Coastside History Museum Grand Opening

Mixed natural light and wall-bounced flash. Nice, but where is her right thumb?

While walking in Half Moon Bay I noticed a sign announcing the Grand Opening of the Coastside History Museum behind the historic Half Moon Bay Jail. Since it's in the Journal's service area, I decided to attend. When I arrived at 10:00 am, I found out that the actual ribbon cutting would not be until 12:00 noon. I had plenty of time to take in both the jail and the new museum, a completely refurbished grain shed just behind the jail. I noticed is that event planners and publicists are always on the lookout for members of the media, and my press pass and conspicuous camera made me easy to identify. After some polite inquiries, I was able to locate those members of the Half Moon Bay Historical Association who were actually in charge of the ribbon cutting, as I wanted to know the details on how the event was to unfold. They were grateful for the suggestions I offered, and present them to you now, should you ever be asked to make a ribbon cutting photo of your own.

After some discussion, I guided / we decided on the following:

• Location: I was lucky that the main entrance faced a cloudy western sky. The "cutters" would be placed at the entrance with the exhibits to their backs. Don't laugh, as I remember one ribbon cutting where the presenters were facing into the building, which made no sense at all. I wasn't able to get to them before the ribbon was cut, and with the subjects facing the wrong way, made it a visual non-starter.

• Doorway Arrangement: I decided in advance that they would hold their "Grand Opening" banner across the opened front doors, and that we'd re-arrange the furniture for maximum width. This required the movement of a snack table and some chairs out of the frame. I then enlisted two members of the cast to hold the banner across the door, eliminating the need for tape.

• Two Shots: There would be two shots. The first would be a more formal, more carefully arranged shot. After placing the Historical Association's Board President and the HMB Mayor in the center, I did a standard arrangement of tall people in the rear, less tall people in the front. Next, sun glasses were removed, and hats tipped back for better visibility. Finally, when all was in place, I stepped back and told the crowd that they had two minutes to use their phones to make their own keepsake shot. After two minutes, I called time, and reminded the audience that since this was the record shot, to please NOT distract the group by making additional photos. Most of the attendees appreciated having the opportunity to make their images first and follow my instructions, but one must be prepared for an occasionally outlier.

The Money Shot: For the group shot, I used a shoe-mounted flash to add a tiny bit of light into my subject's eyes. I  made about three exposures, checking each one for "blinkers". When satisfied that we had the shot, I had them replace the Grand Opening banner with a thinner, albeit more traditional, cutting ribbon. I removed the flash and set the camera to High Speed Continuous mode, had them count to three, and cut loose.

This was the best of the dozen shots taken with that single burst. One thing I noticed is that some of my subjects had wandered out of alignment, hiding many of the background subjects behind those in the foreground. For me, it was a choice between the contrived posed shot, and the more spontaneous, true-to-the-moment second arrangement, complete with the falling ribbon. It was closer in spirit to a "spot news" photo, albeit a heavily managed one.

To Flash Or Not To Flash: If we compare closeups of the two images, you might ask if the flash was really necessary. The flash did provide a nice catchlight. For this hatless subject, the answer might be "no".

However, when you see the effect the flash has on a subject wearing a hat, the answer is obviously "yes". It's a subtle improvement, probably the sort of thing only another photographer might notice, but I know that I gave the shot everything I had. And it the shot is made into a 20" x 30" framed print hanging in some office, the detail will be there.

In some regards, I would have been better off submitting the curated shot instead of the spontaneous ribbon cutting, as truth be told, both tell the story to the same degree.

Choose Your Background - Fourth Of July Parade

This Giant Baby: This photo makes me chuckle. I suspect that he learned that when he saw somebody holding a camera, he was to face the camera and smile. So there I was, adjusting my composition to include the large American Flag in the background when into my frame walks my subject, posing perfectly. The photo is a reminder that perspective is distorted when there is no transition between the subject and the background. When coupled with the use of a wide angle lens, there is some visual disconnect. But I digress.

The Assignment: Redwood City has the largest Fourth of July parade of any city in California, or so the website says. I've photographed it several times, and for good reason. San Mateo County knows how to create a small town vibe writ large. Since I might be dong a lot of walking, I replaced my (heavy) fixed-aperture lenses with two lighter versions. I still had the zoom range without the  weight.

As I cut through a parking lot I noticed this 20' x 38' flag being held aloft by a hook and ladder truck from the Redwood City Fire Department. I could see people lining the streets, so I knew I was on parade route. I decided that the giant flag would make a wonderful backdrop so I went across the street to see if that would work. I hustled over to the opposite side of the street and turned to see what I had to work with. I chose a spot directly across from the flag so that when the wind blew, I would be viewing it head on.

As luck would have it, my widest lens setting was 18mm, which would give me the flag and the foreground, but only if I held my camera mere inches from the ground. If I attempted to shoot from a kneeling position, I would be blocking the view of the spectators behind me in the front row. If I wanted to shoot from this particular spot, I would have to lie down on my back in the street, and rolling over on my side to make the shot. I must have been a sight, lying on my back, using my camera bag as a pillow, I now had my background. Now I needed to populated my foreground. Cue the Giant Baby.

You can see from these attempts that the photo had many moving parts: The disposition of the flag, the size of subject, and its distance from the camera. These three were rejected because of subject size, poor flag orientation, and the subject being too big and too close. But you have to keep shooting, hoping you'll get a break.

The Break: The break came with the arrival of the San Mateo County Mounted Patrol. With three horses walking abreast, the were spread out and therefore closer to my shoot position. Also, the horses were large enough to be recognizable. And finally, the wind cooperated so the flag was open enough to be recognizable. 

The grabbed composition was fortunate, as the entire ladder, visible on the right, informs the viewer on how the flag was supported. It also created a triangle that completely enclosed the visual elements to create a very static composition.

All in all, the photo was one of those lucky accidents when I properly positioned at just the right moment, and with the help of a cooperative wind, made the shot.

July 1, 2023 - Waldo Point Harbor

 
I have never been to the famous houseboat community in Sausalito. It is a bright, creative community, where one might imaging that all of the residents are artists and other creatives. Today I visited Waldo Point Harbor, just north from the slips for those luxury yachts and cabin cruisers. 

Like the other houseboat harbors I visited, Waldo Point was alive with color and artistic efforts. Every slip I visited was decorated with potted flowers, succulents, and in many cases sculptures, probably the products of the "artists in residence".  Today was especially vibrant, as the poppies were in full bloom, and the clear skies rendered colors at their most saturated. Incidentally, I broke my promise to refrain from post production manipulation, as I much preferred the results from my manipulations to those where I relied exclusively on the limits set  by the Kodachrome presets.

This craftsman (or woman) crafted an eye from around porthole of a window. The color scheme reminded me of  the color schemes seen on totem poles created by the indigenous populations of the Pacific Northwest. I suspect many other artists were similarly inspired, as I saw one houseboat painted in a color scheme that reminded me of the work of Piet Mondrian (1872-1944), based on the bold patches of color bordered by black lines that form rectangles of various sizes. I appreciated the homage to the artist, but not enough to include an image in this post.

This studious owl was a welcomed bit of whimsey. I used a  50mm F 2.0 TTartisans pancake telephoto lens for this one.

The sunflower collar on this whimsical face has to make everybody smile.

I used the Kodachrome preset for the original image, but found it looked exactly the same when I removed the color in post production. The years of harsh sunlight bleached all the color from the shells and the wood.

I will be leaving the strict Kodachrome simulation settings in my Fuji and return to the saturated, high contrast look of my own "home brew". While it doesn't simulate any film I ever used, let alone mastered, it renders my world in colors as I prefer to see them. And really, that's all it was ever about.