension and textures found in tintypes that I encourage any interested to check them out.

Carlos was a wonderful instructor and I have nothing but the highest regards for him and his teaching practices.  We started Saturday off by observing the entire process from coating a plate, capture in camera, and development.  Sunday we watched how to mix the collodion and later, varnish the plates.

I focused on self-portraits again.  I have been very curious about seeing my ideas in wet plate and working with this new medium.  If only I had a working darkroom!  I worked with the available student 4x5 view cameras and also played with the Holga as well.  Both cameras are dedicated to wet plate and the 4x5 film holders are slightly modified to hold wet plates.

My dreams of owning a working wet plate studio and darkroom will have to wait further along but for now space can be rented at Rayko.

Leather and wood organizer

A while back I had posted a teaser photo on Instagram.  Horray!  I had started a new project!  Typically when I do so, it usually takes me a few weeks to complete.

Not this time around!  I suppose I still have the "new year" attitude to just get stuff done.

So I found this lovely post on Design*Sponge and was instantly inspired to create my own wood and leather organizer.  In my project, I went a step further than their DIY.  I decided to add a few coats of clear glossy Polyurethane to my base board and then hang it on my wall.

Read below for my steps.  Click here for the original Design*Sponge post.

To begin with, the whole reason I even began this DIY was because I had most of the materials lying around my studio and house.  An extra random Ikea board?  Check.  Salvaged leather scraps?  Check.  Finish, miscellaneous tools and a hanging kit?  Check, check, and check.  I suppose that the only two things that I purchased were based off of wants rather than necessities.  ( I really liked the look of the brassy escutcheon pins and again, I wanted a glossy finish to my base board.  I have a few cans of semi-gloss in my garage and I knew that regular nails would work just as well.  But design aesthetics prevail and together, the pins and stain cost me around $10)

So again, materials you will need:

• Wood plank (Mine measured 7.25"x31")
• Leather
• Brass nails/Escutcheon pins
• Fine grit sandpaper (I used 220 grit)
• Clear Gloss Polyurethane (I used Clear gloss fast-drying Minwax Polyurethane)
• Cheap 2" brush
• Paper towels
• Heavy duty scissors/Utility Knife
• Ruler
• Hammer
• Drill

The first thing I did was to prep my materials.  I cut out the pockets from the leather and lightly sanded the wood for the finish.  I measured out three different sizes for my leather pockets:

• 6.25"x10"
• 6.25"x12"
• 6.25"x16"

The reason why I choose these measurements was just based off of the type of mail I tend to receive.  Postcards, legal letters, miscellaneous...  Once folded, each pocket could hold various types of mail based on their size.  I utilized some heavy duty fabric scissors to cut through the leather but if you don't own a pair, just use a handy utility knife on a cutting surface.

Next I added my clear, glossy poly finish to the base board.  Originally I thought I'd add about two coats of poly, I ended up adding four.  (The whole raw wood thing is nice.  But I don't like splinters and I often times end up with some kind of injury because of a raw edge.  I wanted the base board to look slick and smooth to the touch.)  This process took the longest since I had to wait in-between coats to add new layers.  I recommend the Minwax fast-drying polyurethane.  It cut the drying time in half and I was able to add two coats a day.

 After waiting between coats, make sure that you lightly sand when the poly is dry.  This ensures an even and dust free surface.  After sanding, wipe down the wood with a damp cloth.  Dry off the wood and you're ready to for another coat!

Finally, after the fourth coat of poly, I was satisfied enough to bring in the baseboard and finish the rest of the project.  Not pictured here, but again, I lightly sanded the wood and wiped it down one final time.  Here I marked out the placement of each pocket.

Once I had the placement of each pocket figured out, I marked where I wanted to nail in the pins.  I placed one pin in the middle of the back portion of the pocket and two on the outer corners securing it in place.

This last step was of my own preference.  I knew that I wanted to hang this on the wall in my kitchen.  You don't have to hand this piece but just leave it at that.  The Design*Sponge DIY shows their organizer leaning up again a wall or counter.

So in my case, I ended up pre-drilling some small holes for wiring and added some foam bumpers on the lower portion of the board.

And done!  It's that easy.  It probably only took me three and half days to complete this project and with a minimal amount of effort and materials.  I know that Thom and I will find great use of something so simple and I love the end result.

Stern Grove Shoot

Today has been so warm and lovely.  It is one of the few ironically sunny days here in the Sunset neighborhood.  So I finally got out of the house and walked over to Stern Grove with Thom.  Here are my test shots from the new Petzval lens.  I'm still learning everyday from this lens (i.e. focusing issues) and the results have been increasingly better each time.

My next step with this lens is to figure out how to shoot self-portraiture...