Posted on by Anne Sandler · 25 Comments

I almost forgot: Pigeon Point Light House

Between Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay is the Pigeon Point Light House.

Although we couldn’t get close because of renovations and repairs, here’s a brief history taken from its website.

The 115-foot Pigeon Point Lighthouse, one of the tallest lighthouses in America, has been guiding mariners since 1872. Its five-wick lard oil lamp, and first-order Fresnel lens, comprised of 1,008 prisms, was first lit at sunset, November 15, 1872. The lens stands 16 feet tall, 6 feet in diameter, and weighs 2,000 pounds. Now on display in the fog signal building, it sat in a lantern room constructed at the Lighthouse Service’s general depot in New York before being shipped around the Horn. Although the original Fresnel lens is no longer in use, the lighthouse is still an active U.S. Coast Guard aid to navigation using an automated LED beacon.

Aside from the lighthouse, the coast is beautiful. Wildflowers were blooming and a couple was enjoying the view.

Enjoy this short visit.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 15 Comments

A wonderful day trip with Alyse: Pacific Grove

It’s a good thing I always take my camera with me when I travel out of the Sacramento area. Typically, when I visit Alyse in San Jose, I will photograph the beautiful flowers in her neighborhood while I walk. We also go to the movies, which I seldom do at home. This trip in May, she wanted to take me to Pacific Grove. She said she would sketch while I photographed. An artist, Alyse hasn’t drawn or painted anything in years. I was delighted that she would be sketching.

As always, Pacific Grove was beautiful. It was the weekend and Alyse and I weren’t the only ones there! So, I tried to incorporate them into the pictures. You may have seen some of these images in a recent Lens-Artist post challenge on Blue and Green. In that post I promised that there would be more photos because I had just edited a few.

The Pacific Grove coastline is so lovely that I don’t think you’ll mind seeing a few pictures again! But I’ll try not to duplicate.

  • This tree attracted my attention even though the lighting was terrible.
  • Visitors on a stretch of sandy beach.
  • A young girl playing in the ocean’s froth.
  • So many people on the rocks.
  • Alone on the rocks.
  • The tide washes in.
  • The tide goes back out to sea.
  • Alyse posing with a statue featured in my last Pacific Grove blog.
  • The flowers are blooming on the shore.
  • The rocks add texture and character to the scene.
  • Cormorants sunbathing.
  • Not the lone cypress, but alone anyway.
  • The Lone Cypress. It’s supposed to by over 250 years old. It lost a limb in a storm, but has been examined and is okay. This iconic tree is the main attraction along the 17-mile drive.

I’m glad Alyse and I took this day trip. I have wonderful photographic memories and she has, what I hope to be, a return to doing her art.

Posted on by Anne Sandler · 33 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #149: Cool Colors, Blue and Green

I am moved by color. I am absolutely drawn to warm colors naturally, but can appreciate the cool colors when nature gives us beautiful green grass and blue skies. This week Tina asks us to feature blues and greens in our posts. It worked out for me since I was in San Jose this weekend, and my dear friend Alyse and I drove down to Pacific Grove. She sketched while I photographed.

Pacific Grove is on the ocean near Monterey. It’s also the site of the well known Pebble Beach Golf Course and Tournament. So, I found a lot of blues and greens to photograph. I’ve got four images to show you today because that’s all I’ve been able to process.

Let’s start with our first stop. This area is known for its wind blown Monterey Cypress trees.

Alyse was sketching this sculpture and the surrounding area. I’m guessing that the exposure to harsh weather and salt helped make it look blue.

A little further down the road, a group of cormorants were sunbathing on a huge rock. Some more blues and a spot of green.

Finally, we have an array of color with flowers along this rocky coast.

I hope to process the rest of the pictures this week. They will be featured in a blog post soon. Thank you Tina for setting us off on a cool color search.