San Diego’s Balboa Park is the largest cultural complex west of the Mississippi River. The park encompasses over 1,200 acres and is larger than San Francisco's Golden Gate Park (1,107 acres) and New York's Central Park (843 acres). Established in 1868, the park came into prominence with the arrival of the 1915 Panama-California Exposition. The park has everything for everyone from museums, theaters, animals, architecture, flora and sports facilities.
Every December Balboa Park celebrates Christmas with a festival called Christmas on the Prado. It has now been renamed Balboa Park December Nights since it is politically incorrect to speak of the name Christmas. I love to be politically incorrect so I still call it by its original name.
Christmas on the Prado reminds San Diegans the cultural value of Balboa Park by allowing free admission to all the museums in the park. In addition, there is food, music and live entertainment.
On this escapade I took my compact Canon Powershot G9 and my Manfrotto table top tripod. I was having too much fun in the Aerospace Museum when I realized I was about to miss out on the blue hour. So I hurried my friends out of the museum and rushed to find this spot in the amusement park zone. I got down low on the ground to set up my little tripod, all the while passing spectators were probably wondering what a deranged man was doing on the ground.
Again, the Powershot G9 came through with flying colors (literally). Goods things do come in compact packages.
EXIF: ISO 80, f/8, 13 seconds, -1/3 exposure
Happy Travels!
Text and photo copyright by ©Sam Antonio Photography
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Thursday, January 26, 2012
Good Things Come in Compact Packages
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
The Sun has set on 2011...Here’s to a bright 2012!
I know I’m a couple of days late, but I was on the road for New Years. I did a quick little road trip to Arizona visiting the red rocks in Sedona, ringing in the new year in the mountain town of Flagstaff and taking in awe inspiring views at the Grand Canyon National Park.
Sunny days and mild, year-round weather make San Diego’s beaches a world class destination. Winter in San Diego is the best time to photograph landscapes due to clear skies (no haze or fog).
Imperial Beach or "I.B." is the most southwesterly city in the continental United States. I took this photograph of the Imperial Beach Pier right after sunset while standing in the water. Well, in all truthfulness my camera and tripod were in the water and I ran like a little child back to dry sand after I clicked the shutter button to avoid getting wet. If you were standing on the pier you would get a clear view of the country of Mexico which is only a stone’s throw away (that is if you have an arm like quarterback Cam Newton).
So now that the sun has set on 2011, a new chapter in my life has open up for 2012.
A little less than a month to go for my South East Asia trip. For some reason I haven’t done much research or planning for this trip. I learned after years of traveling that flexibility is far more important than research.
For my South East Asia Flickr contacts I would love to get together with you when I’m in your city for a photo shoot, to grab a cup of coffee or to just say hello. Please drop me a line.
So far my itinerary is shaping up to be flying into Singapore on February 3, 2012. After a couple of days I’ll head north to Kuala Lumpur and the rest of Malaysia. Then onto Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. Also on my radar will be the Philippines, Myanmar, Hong Kong and India.
Thank you for your friendship and support in 2011 and here’s to another successful year in 2012.
Happy Travels!
Text and photo copyright by ©Sam Antonio Photography
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Tuesday, January 17, 2012
I am a Painter of Light! Coronado Bridge, San Diego
The San Diego-Coronado Bridge you see in the background connects the city of San Diego to the city of Coronado. It spans two miles long over the San Diego Bay and reaches a maximum height of 200 feet allowing U.S. naval ships to pass underneath.
The dinghy you see in the foreground are small boats used by “live-aboards” (people who live full time on their sail boats) to row back and forth from their sail boats to shore to run errands.
I do have to say for those living at the foot of the San Diego-Coronado Bridge it must have its benefits: charming views of downtown San Diego, Being close to marine life, views of the bridge itself and of course cheap rent.
This was my first attempt at light painting. The process was pretty simple: a Maglite flashlight, My Canon 5D Mark II, tripod, remote shutter release and patience. With the shutter open, aperture at f/16 and a 30 second exposure I “painted” the dinghy in the foreground.
Now you’re probably thinking I could have achieved the same thing by taking multiple exposures and then processing them in post production (that’s all fancy verbiage for high dynamic range (HDR) photography). I always have my baton-looking Maglite flashlight handy when photographing at night. I keep it close at hand to fight off would be thieves and now I have another use for it!
Happy Travels!
Text and photo copyright by ©Sam Antonio Photography
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Monday, January 16, 2012
Merry Christmas from the Hotel del Coronado!
The beautiful city of Coronado is one of the most beautiful cities in San Diego, if not Southern California. It is home to family friendly beaches, the Hotel Del Coronado and to the North Island Naval Air Station. Coronado has more retired admirals than any other city in the country.
Although most people call it an island, it is technically a peninsular, since it is connected to Imperial Beach. Originally named by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo in 1542 as the "crowned one," (Coronado is Spanish for "crowned") Coronado wears her crown as Empress of San Diego bay.
The Hotel del Coronado is listed as a National Historic Landmark and has been the choice of 14 U.S. Presidents and numerous celebrities.
The "Del," as it is commonly known to locals, is the largest wooden oceanside hotel on the West Coast.
There’s also a haunted side of the Del. Kate Morgan checked into the resort on November 25,1892 and never checked out. Reports of ghostly happenings have been circulating at The Del ever since, all thought to be connected to the death of this beautiful young woman. The ghost of Kate Morgan is said to be residing in Room 3312.
Hollywood has been making movies at The Del for more than a century (The first movie shot at the hotel was in 1901.) In 1958, The Del was the backdrop for the comedy classic, “Some Like it Hot,” starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon. A scene from that movie was shot nearby where this photograph was taken.
The Del is spectacular to photograph anytime of the year, but in December the Del is adorned with Christmas lights and makes for a beautiful photograph to add to this special time of the year.
Merry Christmas!
Happy Travels!
Text and photo copyright by ©Sam Antonio Photography
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